Issues and Options
Door Maintenance
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| Truck/trailer doors | Dock bay doors |
Evaluations in some distribution centers have revealed that the heaviest lifts were opening doors. The remedy in all cases was simply improving maintenance schedules.
Dock leveler
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| Before: Heavy push | After: Dock leveler |
The photo above left shows an instance of a mismatch between the dock height and the truck bed, causing employees to manually push a powered pallet jack up the abrupt dock plate. A common solution is to incorporate levelers into the dock that can be adjusted to fit differing heights, as shown above right.
Dock lift
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| Dock lift |
Another standard solution is using a scissors lift outside the dock. A lift of this type can accommodate a wide range of truck bed heights, plus makes for a completely level surface. However, it lift requires operation for each load that is transfered between the bed and the dock.