Is a loading dock rental good for your business?

The first thought you have when you need a loading dock is where you can buy one, but a loading dock rental may be a better solution for your business. Rentals can mitigate the cost of maintenance, and you don’t have to deal with depreciation of assets. Rentals can be long-term or short-term. One of the major benefits of choosing to rent is you can change the equipment capacity you have on hand easily. The downside is you have to be on top of your scheduling to make sure you can have your rental in place when you need it.

What type of ramp are you looking for?
The first thing to figure out is what type of rental ramp you need, and what you need it for. Think beyond the immediate need of loading or unloading for one specific project or job and look to what you could do with the rental on site. Renting a ramp for two days, rather than one working day, may let you unload one truck – but with a portable loading docks you can then move the ramp to push other jobs along faster. Really consider what you could get done with a ramp on-site before determining what type you need. You also need to think through the weight capacity and length of the ramp, as well as what type of equipment it may need to handle.

Do you need to rent equipment too?
It can be easier to rent equipment for loading along with the ramp rather than trying to use your own. The rental service will have a better idea of what will work best, and you can also access a different class of equipment than your own. Your fork truck may be able to do the job, but it may be worth it to spend the extra money to rent a loading crawler you can use with the ramp. It is partially about increasing your efficiency with the rental, but also about reducing risk of injury. If you don’t have a ramp, then chances are the equipment you have on hand isn’t ideal for the job either.

Who picks up and delivers?
You need to be clear about who has the responsibility for picking up and delivering the loading ramp rental both ways. If it is the rental service doing this, make sure you know what to expect. If they send a flatbed tractor trailer that requires the ramp to be offloaded with a crane, you had better have one. Make sure you communicate your capabilities in this instance. The service agency can most likely send out a truck with a lift that will work, but don’t assume that they send out the most viable transport option.

Renting can be the best solution, even long term
As mentioned earlier, a long-term loading dock rental can be an ideal solution to give your yard the equipment it needs to function well without breaking your operations budget. You won’t have to deal with depreciation and repair work, and there is less of an outlay in finances which can help keep your money where you need it. It also makes it easier and more economical to upgrade your ramps when you need to do so.

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Know the available range of forklift equipment to make sure you are prepared

Being efficient in your operations is about making sure that your team has what they need to perform their work safely and quickly. A forklift is a necessity in any yard or loading area, and making sure you have the right forklift equipment will save you time and trouble in the end. A base forklift cannot do it all; trying to use a base model for everything can put your safety record at risk and slow down operations. Here is an overview of the types of equipment available for your site.

Order pickers
Order pickers are a necessity, even if the height of your stock isn’t exceeding average shoulder reach. These are chain driven extended fork systems that are integrated into an attached rack. It is better to use an order picker than plain forks as they are constructed to take into account the effect of weight at height, reducing safety concerns.

Lifting cages
Lifting cages are a must-have for dealing with small items. While they may come boxed and wrapped, the packaging usually falls apart. These wire style cages have a solid bottom with receiving slots for the forks so you can lift items easily. It can also be a good choice if you need to lift up working material. You can fill the cage, or just use it as a safety cage for lifting individual items. Lifting cages are not designed to be used as work platforms. Work platforms are specific to their intended use.

Work platforms
Work platforms are available for forklifts. These platforms are designed to meet current safety standards and regulations to allow workers to use the forklift as a scaffold platform. Make sure you are aware of all the additional requirements for use, such as fall equipment and training. Check with both state and local safety offices for which regulations apply to their use, and what activities are permitted from the work platform.

Roll Carriers
Roll carriers can work for anything from pipes to carpets. They allow you to safely load and transport long rolls. There are also specially designed roll carries for lifts with higher reach extensions. These can be essential to speeding up your operations. While just about every forklift operator has devised their own way of carrying rolls, the time spend jerry-rigging regular forks to carry the load safely means time lost in operations. Better to invest in the equipment designed to do the job right so you don’t lose time on the floor just getting things to work.

Extensions and more
Fork extensions are one of the most common types of forklift equipment to have on hand. Even if you don’t think that you need them, having an extended fork pair is something you will be glad you invested in. Other common accessories that should be in your tool box include tool boxes, safety nets and cargo strapping devices. There are also some chain fall cages designed for use with forklifts that can come in handy. You should also invest in some safety posters and books to make sure your personnel stay up to date on safe operations and maintenance protocols.

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What capacity do you really need in your steel yard ramps?

The capacity of your steel yard ramps means more than just the amount of weight they can carry. Capacity also refers to the type of motion they can handle – from walking to driving to being able to use lifting machines, capacity can be very different in each instance. Capacity and load type can combine to change what you are looking for in your yard ramps a great deal. Taking the time to figure it out first can help you be prepared for anything.

Know the range of your load

The range of your load needs to go from the lightest use you expect on the ramp, to the heaviest. Don’t ignore the light use – such as a single person using the ramp to walk onto a platform. That light weight use is going determine the type of tread that you need on your ramps. A sanded tread can keep workers safe on the ramp, a metal tread can be better for just tire traction. You should also consider your seasons and the elements the ramps will be exposed to when selecting their material and tread type.

