What a dock needs, and what this catalog covers
Being clear up front about the scope, so you know what still has to come from somewhere else.
A loading dock concentrates more risk per square foot than almost anywhere else in a building. Trailers shift during loading, forklifts cross an unsupported gap, and pedestrians move through the same lanes as powered equipment. The equipment that manages that risk falls into a few groups, and this guide covers the ones stocked here.
Covered here
What is stocked
- Edge-of-dock levelers, mechanical, hand pump and electric hydraulic
- Steel and aluminum dockboards
- Aluminum dock plates
- Dock gates: swing, expanding, vertical lift, barricade and chain bollard
- Trailer stabilizing jacks
- Stretch wrap machines and film
- Driver access cages and pallet handling tools
Not stocked
What is not
- Pit-style recessed dock levelers
- Vehicle restraints
- Dock seals and shelters
- Dock bumpers as a separate item
- Wheel chocks
- Dock lights and communication systems
- Yard ramps
Wheel chocks and vehicle restraints are not decoration. As Section Three and Section Nine set out, OSHA requires measures to stop the transport vehicle moving while employees are on the dockboard. If you are buying a dockboard from this catalog, the chocks or restraints have to come from somewhere, and that needs to be on the plan rather than discovered later. See Section Twelve.
Related guides: the Barriers & Machine Guarding guide covers guard rail and bollards around the dock area, and the Wire Partitions & Security Cages guide covers driver access cages. To browse, see dock equipment.
Bridging the gap: three products, one decision
The most important page in this guide.
Three products get a load from a dock into a trailer. They look similar in a catalog and they are not equivalent. The distinction that matters is what crosses them and how they are rated, not whether they are portable.
| Dockboard | Dock plate | Edge-of-dock leveler | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forklift rated | Yes | No. Published as not intended for use with fork trucks | Yes |
| Run-off protection | Welded safety curbs on both steel and aluminum | None published | None published. Discuss 1910.26(b)(1) with your safety officer for a permanently mounted unit |
| Portable | Yes, with locking legs, and a lever lift on the steel boards | Yes, with bolt-on legs and handles on each side | No. Permanently attached to the dock face |
| Capacity as listed | 5,000 to 25,000 lb | 1,400 to 11,900 lb | 6,000 to 30,000 lb |
| Typical traffic | Forklifts and pallet trucks | Hand trucks, carts, foot traffic | Forklifts, continuous use |
| Suits a dock that | Receives varying trailer heights, or bridges occasionally | Handles light manual loads only | Receives consistent trailer heights on a regular schedule |
A dock plate is not a small dockboard. The published product description states plainly that these dock plates are not intended for use with fork trucks. They carry no safety curbs, and their published capacities, which run from 1,400 to 11,900 lb depending on size and thickness, are calculated for distributed manual loads rather than the concentrated wheel loads a forklift applies. A high number on a dock plate is not a forklift rating.
If a forklift crosses it, you need a dockboard or an edge-of-dock leveler. There is no third answer.
How to decide
What OSHA 1910.26 actually requires
Five short paragraphs that govern every dockboard purchase.
Dockboards have their own OSHA standard. It is brief, it is prescriptive, and it is worth reading in full before you buy, because two of its five requirements are things you buy rather than things you do.
| Citation | Requirement |
|---|---|
| (a) | Dockboards are capable of supporting the maximum intended load in accordance with 1910.22(b) |
| (b)(1) | Dockboards put into initial service on or after January 17, 2017 are designed, constructed and maintained to prevent transfer vehicles from running off the dockboard edge |
| (b)(2) | Where the employer demonstrates there is no hazard of transfer vehicles running off the edge, dockboards without run-off protection may be used |
| (c) | Portable dockboards are secured by anchoring them in place or using equipment or devices that prevent the dockboard from moving out of a safe position. When the employer demonstrates that securing the dockboard is not feasible, the employer must ensure there is sufficient contact between the dockboard and the surface to prevent it moving out of a safe position |
| (d) | Measures, such as wheel chocks or sand shoes, are used to prevent the transport vehicle from moving while employees are on the dockboard |
| (e) | Portable dockboards are equipped with handholds or other means to permit safe handling of dockboards |
What each one means when you are buying
You will see that phrase on product listings across this industry. OSHA does not certify, approve or list products. What the phrase reasonably means is that the product was built with the requirements above in mind. Whether your installation complies depends on how it is used: whether the capacity covers your actual load, whether the vehicle is chocked, and whether the board is secured in position. Those are your responsibilities, not the manufacturer's.
