Dock levelers are essential tools for warehouses and commercial businesses. Dock levelers are essential to preventing severe accidents in warehouses and protecting the safety and health of employees. Additionally, dock levelers are essential for protecting the equipment managed by warehouse employees.
Simply put, people working for organizations that regularly handle heavy, sensitive equipment that could cause tragic accidents require dock levelers to remain safe and secure at all times. However, many people still need to learn about a dock leveler and why it is vital when managing equipment. Therefore, this article will describe everything you should know about a dock leveler and why you need one to smoothly transition equipment from one place to another and protect everyone within your organization.
What are Dock Levelers?
A dock leveler is a warehouse fixture placed at the door of loading docks to smoothly transition heavy equipment from the dock to a trailer or truck. A dock leveler helps prevent equipment damage and severe accidents or injuries to employees. These levelers are often mounted to the loading dock and can be manual or automatic.
These sturdy fixtures are essential for managing equipment using forklifts or heavy machinery and guaranteeing a safe workplace for all within an organization. If your organization regularly handles heavy equipment that you must transfer from one height to another, dock levelers are essential to protecting you, your employees, and your equipment.
Why are Dock Levelers Important?
Dock levelers serve numerous purposes in warehouses and commercial businesses. If your organization manages heavy equipment, you likely require a safe, secure dock leveler to protect employees and equipment integrity. However, you may be curious about why a dock leveler is essential. Below are five reasons why dock levelers are important to your organization’s everyday work.
Dock Levelers are Essential for Safety
A high-quality dock leveler is essential to improve safety within your warehouse organization. Dock levelers have restricted ranges and are standardized to guarantee that all equipment operations and transfers are safe and won’t result in employee injuries.
Safe practices in warehouse organizations are essential to guarantee employees’ well-being while keeping the business sustained and equipment protected. Rather than manually managing heavy equipment, employees use dock levelers to transfer equipment from the dock to the truck safely.
Dock Levelers Improve Efficiency in a Warehouse
A dock leveler can improve the efficiency and security of equipment transfers in an organization. Loading and unloading operations are much safer and faster with an effective dock leveler. Organizations operating with a high-quality dock leveler are more productive in loading and unloading. Because dock levelers make it possible to handle heavy loads and machinery, they are quicker, more practical solutions for warehouse employees.
A quality dock leveler makes it easy to get more work done within your warehouse while mitigating the risk of equipment damage or employee injury. Efficient loading is essential to avoid an overflow of goods in a warehouse that can cause damage to the organization as a whole. By streamlining the inflow and outflow of commercial goods, an effective dock leveler improves your organization’s workflow and ease of operations.
Dock Levelers Absorb Bumps and Possible Equipment Damage
A dock leveler is essential to avoid equipment damage in a warehouse. High-quality dock levelers reduce the severity of bumps and dock shocks during your organization’s regular operations. The bumps and gaps between a loading dock and a truck can severely damage equipment.
Dock levelers also absorb shock and help prevent dock shock. Dock shock occurs between the loading dock and the truck or trailer bed. This shock can damage equipment from the vibrations and bumps that occur during the transfer process, incurring high costs and damaging equipment that could cause safety concerns for the consumer.
Dock Levelers are Durable and Safe for Handling Heavy Machinery
Manually managing heavy machinery poses numerous dangers for warehouse workers. Beyond damaging the equipment, managing heavy machinery without effective loading solutions can lead to severe employee injury. If your organization does not use a dock leveler, the transfer process from a loading dock to a truck is shaky and uncertain. A dock leveler can improve sturdiness and boost stability when loading equipment onto a truck bed.
Given the significant issue of workplace-related injuries occurring annually, having solutions to manage the heavy work in your organization is essential and gives employees time to focus on other work end keep your organization running. Heavy machinery, such as forklifts, can be transferred from the dock to a truck with a dock leveler to guarantee the safety of employees and prevent injury or equipment damage.
Dock Levelers Bridge the Gap Between the Loading Dock and Truck
The primary purpose of dock levelers is bridging the gap between a truck in the loading dock when the height of the truck does not match the height of your equipment. Gaps form when a loading dock and a truck are at different heights, making manual loading difficult and extremely dangerous. A high-quality dock leveler closes this gap, allowing forklifts and other machinery to transfer smoothly between trucks and loading docks.
What are the Different Types of Dock Levelers?
Depending on the needs of your employees and your daily activities, various types of dock levelers could be effective for your warehouse organization. Determining which type of dock leveler is most practical for your warehouse is the first step to implementing this effective solution and fostering safer workplace practices. Below are the primary types of dock levelers to consider if you hope to implement the solution.
