'Sitting at the edge of the dock' isn't quite a 1967 Otis Redding classic but edge of dock levellers offer a viable, not to mention economical, solution to the problems of loose bridging plates and the cost of inbuilt electro-hydraulic units.
The obvious questions are those concerning what edge of dock levellers do. The answers are simple enough. First, you need something to establish a strong, smooth path along which loading and unloading can be carried out. The loading dock is one part of this path, the lorry's bed is another; edge of dock levellers bridge the gap between the two.
How do these items work? A spring-assisted plate with a hinged lip comes into play after the lorry has been reversed in, square and central to the dock. In fact, the leveller has buffers to facilitate this accurate positioning. An operating lever, mounted in a sleeve between the lip plate and buffer, is pulled upwards and backwards. This causes the lip to rise higher than the vehicle's load bed. Moving the lever forward extends the plate, allowing it to rest on the vehicle's bed. The same lever is used for decoupling before the lorry moves off.
Knowing how an edge of dock leveller works is interesting but it doesn't tell us what such a device can handle. To say one can handle everything from a roll cage to a forklift truck goes without saying. However, looking in more detail at a representative specification reveals much, if not all.
Typically, edge of dock levellers can cope with roll over loads of 9,000kg. The extendable lip can stand 317mm proud of the face of the buffers and the quickly and easily positioned plate can be both engaged and parked when a vehicle is already docked. It's usual for such a leveller to accommodate lorry bed heights within 100mm of the loading bank. The steel chequer surface plate has a chamfered lip to make for seamless transition between the dock and the lorry bed, and maintenance is child's play. Normally, all that's needed is occasional lubrication of the edge of dock leveller's hinge tubes.
Compared to alternative dock-levelling equipment, edge of dock levellers have a great deal to recommend them. Conventional pit-mounted levellers require installation space and a pit; the former may not be available and the latter is invariably expensive. There's also the matter of complication and the consequently extended installation time. As we all know, time is money and time spent installing hardware is also downtime for the loading bay concerned.
Can edge of dock levellers be described in a word? Not quite but they can be described in no more than three words. Which are? How about unobtrusive, economical and efficient? The bottom line is inextricably linked with the final word here. Making a more than adequately specified, safe, smooth load path for the goods you have to handle is hardly rocket science, nor need the task be overly complicated and therefore expensive. This elegantly simple solution offers an efficient means of achieving a loading dock that is itself efficient and therefore productive.
Chase Equipment are a leading international supplier of dock levellers. See our website at Chase Equipment for more information.
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