Reading the model numbers
Four families, four schemes, all of them readable once you know the pattern.
Every dock product family here encodes its specification into the part number, and the patterns hold consistently across the listings. Learn them and a price list stops being opaque.
- PE
- Actuation: power electric. FM is mechanical, PP is hydraulic hand pump
- 30
- Capacity in thousands of pounds, so 30,000 lb
- 72
- Usable width in inches
| Family | Pattern | Worked example |
|---|---|---|
| Edge-of-dock levelers | [FM|PP|PE]-[capacity in thousands][width] | FM-2078 is mechanical, 20,000 lb, 78 in. wide |
| Steel dockboards | TS-[capacity in thousands]-[width][length] | TS-25-7248 is 25,000 lb, 72 in. wide by 48 in. long |
| Aluminum dockboards | BTA-[capacity, five digits][width][length] | BTA-20007236 is 20,000 lb, 72 by 36 in. |
| Aluminum dock plates | [E|EH]-[width][length] | E-4836 is 3/8 in. plate, 48 by 36 in. EH-4836 is the 1/2 in. version |
The dock plate scheme has no capacity in it at all, because capacity is a function of the plate thickness and the span. E is 3/8 in. plate and EH is 1/2 in. The same 48 by 24 in. size is published at 5,200 lb as an E and 8,200 lb as an EH. If you need more capacity at a given size, the answer is the heavier plate, not a different size.
PP-2566 encodes a 66 in. width but is listed with a 72 in. usable width, matching PP-2572. One of the two is a typographical error. Confirm the width on the quote before ordering that model.
Gate model numbers
The gates use shorter prefixes: SDG swivel dock gate, SSG economical safety swing gate, SLG safety lift gate, DJG dock barricade gate, DCBB dock chain bollard barrier, EXGATE and ALEXGATE and PEXGATE for the expanding gates in steel, aluminum and plastic. On the expanding gates, -C adds casters and -W adds a wall mount with a caster.
Two different products in this catalog use an SSG prefix. The Vestil economical safety swing gates are SSG-9 and SSG-11 with a hyphen. The Illinois Engineered folding security gates run SSG465 through SSG1180 without one. They are different manufacturers and completely different products, and both are reachable from the dock equipment pages. Always confirm the brand alongside the part number.
Sizing the capacity
Where undersizing happens, and it is not where people look.
OSHA 1910.26(a) requires the dockboard to support the maximum intended load. The mistake is reading that as the weight of the pallet. It is not.
- Forklift
- The truck's own service weight, which for a common counterbalance truck is often heavier than the load it carries
- Load
- The heaviest pallet that will cross, not the average
- Operator
- Included in the total
Do not estimate it. Every powered industrial truck carries a data plate with its service weight, and counterbalance trucks are heavy precisely because they are counterbalanced, so the truck itself is frequently heavier than anything it carries. Read the plate, add the heaviest load, add the operator, then buy above that figure.
Published capacity by product family
| Family | Capacities listed | Widths | Lengths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edge-of-dock levelers | 6,000 to 30,000 lb | 48, 66, 72, 78 in. | Fixed to dock face |
| Steel dockboards | 10,000 to 25,000 lb | 60, 72, 84 in. | 36 to 72 in. |
| Aluminum dockboards | 5,000 to 20,000 lb | 60, 72, 78, 84 in. | 30 to 84 in. |
| Aluminum dock plates | 1,400 to 11,900 lb | 30, 36, 48, 60, 72 in. | 24 to 60 in. |
These are the ranges across each family, not a promise that every capacity exists at every size. On the aluminum dockboards in particular, availability is uneven: the 84 in. width is published at 6,000 lb only, and the 72 by 72 in. size at 15,000 lb only. Check the specific size and capacity combination rather than assuming the grid is complete.
Length, and why it matters more than it looks
Dockboard length sets the height difference the board can bridge at a safe grade. The published pairings on the steel boards are consistent: a 36 in. board is rated for a 5 in. height difference, a 48 in. board for 7 in., a 60 in. board for 10 in., and a 72 in. board for 12 in.
