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Docking Bay Design can make or break a logistics chain. Therefore, a lot of things have to be considered before you can start docking bay design. This guide will help you solve the most tricky problems, as well overcome unexpected internal and external factors, which can cause problems during the transfer of goods.
Different issues and factors are discussed and explained in various chapters within the Docking Bay Design Guide. Because of the diversity of circumstances and companies in which docking bays are used, it is not possible to reflect on every loading situation. However, if you need special information or would like to receive more specific details, please contact us. We would be happy to make an appointment with you and give you all the information you need. After all, the loading bay is the logistical bottle neck of a company site, and Stertil strives on providing accurate Docking Bay Design.
DOOR SIZE
Most HGV's are a minimum of 2400mm wide, with refrigerated trailers up to 2600mm wide. With barn doors swung back, a fridge trailer can be as much as 2900mm wide. Trailer wheel guides (a false economy not to fit them) are set at 2600mm wide to the inside of the tube. Even so, drivers cannot be expected to be exactly on the spot every time. Don't forget the driver is 16 or 17metres away and looking in his mirror! So give the trailer plenty of room inside the doorway.
Smaller delivery vans (7.5T and 12T) especially can be fitted with tail lifts incorporating extra large protruding locking plates that extend as much as 250mm from the back of the vehicle. If the door is not wide enough, the locking plate can (and regularly does) cause real damage to the doorjamb and external cladding.
It is becoming commonplace to see a wide range of vehicles at the docking bays, with double deck trailers becoming increasingly popular. It therefore pays to discuss your current fleet and contractor's/suppliers vehicles and your likely future fleet with the loading bay sales engineer.
YARD SLOPES
The optimum slope is 1:80 away from the dock - this negates the slope that the "5th wheel" puts on the trailer. That said, many service yards are by no means perfect and compound slopes are much in evidence. This is where two opposing slopes create the required slope. Often a slope away from the dock is formed to a drainage channel and then a slope up to form a compound 1:80.
Steep slopes into the dock cause real problems with rain running of the roofs of trailers into the building as well as wheeled loads tipping out of trailers when the doors are opened. It is also common to find damage to the head of the door because the top of the trailer arrives before the buffers have had the chance to stop it. (See also door size problems)
In this instance, to prevent damage to the building fabric, the first thought is to pack out the dock bumpers. This of course works but then often a longer lip is needed and sometimes the leveller has to be pulled forward as well. The resultant costs are in the several hundreds for each bay. This can be avoided by getting good advice from the outset.
DOCK LEVELLER SIZING
This applies to both the capacity and the dimensions of the dock leveller. Too narrow - and loading and unloading of the first two pallets in the rear of the trailer will be problematic, especially without a fork truck. Too wide - and narrower vehicles cannot be unloaded.
The length is critical in terms of the gradient of the platform. En 1398 requires that the maximum slope be designed to be 1:7 (about 12.5%) although as a rule of thumb 1:10 is quicker to calculate! And errs on the safe side. It is important to calculate the platform gradient excluding the lip of the leveller as this is generally designed to be in a different plane.
Once again, information about vehicles intending to use the dock is most important. Capacity of the dock leveller is rated on the way a load is imposed on the platform. Ask your intended supplier what single axle load has been used to calculate the capacity as this varies. The more robust dock levellers are designed using a single axle load of the rated capacity i.e. 6000kg rated leveller designed on 6000kg single axle load.
So, as you can see, the road to the correct selection of a loading bay contains pitfalls - most can be avoided by talking with the industry.
Stertil UK has published a Guide To Docking Bays and Docking Bay Design which provides many practical hints and tips both about loading bay design and how to get the information necessary to put the design into practice.
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