by Ann Withanee — December 16, 2011—For facilities executives looking for ways to quickly and safely expand their loading dock capacity without excavation and construction costs, the Impactable Dock Ramp from Leum Engineering provides a flexible yet fixed loading dock option. The more expensive alternative of excavating a below-grade loading dock can run up as high as $50,000, says Grant Leum, president of Leum Engineering. He adds, “Our customers tell us they have saved about half of what it would have taken to install a loading dock.”
The Impactable Dock Ramp provides a solution by adding loading docks to grade-level buildings and seasonal and leased facilities. Designed for trailer impact, the Impactable Dock Ramp facilitates forklift traffic from the ground up into a truck bed.
With enhanced safety elements, the Impactable Dock Ramp features adjustable legs on the front of the unit to change its effective dock height from 36 inches to 56 inches to service almost any trailer. Supporting the ramp with structural legs, rather than only by the lip of a ramp on the bed of the trailer, significantly reduces the chance of the ramp coming completely disengaged and dropping should the trailer move forward accidentally. In addition, since the Impactable Dock Ramp is fixed in position, rather than relying only on chains to secure the ramp to a trailer, it can be utilized with a mechanical vehicle restraint.
Another key feature is the integral Edge of Dock Leveler that gives the ramp a yieldable bridge, eliminating product and trailer damage caused by a fixed lip style bridge. Adding to the cost savings and functional benefits, the dock ramp can be relocated when a customer leaves a leased facility. More comfortable for employees than a concrete loading dock, it can also be covered with a 40-foot-long shelter, creating a protective vestibule to keep rain and snow off employees, equipment, and product.
The dock height can be fixed mechanically, or hydraulically adjusted. The 30-foot inclined ramp with 6-foot level-off creates a smooth transition into the rear of trailers. Since it has a fixed bumper position, it is the only dock ramp that can be utilized with a DokLok to secure the trailer to the ramp, according to the company.
And, says Grant Leum, “We designed the product to replace the current mobile dock ramps with one simple assumption: that it is easier to move a trailer to the dock than move the dock to the trailer.”
Leum’s Impactable Dock Ramp is currently a finalist in the Materials Handling category for Plant Engineering’s 2011 Product of the Year Award.