Measure the actual difference between your dock and the trailer beds you receive, at the extremes rather than the average. A board that is fine for most trailers and too steep for the low ones is a board that gets used on the low ones anyway.
Edge-of-dock levelers
Permanent, always there, and the cheapest route to a levelled dock without a pit.
An edge-of-dock leveler bolts permanently to the face of the dock. There is no concrete recess to cut, nothing to fetch and position, and nothing to store. For a door that receives the same trailer height on a regular schedule, it is the right answer and it is far cheaper than a pit installation.
The three actuations
FM
Mechanical
The operator places the actuation handle into the pocket of the inner lip, pulls it down toward the floor, then pushes the handle forward until the lip rests on the truck bed.
Buy it for lower volume doors where the manual effort is acceptable and the budget is tight.
PP
Hydraulic hand pump
A hand pump lifts the leveler and extends the lip. Published as including wall-mount brackets, cylinder, 15 ft of hydraulic line and oil.
Buy it for doors where the manual lift is too much but there is no convenient power.
PE
Electric hydraulic
Published as the easiest to operate: back the truck against the dock, then push and hold the control button. Standard 115V single phase.
Buy it for high volume doors, and anywhere the manual versions will be worked around.
A mechanical leveler on a door running fifty trailers a day is a leveler people stop using properly. The price gap between mechanical and electric is real but modest against the cost of a single incident, and the electric version removes the manual effort that is the reason corners get cut. Match the actuation to how often the door actually runs.
What else is published
- Ramping is published at 29 in. standard, 29-13/16 in. on the 30,000 lb capacity units, with 36-5/8 in. available for minor grades.
- Service range is published as 5 in. above and below dock height on the model checked.
- Overall width exceeds usable width. The 66 in. model checked is published at 93 in. overall, so 27 in. wider than the usable deck. Check this against your door opening.
- Dock bumpers are included, published at 2 by 8 by 18 in.
- The lip retracts automatically when the trailer departs.
- A steel dock edge or approach ramp is required, and the dock should be at least 48 in. high.
Lip length and unit weight do not appear on the family pages or the individual listings. Lip length determines how far the leveler reaches onto the trailer bed, which matters when trailers do not back tight to the dock. If it matters to your application, ask for it in writing before ordering.
Steel or aluminum dockboards
The same job in two materials, with a real trade between them.
Both families are forklift rated, both carry welded safety curbs for run-off protection, and both use locking legs. The choice between them is weight against capacity.
| Steel | Aluminum | |
|---|---|---|
| Prefix | TS | BTA |
| Capacities listed | 10,000 to 25,000 lb | 5,000 to 20,000 lb |
| Widths | 60, 72, 84 in. | 60, 72, 78, 84 in. |
| Lengths | 36 to 72 in. | 30 to 84 in. |
| Material | High strength 55,000 psi steel, diamond plate deck | Aluminum |
| Handling | Locking legs, plus a lever lift for fork truck portability | Locking legs, positioned for fork truck pickup |
Both families share the same geometry: an 11 degree bend located 9 in. from the beveled edge, with legs 12 in. from the edge of the board. The steel boards publish beveled edges on both ends for smooth entry and exit, and legs described as uneven so the board sits canted for easier pickup by a fork truck when not in use.
Aluminum is lighter to handle and reaches longer lengths, up to 84 in. against 72 in. on steel. Steel reaches higher capacity, to 25,000 lb against 20,000 lb, and takes more abuse. If the board gets moved between doors by hand as well as by fork truck, the weight difference is felt every day. If it lives at one door and carries heavy traffic, steel is the more durable choice.
The published price tables in this category contain several inconsistencies, including places where a higher capacity lists below a lower one at the same size, and at least one price that appears to be off by a factor of ten. Do not select a model on published price alone. Get the quote confirmed for the exact part number.
Dock plates, and where they must not go
A useful product with one hard limit.
Aluminum dock plates are the light-duty option: 23 published sizes in two thicknesses, with bolt-on zinc-plated legs and handles on each side for portability. They are the right tool for hand trucks, carts and foot traffic crossing a modest gap.
These dock plates are not intended for use with fork trucks. That is a published statement, not an interpretation. A dock plate has no safety curbs and its capacities are calculated for manual traffic. If a forklift needs to cross, buy a dockboard from Section Seven.
