DC Velocity - July 2015

70 DC VELOCITY JULY 2015 www.dcvelocity.com materialhandlingupdate

• Logistics Spiral Elevator • 30% lower investment •“SpiralGrip” super grip spiral belt • Continuous flow • Compact footprint • High throughput

SPIRALVEYOR®

LOGILIFT

WWW.AMBAFLEX.COM

info@ambaflex.com phone (877) 800 1634

LEADING SPIRAL CONVEYOR SOLUTIONS MODEX BOOTH NR 5118

SMOOTH OPERATION

The difference was immediately noticeable.

First, there was the reduction in “dock shock.” The new
levelers feature what Rite-Hite calls “Smooth Transition”
technology: a shorter crown height (which minimizes the gap
between the dock and lip), a longer leading edge on the lip,
and a constant-radius rear hinge that Bergum says eliminates
the gap between the floor and the leveler. “No longer do you
get the rumble-strip effect,” says Bergum. “You actually glide
across the back of the leveler.”
“The transition from the finish floor to the leveler to the
trailer is just much smoother all around,” says Clark. Damage
and repairs to equipment have dropped to normal mainte-
nance levels, he adds.

In addition, the levelers installed at New Belgium include a safety lip to keep lift trucks from driving off the dock, preventing injury as well as damage to products and vehicles. When the leveler is in stored position, it creates a seven-inch-high barrier. The safety lip will stop a 10,000-pound load moving at four miles an hour, according to Bergum.

Clark says complaints about physical problems have decreased—and productivity has increased. “We’ve had less downtime because of equipment failure,” he reports.

Because of the smoother entry, lift trucks are less subject to jostling as they enter the trailer and are not as likely to hit cases. The result: “There’s been less product that we’ve lost or damaged, so there, again, there’s less downtime for cleanup or restocking,” says Clark.

As for how the trailers are secured to the dock, New Belgium opted for vehicle restraints designed to address all four major types of dock accidents: premature departure of the truck from the dock; truck landing-gear collapse; “trailer creep”— where the trailer gradually moves away from the dock as it’s loaded; and trailer popup, where the trailer can be upended. The device it chose, the Dok-Lok restraint, has a hook that actually comes up and wraps over the top of the rear-impact guard or ICC bar. The unit is also designed to float with the trailer, so it can maintain contact even as the trailer moves up or down during loading or unloading.

For added safety, the vehicle restraint system has been integrated with a communication and control system. After the restraint engages, a red light comes on to signal the truck driver that he or she should not pull away. At the same time, a green light illuminates inside the DC to let the forklift driver know it’s safe to start loading or unloading.

THE VERDICT

Clark says New Belgium has been “extremely pleased” with Rite-Hite and Arbon, as well as with the equipment itself. In fact, the brewer is installing similar Rite-Hite dock levelers in the new distribution center it’s building in Asheville, N.C. And it will do the same at a new Fort Collins DC, which is planned to replace the current leased facility in 2017. Says Clark: “It makes my life easier, so we’ll continue to be partners with Rite-Hite and Arbon and continue putting product out the door.”