Loading of goods and material is one of the most important tasks in the material handling department. On loading and offloading of goods might sound the easiest of all task, but in actual it is the most time consuming delicate job. The workers have to work every efficiently to bring down all the material carefully.
Equipment used for material handling:
Since it’s a very technical job, much equipment has being launched to help the big movement. All these equipment’s help us to off load or up load the material, the list of all the equipment used is:
- Steel platforms:
The steel platforms are standing loading dock devices; they are used very commonly in the industry because of its vast surface area and stronger body. With adjustable legs, these steel platforms can match up almost any height difference. They are very economical and fast for the offloading tasks.
- Dock bumpers:
Dock bumpers are weather resistant devices that protect the dock against the damages of trucks, loading docks. There main task is to provide protection against the force exerted because of the loading process.
- Dock plates:
Portable dock plates are plate like structures that uses wheels for the movement of the material. They are very simple structures, and must be used for transferring small sized objects. They can bear heavy weights but are advised not to be used with heavy machineries.
They are best for covering the gap between the vehicle and the floor, because of its size dock plates are solely used for bridging the gap between the floor and the trucks.
- Yard ramps:
They are to be fixed at the mouth of the container with the help of its hydraulic pump. They are made up of steel and can bear weight up to 60,000 pounds. It has wide surface area and is manufactured in various sizes.
- Personnel barrier:
These are rode like structures used to mark the area which would be used for the offloading purpose, thus it is used to keep people off the loading area for their own safety and of the material which is to be transported.
- Dock leveler:
They are the most efficient device for the off-loading of goods; they are very strong as they are a combination of mechanical and physical energy. They are very safe to use and because of its power ensure a safe movement for your goods too.
- Walk ramp:
Walk ramps are used in various industries. They come in all sizes and are mostly manufactured with aluminum thus they are light weighted but are extremely strong. It is designed in a way that it can used in any direction i.e. There isno specific side for specific position. The sides of walk ramps are raised so that they would support the material which is being translocated, and protects it from falling.
Conclusion:
thus the process of dock loading might sound very simple, but it is actually very technical, one little mistake might cause big losses, in form of time loss, material loss and etc. therefore it is very essential that companies focus on their dock loading services to improve their overall efficiency.
Author’s bio:
Steve works for a company of overhead doors in Toronto. He has written various articles regarding the material handling problems.