Thickness sets the capacity
The E series is 3/8 in. plate and the EH series is 1/2 in. The same footprint in the heavier plate carries substantially more. A 48 by 24 in. plate is published at 5,200 lb as an E and 8,200 lb as an EH; a 72 by 24 in. is 6,500 lb against 11,900 lb.
Capacity falls fast as the span grows
This is the counterintuitive part and it catches people out. Capacity drops sharply with length, because a longer plate is a longer unsupported span. On the 3/8 in. series, a 30 in. wide plate is published at 3,000 lb at 24 in. long and 1,400 lb at 48 in. long. Same width, same thickness, less than half the capacity.
Every extra inch of length costs capacity. Measure the actual gap, add a safe overlap at each end, and buy to that rather than buying long for flexibility. If you need both length and capacity, that is the 1/2 in. EH series, or it is a dockboard.
The 60 by 60 in. plate is listed at 3,700 lb in both the 3/8 in. and 1/2 in. versions, where every other size pair shows the heavier plate carrying substantially more. And one 72 by 24 in. listing shows a 9 in. height where every comparable plate is 3 in. Confirm both on the quote if either is the size you need.
Securing the trailer
Two separate hazards, two separate regulations, and one product stocked here.
A trailer at a dock can fail in two ways. It can roll or creep away from the dock while a forklift is crossing, and it can upend nose-first when it is not coupled to a tractor. OSHA addresses both, and they need different equipment.
Trailer creep and rollaway
"The brakes of highway trucks shall be set and wheel chocks placed under the rear wheels to prevent the trucks from rolling while they are boarded with powered industrial trucks."
"Brakes shall be set and wheel blocks shall be in place to prevent movement of trucks, trailers, or railroad cars while loading or unloading."
Read alongside 1910.26(d), which requires measures such as wheel chocks or sand shoes on dockboards, the requirement is consistent and unambiguous. Wheel chocks are not stocked here, and neither are vehicle restraints. If you are buying dockboards or levelers from this catalog, source the chocks separately and put them on the same requisition. The regulation names chocks and sand shoes as examples rather than the only permitted measure, but whatever you use has to be in place before a truck boards a trailer, and it has to exist before the dock goes into service.
Trailer upending
"Fixed jacks may be necessary to support a semitrailer and prevent upending during the loading or unloading when the trailer is not coupled to a tractor."
This is what the trailer stabilizing jacks in this catalog are for. They are published as designed to prevent the up-ending of semi-trailers when they are not connected to a tractor, in capacities from 5,000 to 50,000 lb across fourteen models. A 40,000 lb model is published with an adjustment range of roughly 39-1/2 to 51 in.
Trailer stabilizing jacks and vehicle restraints solve different problems and do not substitute for each other. A jack stops the trailer nose dropping when a heavy forklift travels toward the front of an uncoupled trailer. It does not stop the trailer rolling away from the dock. You need chocks or a restraint for that, whether or not you have jacks.
What a drop-frame or low trailer needs
Jack selection is driven by the height range, not only the capacity. Measure the underside height of the trailers you actually receive, at their extremes, and pick a jack whose adjustment range covers them. The published models span a wide range of capacities and heights, so this is a specification question rather than a one-size purchase.
Gates and the open dock door
An open dock door with no trailer at it is a fall hazard at the height of the dock.
The gate families here cover four mechanisms, and the right one depends on the opening width, how often it is operated, and whether anything drives at it.
| Family | Mechanism | Sizes listed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SDG swivel dock gate | Swing on bollard pivots | 8, 9 and 10 ft, 42 in. tall | Sold in pairs, on 5-1/2 in. bollards |
| SSG economical swing gate | Swing, wheel supported | 108 and 132 in. openings | 46-1/4 in. top rail with a 25 in. mid-rail |
| SLG safety lift gate | Vertical lift, self folding, gas strut | 6, 8 and 10 ft | Needs headroom: raised height runs 111 to 159 in. |
| DJG dock barricade gate | Powered barrier arm | 8 and 10 ft doors | Electric hydraulic, or hand crank on the MW version |
| DCBB chain bollard barrier | Double chain between bollards | 42 in. high, 10 ft door | Chains at 21 and 41 in. |
| EXGATE / ALEXGATE | Expanding scissor | 139 in. wide, 38 in. high base | Steel or aluminum. Caster and wall-mount variants sit slightly taller |
| PEXGATE | Expanding scissor | 122 in. wide, 38 in. high | Moulded plastic with reflectors |
An expanding gate is a visual and physical reminder to a person on foot. It is not a vehicle barrier. Where the risk is a forklift driving through the opening, the barricade gate is the family built for it, published as able to stop a 4,000 lb loaded truck travelling at 4 mph. Buying an expanding gate for an impact risk is buying the wrong product.
