Sharz Technology

Dock levelers are, as mentioned, fixed to the dock. They comprise a simple metal plate, called a lip, that is raised from a stowed position and then lowered onto the back of the truck. Lip can be hinged or telescopic type. They are operated either manually, via a simple pull chain, or hydraulically, (most common) with an electric pump driving a piston to lift the plate and another one to move the lip.

Dock levelers are more expensive devices than the comparatively light-weight dock plates and dock boards. The most common form of dock leveler is the recessed, or pit, dock leveler. As the name suggests, this type of leveler is contained in a recess, or pit, beneath the dock door and floor surface. Dock levelers are stronger than dock plates and have similar ranges to dock boards, making them suitable not only for motorized fork lift trucks but also for master conveyors (for which neither dock plates or dock boards are suitable). Safety, also, is very high for this kind of product: Safety rules as EN1398 (European Standard) specifies the safety requirements for design, construction, installation, maintenance and testing of dock levelers and for safety components on dock levelers.