What width?

Width is important. You can opt for individual track style ramps that will catch the tires of the equipment, but in most cases, yard work requires a full deck ramp. The width needs to accommodate the machine used to get on and off the platform, even if that machine is just a manual wheelbarrow. It should also be wide enough to hold the machine and allow for a worker to stand on each side of it. That is the ideal, but not always a possible reality. You do want at least 6 inches on each side of the wheel since it is rare that loads are carried off perfectly straight.

Height and reach

It goes almost without saying to make sure that the height of your yard ramps can meet the expected height of the truck bed or platform. You need to make sure that you take into account any differences in height that can occur from a truck bed being under load as well. The one thing that most people skip in an effort to save out of pocket expense is buying the ramp with the right reach. Reach is the length of the steel yard ramps from apex to ground. The longer the reach, the gentler the slope. This isn’t just about being gentle, reach will determine what type of machine, and how much it can carry on the ramp. Make sure to have your engineers check, or use the online charts to select the right reach for your expected workload.

Portable or standing?

The last thing you need to determine about your steel yard ramps is whether or not they should be portable or standing. Portable can mean many different things. A portable ramp may be hinged so it can fold, or come apart in sections, or even have wheels on it for ease of transport. Portable doesn’t always mean that it can be lifted by hand or transported in a small pickup. Standing, or fixed, ramps also come in a large variety. There are free standing ones with feet cast into the supports, and there are ones in which you have to provide a concrete footing to install too.

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Used Steel Yard Ramps Come with All the Benefits and Less of the Cost

If your company relies on trailer trucks to make deliveries and/or pickups, you have a lot of options for boosting the process’ efficiency. Many companies, for example, have a loading dock or two installed to make it easier for workers to move items in and out of the trucks. Whether you go this route or not, steel yard ramps can truly augment the entire process, despite their simplicity and basic design. If you decide to go with used steel yard ramps, you can get all the benefits with far less of the cost.

 About Steel Yard Ramps

 

Steel yard ramps are pretty much exactly what they sound like. They are steel ramps used to assist in loading and unloading trucks. This sounds simple enough, but once you begin taking advantage of this handy apparatus, you’ll have a hard time believing you ever made do without it.

That’s because these ramps come with or provide a number of benefits that make processing a truck just about as simple and fast as it can be.

Adjustable

For one thing, most steel yard ramps are adjustable in height. That means they can access a truck bed that’s five feet off the ground just as easily as they could one that was only four feet off the ground. If you’re relying solely on a loading dock, these different truck heights will be problematic, to say the least.

Durable

The material says it all. Steel yard ramps can put up a fight against all types of conditions. Whether your warehouse is located in an area with an unfavorable climate, or we’re just talking about all the foot and wheel traffic it will see, steel yard ramps are as durable as they get. That’s why used steel yard ramps are such a good investment. Between their simple design and steel build, it’s not like buying some other piece of equipment with intricacies that need to be examined in depth.

Forklift Access

If you’re currently without a loading dock, a steel yard ramp is going to change your business for the better in a dramatic way. This is simply because they allow forklifts access to trailer trucks. Imagine how much faster one can get unloaded as opposed to just using (and paying for) workers to do it.

Even if you do have a loading dock, consider the above example with height differentials. One issue that differences in height could cause is keeping a forklift from entering. With a steel yard ramp handy, this problem is no more.

Mobile

Lastly, steel yard ramps are a mobile solution. They’re not permanent like loading docks. So you can apply them wherever your truck is or with whichever loading dock needs the help. No loading problem is out of reach of these amazing devices.

If your loading procedure doesn’t currently involve a steel yard ramp, you’re missing out on all the benefits listed above. Fortunately, cost doesn’t need to keep you from experiencing them. Thanks to used steel yard ramps, you can get all the benefits you want for far less money.

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Texas Steel Yard Ramps Make Loading and Unloading a Breeze

When you look at a truck full of products or even vehicles, the phrase, “This won’t take long,” probably doesn’t come to mind. Quite the opposite, you probably see a lot of hours’ worth of backbreaking labor. That is, unless you have a steel yard ramp working in your favor. In Texas, steel yard ramps help countless businesses get their trucks unloaded efficiently and without putting their workers at risk. They can certainly do the same for you.

Steel Design

A Texas yard ramp made from anything but steel should cause you to raise an eyebrow or two. Unloading heavy objects is no easy task for a ramp. It may require a number of different vehicles for the job too. Forklifts, for example, aren’t known for being gentle. So any ramp not made of steel is going to have a hard time fending off all the wear and tear that will be inflicted on it over the years.

Easy Manual Unloading and Loading

Loading and unloading a truck is never easy work, especially when you’re doing it manually. However, it’s a lot harder and a lot more dangerous if you don’t have a steel yard ramp helping you out. The labor alone can be far more intensive, especially where the back is concerned. If you form an assembly line, one person needs to bend down to hand off items to the person below. That person then needs to lift up and cushion the weight of the object as they bring it down.