The safety lift gates fold upward and their published raised heights run from 111 to 159 in. depending on width. That is 9 to 13 ft of clear height needed above the door. Measure before ordering, particularly under a mezzanine or a sprinkler main.
Stretch wrapping at the dock
Six machines across three formats.
Stretch wrappers sit in this category because the dock is usually where loads get wrapped before shipping. The published range covers semi-automatic turntable machines, an automatic machine and a mobile unit.
| Model | Type | Published detail |
|---|---|---|
| SWM-SA-0600 | Semi-automatic, low profile | Three wrap cycles, photo-eye height sensing, powered turntable and mast |
| SWM-SA-0800 | Semi-automatic | 4,400 lb capacity, 86 in. maximum wrap height, electromagnetic film tension, 150% stretch |
| SWM-SA-850PS | Semi-automatic, powered pre-stretch | 250% powered pre-stretch, 86 in. height, 18 custom cycles, rack and pinion carriage |
| SWM-SA-1200UL | Ultra low profile | Ultra-low frame, published as 0.75 in. on the family page and 0.70 in. on the individual listing. No ramp required, 250% pre-stretch, published at around 200 pallets a day |
| SWM-SA-1100AA-C | Automatic | Automatic film attach, seal and cut, remote control standard, published at around 300 cycles a day |
| SWM-MR-3000 | Mobile | For long, heavy or unstable pallet loads. Touchscreen control |
The published pre-stretch figures are the number to compare. A machine stretching film 250% uses substantially less film per pallet than one at 150%, and on a dock wrapping a couple of hundred pallets a day the film cost difference compounds quickly. If volume is high, price the machines on film consumption rather than purchase price alone.
Note that the mobile unit solves a different problem. Where loads are too long, too heavy or too unstable to go on a turntable, the machine travels around the load rather than the load rotating. That is a specification decision driven by what you ship, not by volume.
Prices are published on the individual machine listings but not on the family page, so if you are comparing from the category view you will need to open each one. Either way, have your pallets per day, maximum load height and weight, and whether the loads are stable ready when you call, because those decide the format before price does.
What this catalog does not carry
Said plainly, because a dock project needs these whether or not they are on this site.
A complete loading dock includes equipment that is not stocked here. Rather than leave you to discover that at the end of a project, here is the list and what each one does.
| Product | What it does | Why you may still need it |
|---|---|---|
| Wheel chocks | Physically block the trailer wheels | Required by 1910.178(k)(1) and referenced by 1910.26(d). Source these alongside any dockboard purchase |
| Vehicle restraints | Mechanically lock the trailer to the dock | The engineered alternative to chocks on a busy dock, and harder to skip than a chock |
| Pit-style dock levelers | Recessed leveler flush with the dock floor | Where an edge-of-dock unit cannot give the service range or the traffic is very heavy |
| Dock seals and shelters | Close the gap around the trailer | Energy cost, weather, and keeping product dry during transfer |
| Dock bumpers | Absorb trailer impact on the dock face | Supplied with the edge-of-dock levelers, but not sold separately for replacement |
| Dock lights | Light the inside of the trailer | Trailer interiors are dark and that is where people work |
| Dock communication systems | Signal lights telling a driver when it is safe to pull away | Signals to the driver when it is safe to pull away, so a trailer does not leave while a forklift is still inside it |
| Yard ramps | Portable ramp for ground-level loading | Where there is no dock at all, or an overflow door |
Everything else on that list is a project decision. Wheel chocks are a regulatory requirement any time a powered industrial truck boards a trailer. If a dockboard is going into service and no chocks are on the order, the installation is not ready to use. Put them on the same purchase order so nobody has to remember later.
If any of these are part of your project, tell us at quote stage. We can advise on what fits alongside what is stocked here even where the item itself comes from elsewhere.
Common and costly mistakes
Twelve things that go wrong on dock equipment orders.
- Running a forklift over a dock plate. The published description says they are not intended for fork trucks. No capacity number changes that, because they have no safety curbs and the ratings are manual-traffic ratings.
