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.