Loading Unloading
Three Essential Types of Loading Bay Equipment
Time and safety are two important issues for any warehouse business that involves deliveries. This article identifies three pieces of equipment that will make the task of unloading and loading faster, safer and more efficient.
Mobile Yard Ramps
Not every warehouse is large enough to have a permanent docking area. Rear loading vehicles and standard ISO containers can be unloaded using a pallet truck. However this requires the pallets to be arranged inside the container, allowing the pallet truck access. Often the pallets are stacked high with heavy items making them difficult to move manually in a confined space. It can create a safety risk for those involved.
This is why a mobile yard ramp is ideal. As the name suggests it can be easily moved from one location to the next. The ramp is attached to the back of the container or lorry. A forklift can then be used to remove the goods. Because it can be driven into the back of the container/lorry, unloading takes a fraction of the time that it would with a pallet truck and it creates a safer working environment without the need for manual lifting.
Mobile yard ramps can be rented or purchased. Renting is the best short term solution. Purchasing a mobile yard ramp can be the more cost effective in the long term because of the expense of transporting a yard ramp to its location.
A loading bay specialist can provide the best advice and find the most cost effective solution for your requirements.
Dock Levellers
When there is a difference between the level of the trailer being unloaded and the dock, a dock leveller is the perfect solution. Its height can be adjusted to the height of the vehicle trailer, which allows for fast loading and unloading using a forklift or pallet truck.
Made of a sturdy steel construction, dock levellers incorporate an electro-hydraulic system to enable their height to be adjusted with the push of a button.
Scissor Lifts
When not in use scissor lifts, or table lifts, take up little space in a warehouse. But when fully extended they can reach heights of 18.2 metres (depending on the type).
Scissor lifts work by the criss-crossing supports pushing a flat platform upwards when drawn together. Pallets can be loaded onto a scissor lift platform using a forklift or pallet truck to minimise manual lifting. The goods are then raised on the level platform preventing spillage of liquids or damage to fragile items.
Scissor lifts can either be stationary or mobile. Originally designed as an industrial lift they are increasingly seen in operation in the retail and wholesale environment.
Two additions to a scissor lift, that further minimises manual lifting, includes turntables and tilters. Turntables allow the operator to rotate the loads being lifted. This ideal if the scissor lift is being used in restricted spaces. Tilters allow the platform to be positioned at an angle. It is useful for sliding the goods off the lift so the operator does not risk injury by manoeuvring heavy loads.
These three types of loading bay equipment are suitable for small and large sized businesses. They can be purchased 'off the shelf' or made bespoke to suit the working environment. Whatever the loading challenge, the task is made a lot simpler by using mobile yard ramps, dock levellers and scissor lifts.
About the Author
Chase Equipment are a leading international supplier of mobile yard ramps, scissor lifts and dock levellers. If you need loading bay equipment for a short period due to changing requirements, want to hire long term to minimise capital expenditure or simply would like try before you buy, contact Chase Equipment for their current rates.
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Loading Dock Ramps
Some facilities, such as construction sites, lack a loading dock with a permanent, concrete loading dock ramp. Moving products to and from trucks and rail cars can be difficult for these businesses, even with the use of fork trucks. Portable yard ramps make it easy and efficient to expeditiously move product from point to point without the need of a dock. Construction crews especially value loading dock ramps for their ability to load and unload building materials. Because they function exactly like a fixed loading dock ramp, yard ramps can support both fork truck and foot traffic and come in a wide range of builds, sizes, and weight capacities.
Different applications require different sized loading dock ramps. The most common lengths are 30' ramps and 36' foot yard ramps that feature a six foot level off to facilitate access to trailer beds, portable storage areas, and rail cars. Additional widths and capacities are also available for specialized applications. Ask a material handling specialist about these options. Yard ramps are manufactured from steel, aluminum, or a blend of aluminum and steel (aluminum frame, steel grate). Your ultimate choice in material build will be determined by the type of application, the weight capacitance you require, and the amount of portability you need in a unit. Again, a specialist can help you make these determinations when placing your order.
Steel Loading Dock Ramps
Steel yard ramps feature a 2 speed hand crank and a service range from 45" to 62". Weight capacities range between 15,000lbs. and 30,000lbs, with the ramp itself available in either 30' length or 36' lengths. Safety features include positive steel traction grating, safety locking chains, rubber bumpers; a 15" overlap lip, and 4" high safety curbs. Welded hand rails can be added to any unit as an additional safety measure.
Aluminum Yard Ramps
Aluminum loading dock ramps also feature either 30ft straight ramp or 36ft. ramp with 6ft. level off. Capacities again range between 16,000 and 30,000 lbs. Several features make this unit simple and safe to use. A hand pump hydraulic lift allows for single person height adjustment. Rubber shock absorbers help stabilize the unit, and an optional tow bar allows trucks or forklifts to move the loading dock around a construction site or shipping yard. Safety anchor chains come included with the unit. The yard ramp can also be ordered with an aluminum frame and steel grating, and customized sizing can be arranged through your material handling vendor.
Mobility
Various tire options, including pneumatic tires that expand service range from 40" to 66", are available for both steel and aluminum loading dock ramps. In order to meet with OSHA and ANSI requirements, all yard ramps must be attached to the truck with bolt locking chains before use. Toe bars can also be fitted to loading dock ramps in order to allow fork trucks to move them. For extended service range, a loading dock leveler can be added to the ramp, and towbar hitches, loops, or forklift pickup slots can be installed that will allow a variety of vehicles to move and position the yard ramp.
About the Author
Easyrack.org. For more information
Loading Dock Ramps
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