Vehicle Restraints: A Key Advancement in Dock Safety
One of the most significant improvements to loading dock safety over the years has been the introduction of vehicle restraints in conjunction with dock leveler installations.
Vehicle restraints perform two very important functions:
They act as visual communication between the truck driver and the dock attendant, advising the truck driver when it is OK to enter or depart the loading dock area.
They advise the dock attendant when t... Read More
Why Foam-Insulated Decks Are Used
The primary reason for equipping dock levelers with foam insulated decks is to eliminate or reduce condensation from forming on the dock leveler deck surface.
Condensation can form on the dock leveler deck surface when there is a significant temperature difference between the exterior temperature and the building’s interior temperature at the loading dock area.
Safety Concerns Caused by Condensation
Condensation on the dock leveler deck creates a s... Read More
What Is Dock Leveler Float?
With a truck backed into position at the loading dock and the vehicle restraint engaged it is safe for the dock attendant to now operate the dock leveler.
How the Dock Leveler Is Positioned for Loading
The dock leveler platform is raised and as the platform raises the hinged lip assembly extends from the vertical, stored position to the fully extended position. The dock leveler platform with the extended lip assembly is then lowered until the lip assembly mak... Read More
Determining Dock Lift Capacity
There are several important factors to consider when configuring a dock lift to accommodate a lift truck application. One of the first items to identify is the lifting capacity rating of the dock lift. Determine the overall weight of the lift truck, fully loaded, and then add 20% as a safety factor to determine the lifting capacity rating of the dock lift required.
Most dock lift applications are used with manual or powered pallet trucks, with capacities gene... Read More
As standard, dock lifts are provided with a hand-held, 2-button (Up/Down) pendant on a 10’ cable.
There are many optional dock lift controls to select from; the most popular being a hand-held, Up/Down push button control on a 20’ coiled cable. This cable is 4’ long in the retracted position and extends up to 20’ in length. This provides a significant walking range for the dock attendant to operate the dock lift with the minimum amount of cable on the floor when the controls are not in... Read More
Dock lifts are a scissor lift design that is most commonly used to load or unload trucks from the truck bed height to grade level. Dock lifts can be ordered to suit either a surface installation or a preformed recessed pit installation.
Surface Installed Dock Lifts
Pentalift Low Profile Dock Lifts are installed directly on a concrete slab. Installing a dock lift on a concrete slab eliminates the need for a preformed, recessed pit. For retrofit applications, the cost of creating a pit can b... Read More
Hydraulic dock levelers typically come with a wall-mounted control featuring a single deck raise button. They can also be ordered with the optional auto-return to cross traffic or stored position feature.
Electrically Interlocked Vehicle Restraints
It is common for hydraulic dock levelers to be ordered with vehicle restraints that are electrically interlocked with the hydraulic dock leveler.
As opposed to having two individual control boxes — one to operate the hydraulic dock leveler ... Read More
Most industrial buildings are designed with a level truck approach to the loading dock area. With a level approach, the truck backs into position at the loading dock and the back of the trailer is somewhat square to the building’s foundation wall.
However, due to space restrictions, it is not uncommon for trucks to have to back down a sloped ramp to the loading dock; this is referred to as a declining truck well.
Declining Approaches and Dock Levelers
At a declined approach, as the ... Read More
Most industrial buildings are designed with a level truck approach to the loading dock area. With a level approach, the truck backs into position at the loading dock and the back of the trailer is somewhat “square” to the building’s walls. The rear sides and top of the trailer contact and compress a conventional dock seal 4”–6” to provide an energy-saving seal at the loading dock area.
Declining Truck Wells
However, due to space restrictions, it is not uncommon for trucks to ha... Read More
Dock levelers are structurally designed to accommodate dynamic or moving loads at the loading dock.
The most common dock height is 48” above exterior grade and uses dock levelers to load and unload trucks. With a truck backed into position at a loading dock, the dock leveler is activated: the deck raises, the hinged lip extends, and the deck assembly is then lowered until the extended lip contacts the bed of the truck. The truck is now ready to be loaded or unloaded.
Factors to... Read More