- Sizing capacity from the pallet weight. The maximum intended load is the forklift plus the load plus the operator. Read the truck's service weight off its data plate.
- Ordering a dockboard with no wheel chocks. OSHA requires measures to stop the vehicle moving. Chocks are not stocked here and not supplied with the board, so they have to be on the order separately.
- Buying a long dock plate for flexibility. Capacity falls sharply with length. A 30 in. wide plate drops from 3,000 lb at 24 in. long to 1,400 lb at 48 in. Buy the shortest plate that spans the gap.
- Assuming every capacity exists at every size. Availability is uneven, particularly on the aluminum dockboards where the widest size is published at one capacity only.
- Measuring the average trailer height difference. Measure the extremes. Board length is matched to height difference, and the low trailers are the ones that create the steep grade.
- Ignoring the overall width of an edge-of-dock leveler. Overall width exceeds usable width by a substantial margin. Check it against the door opening before ordering.
- Choosing a mechanical leveler for a high-volume door. The manual effort is why operators start working around it. Match the actuation to the traffic.
- Specifying a lift gate without checking headroom. Published raised heights run to 159 in., so up to 13 ft of clear height above the door.
- Using an expanding gate where a vehicle might hit it. Expanding gates are pedestrian barriers. Impact resistance is what the barricade gate family is for.
- Confusing a trailer jack with a restraint. A jack prevents upending. It does not stop the trailer rolling away from the dock.
- Selecting on published price alone. Several price inconsistencies exist in this category, including capacity and price running in opposite directions. Confirm the price for the exact part number on a quote.
Frequently asked questions
The questions that come up most often on dock equipment quotes.
What is the difference between a dockboard and a dock plate?
Load class and forklift rating, not portability. Both are portable. A dockboard is forklift rated and carries welded safety curbs to stop a wheel running off the edge, with capacities from 5,000 to 25,000 pounds as listed here. A dock plate is published as not intended for use with fork trucks, has no safety curbs, and its capacities from 1,400 to 11,900 pounds are calculated for hand trucks, carts and foot traffic. If a forklift crosses it, you need a dockboard.
Can I use a dock plate with a forklift if the capacity looks high enough?
No. The manufacturer publishes that these dock plates are not intended for use with fork trucks. The capacity figures are calculated for distributed manual loads, not for the concentrated wheel loads a forklift applies, and the plates have no run-off protection. Buy a dockboard or an edge-of-dock leveler instead.
What capacity dockboard do I need?
Add the forklift's service weight, the heaviest load it will carry, and the operator, then buy above that total. The forklift is usually the largest component and it is the one people leave out, because a counterbalance truck is frequently heavier than the load it carries. Its service weight is printed on its data plate, so read it rather than estimating. A 3,000 pound pallet on a 9,000 pound truck is a 12,000 pound crossing load, not a 3,000 pound one.
What does OSHA require for dockboards?
29 CFR 1910.26 sets five requirements. The dockboard must support the maximum intended load. Dockboards put into initial service on or after January 17, 2017 must be designed, constructed and maintained to prevent transfer vehicles running off the edge, unless the employer demonstrates no such hazard exists. Portable dockboards must be secured by anchoring or by devices that prevent movement out of a safe position. Measures such as wheel chocks or sand shoes must prevent the transport vehicle moving while employees are on the dockboard. And portable dockboards must have handholds or another means for safe handling.
Do I need wheel chocks?
Yes, any time a powered industrial truck boards a trailer. OSHA 1910.178(k)(1) requires the brakes set and wheel chocks placed under the rear wheels, and 1910.178(m)(7) requires brakes set and wheel blocks in place while loading or unloading. 1910.26(d) requires measures such as wheel chocks or sand shoes on dockboards. Chocks are not stocked here, so source them alongside the dockboard rather than after.
How do I read a Vestil dock model number?
Edge-of-dock levelers run actuation, capacity in thousands, then usable width, so PE-3072 is power electric, 30,000 pounds, 72 inches. FM is mechanical and PP is hydraulic hand pump. Steel dockboards run TS, capacity in thousands, then width and length, so TS-25-7248 is 25,000 pounds at 72 by 48 inches. Aluminum dockboards run BTA then a five-digit capacity, width and length, so BTA-20007236 is 20,000 pounds at 72 by 36 inches. Dock plates encode size only, with E for 3/8 inch plate and EH for 1/2 inch, so E-4836 is a 3/8 inch plate 48 by 36 inches.