Hydraulic Dock Levelers
A common and popular type of dock leveler is the hydraulic dock leveler. This leveler operates automatically by pushing a button on a control panel and eliminating the need for operators to raise or lower the height of a leveler manually.
Hydraulic dock levelers operate with hydraulic cylinders and pump to move the leveler up and down and transfer equipment from one spot to another. Handlers can automatically program these levelers, which are incredibly simple and convenient for warehouse operations. Hydraulic dock levelers eliminate manual work while accurately aligning a truck bed to a loading dock height. By eliminating manual work, a hydraulic dock leveler protects employees and equipment.
The push-button control system of a hydraulic dock leveler is essential for many warehouses and one of the safest options for dock levelers. Additionally, hydraulic dock levelers are manageable, long-lasting, and efficient. Warehouse employees seeking help streamlining productivity and efficiency often use hydraulic dock levelers to load and unload equipment quickly.
Hydraulic dock levelers generated a total of 0.28 billion dollars in US revenue in 2020, and by 2028, this number is expected to rise to 0.47 billion dollars.
Air-Powered Dock Levelers
Air-powered dock levelers are commonly used in warehouses and operate similarly to hydraulic levelers. An air-powered dock leveler raises and lowers a leveler by activating the leveler’s mechanical lip with the push of a button. This button causes an airbag to inflate and raise the deck. The airbag deflates and lowers the equipment to the truck bed when the button is released.
While similar to a hydraulic dock leveler because of its control panel operations, an air-powered leveler is more straightforward and requires less maintenance than a hydraulic leveler. Additionally, air-powered dock levelers are valuable alternatives to hydraulic levelers because they use minimal moving parts, keeping total costs for the leveler and maintenance low.
Mechanical Dock Levelers
A mechanical dock leveler is a type of spring leveler that requires manual operation. When using this type of dock leveler, an operator pulls a chain to help position the leveler from the loading dock to the truck or trailer bed. When an operator pulls the chain, a mechanical dock leveler releases tension that extends the platform’s lip. Once the lip extends, operators can walk on the platform and use their weight to get the leveler fully on the trailer bed.
A mechanical dock leveler typically requires more maintenance, given the various moving parts and manual operations. These levelers are less efficient than automatic levelers like hydraulic or air-powered levelers. Because the parts of a mechanical dock leveler are constantly under pressure, warehouses must frequently replace the systems to guarantee that the leveler’s springs are working correctly. The springs on a mechanical dock leveler are also sensitive to temperature, meaning regular adjustments are required to guarantee safe practices.
Vertical Storing Dock Leveler
One of the three specialty levelers is the vertical storing dock leveler. A vertical storing dock leveler eliminates excess energy loss and is a secure, simple solution. Many warehouse organizations choose a vertical storing dock leveler because these systems are easier to clean and safer to operate. By providing a sturdy barrier between a truck bed and a loading dock, vertical storing dock levelers can minimize employee accidents and bridge the gap between one surface to another.
Vertical storing dock levelers are increasingly popular for warehouse organizations because they are easy to maintain compared to traditional loading options. A vertical storing dock leveler can provide climate control solutions, environment controls, and advanced security.
Edge-of-Dock Leveler
Another type of specialty dock leveler is the edge-of-dock leveler, an economical alternative to traditional dock levelers. These levelers enable service for standard trailer bed heights and serve a similar purpose as mentioned levelers. An edge-of-dock leveler bridges the gap from the edge of your dock loading area to a truck bag or ramp. These levelers are typically low-cost, making them increasingly popular for warehouse organizations looking for money-saving solutions.
The primary difference between edge-of-dock levelers and other traditional levelers is that edge-of-dock levelers mount to the dock face rather than within a dock pit. Edge-of-dock levelers are typically used by warehouses and facilities that do not operate equipment and truck beds with significant height differences. Warehouses with lighter load capacities and minimal height differences benefit from edge-of-dock levelers and can save business operation costs with this solution.
Edge-of-dock levelers are forecasted to have an annual growth rate of 5.2%. While they are not the most popular option, edge-of-dock levelers will likely grow significantly in upcoming years.
Dock Lifts
This specialty dock leveler allows for simple loading and unloading while eliminating the dangers of manual lifting and handling. A dock lift requires operators to stand on a level surface while equipment moves between two heights. While not the most advanced solution, dock lifts are undoubtedly safe and effective.