Steel or aluminum dockboard?
Steel reaches higher capacity, to 25,000 pounds against 20,000, and takes more abuse. Aluminum is lighter to handle and reaches longer lengths, to 84 inches against 72. If the board stays at one door under heavy traffic, steel. If it gets moved between doors and handled by people as well as fork trucks, aluminum. Both are forklift rated and both carry welded safety curbs.
When should I choose an edge-of-dock leveler instead of a dockboard?
When the door receives consistent trailer heights on a regular schedule and volume is high. The leveler is permanently attached to the dock face, so there is nothing to fetch, position or store, and it needs no concrete recess. A dockboard is better where trailer heights vary widely or where bridging is occasional and one board can serve several doors. Edge-of-dock levelers are published as suiting docks at least 48 inches high.
Mechanical, hand pump or electric leveler?
Match it to the traffic. Mechanical requires the operator to place a handle in the lip pocket, pull it down and push it forward, which is fine at lower volume. The hand pump version removes the lifting effort and ships with wall brackets, cylinder, 15 feet of hydraulic line and oil. Electric is published as the easiest: back the truck in, then push and hold the button. On a busy door, the manual effort on the cheaper versions is exactly why people start working around them.
What length dockboard do I need?
Length is matched to the height difference between your dock and the trailer bed. The published steel dockboard pairings are 36 inches for a 5 inch difference, 48 inches for 7 inches, 60 inches for 10 inches and 72 inches for 12 inches. Measure the extremes of the trailers you actually receive, not the average, because the low trailers create the steepest grade and they are the ones that matter.
Do trailer stabilizing jacks replace wheel chocks?
No. They solve different problems. A jack supports an uncoupled semitrailer and prevents it upending when a heavy forklift travels toward the nose, which is what OSHA 1910.178(k)(3) contemplates. Chocks prevent the trailer rolling away from the dock. You need chocks whether or not you have jacks.
Which gate should I use at an open dock door?
Depends on what might come at it. Swing gates and expanding gates are pedestrian barriers and visual reminders. Where a forklift could drive through the opening, the dock barricade gate is the family built for impact, published as able to stop a 4,000 pound loaded truck at 4 miles per hour. Safety lift gates fold upward and need substantial headroom, with published raised heights up to 159 inches, so check the clear height above the door before ordering one.
Quick-reference tables
Everything above, condensed.
Model number decoder
| Family | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Edge-of-dock leveler | [FM|PP|PE]-[capacity][width] | PE-3072 electric, 30,000 lb, 72 in. |
| Steel dockboard | TS-[capacity]-[width][length] | TS-25-7248 25,000 lb, 72 by 48 in. |
| Aluminum dockboard | BTA-[capacity][width][length] | BTA-20007236 20,000 lb, 72 by 36 in. |
| Aluminum dock plate | [E|EH]-[width][length] | EH-4836 1/2 in. plate, 48 by 36 in. |
Choosing the gap bridge
| If | Buy |
|---|---|
| A forklift crosses | Dockboard or edge-of-dock leveler. Never a dock plate |
| Hand trucks and carts only | Dock plate, shortest length that spans the gap |
| Same trailer height daily, high volume | Edge-of-dock leveler, electric actuation |
| Trailer heights vary widely | Dockboard, length matched to the largest height difference |
| Several doors, occasional bridging | Shared dockboards rather than a leveler per door |
| Heavy traffic at one door | Steel dockboard, or an electric leveler |
| Board handled by people | Aluminum dockboard |
Regulatory reference
| Requirement | Source |
|---|---|
| Dockboard supports the maximum intended load | 29 CFR 1910.26(a) |
| Run-off protection on dockboards in service since 17 Jan 2017 | 1910.26(b)(1) |
| Portable dockboards secured against movement | 1910.26(c) |
| Wheel chocks or sand shoes to stop vehicle movement | 1910.26(d) |
| Handholds for safe handling | 1910.26(e) |
| Brakes set and chocks under rear wheels when boarded | 1910.178(k)(1) |
| Brakes set and wheel blocks in place while loading | 1910.178(m)(7) |
| Fixed jacks to prevent upending of an uncoupled semitrailer | 1910.178(k)(3) |