Great for Loading Docks

Some of you may not think they’re necessary for your company in Texas. Steel yard ramps may seem superfluous if you’re dealing with a loading dock. The problem is these docks aren’t always a perfect solution. Unless you always have a truck that lines up perfectly to the dock, you’ll eventually run into an issue. The transition over that divide can become compromised, leaving you with either a process that is going to take much longer, will be less safe or both.

If your company has a yard ramp to use, though, all of a sudden this isn’t an issue at all. Just connect the ramp and get to work like you normally would. Problem solved.

Of course, there are many other times your loading dock may not be up to the task, but a yard ramp is. If something happens to the loading dock – for example, or if it’s in use for a prolonged period of time – you’ll be glad you have a steel yard ramp at your disposal.

Mobility on Demand

Best of all, despite being made of steel, many of these yard ramps are extremely mobile. A company in Texas with steel yard ramps will have no problem making them available wherever necessary, meaning they won’t need very many (i.e. one for each loading dock).

If your Texas company depends on trucks being loaded and unloaded efficiently, steel yard ramps are an invaluable tool that will make the process much easier.

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Stationary Yard Ramps Deliver More than Just Cargo

Companies that deal with shipments via trailer trucks have no shortage of equipment to consider to improve their operation. Of them all, however, stationary yard ramps may be some of the best. Amongst many things, they provide the following benefits:

•Affordability
•Forklift Access
•Durability
•Simplicity

First, though, let’s take a look at what we mean when we say a stationary yard ramp.

What Is a Stationary Yard Ramp?

The name pretty much says it all, really. A stationary yard ramp is just a flat surface that provides a transition from one point to another, usually because there is a change in height. So you’ll often see stationary yard ramps used to move materials from the lot outside a warehouse up to the loading dock or vice versa. Other times, it might be used to provide a transition from the ground to the back of a trailer truck.

Affordability

One of the main benefits of using a stationary yard ramp is just how affordable it is. Given how much it can do, the price is really negligible. For example, without one of these ramps, your workers would need to offload or load trucks manually. This would take a number of them constantly bending over to lift and move heavy objects. Aside from the risk of injury, this is also going to take a very long time, and you’re going to have to pay for it.

With stationary yard ramps, though, this isn’t your only option. So you save time and money.

Forklift Access

We just covered how one method you can use for better results is utilizing a stationary yard ramp so your workers can more effectively move cargo in or out of the truck. However, this is still a manual option and, thus, far from ideal.

With a stationary yard ramp, you can just ride a forklift into and back out of your truck. This advantage cannot be overstressed. Forklifts are designed to carry more than any worker ever could and move loads faster than any worker ever could. Therefore, it can load and unload in a fraction of the time you’d be doing it with nothing but manual labor. Once again, you save time and money.

Durability

It would take a lot to compromise a stationary yard ramp in any way. They’re generally made from steel, but even the aluminum ones can take a beating. Climate, foot traffic, and even the weight of a forklift and its load will go unnoticed by your stationary yard ramp.

Despite all these advantages, a stationary yard ramp may be one of the easiest pieces of equipment in your entire warehouse. It’s literally nothing more than a flat plane that operates on the law of gravity. There’s no cinder-block-sized instruction manual to read through, yet the benefits can’t be overstated.

So if you want more from your current operation where the warehouse is concerned, consider purchasing a stationary yard ramp. With options to rent, you really have no excuse for not finding out what these tools can do.

You Don’t Need a Loading Dock Thanks to Steel Yard Ramps

If your company’s business model involves large trucks either loading or unloading lots of product efficiently, you may think you need at least one loading dock to keep things moving. However, if you’ve looked into that option, you probably know it’s going to cause you a lot of initial overhead. Fortunately for many companies in your situation, when they review all their options, they find that steel yard ramps can do everything they need and much more. So before you go wasting your budget on building that loading dock, consider the following about steel yard ramps.

Versatile

For one thing, there’s no way a loading dock can compete with yard ramps in terms of versatility. Once you install a loading dock, that’s where it stays forever. That’s also at the height it stays, too. So if you have a truck that needs that dock, but isn’t able to meet its height, you’re in for a problem. At the very least, you’re looking at added time to the transition.

Yard ramps, however, are built to be moved around and used in a temporary capacity. That’s why so many companies use them even though they have loading docks on the premises. If the above scenario happens, you can work around it with a yard ramp. If the loading dock needs to be shut down completely for some reason or a truck is using it when another is ready, simply move your yard ramp into place and business continues as planned.

Affordable

Some companies need daily deliveries, but not enough to necessitate paying to install a loading dock. If they don’t know any better, they can end up altering their building and making an investment that could take years to pay off.

Fortunately, yard ramps made from steel are far more affordable. Plus, as we covered, you’re not losing anything at the price. So when a loading dock makes sense but is going to cause economic hardship for your company, look into how much you could save by going with yard ramps instead.

Safer Transitions

Without a loading dock, workers are climbing in and out of the truck in order to move product. They may form an assembly line to unload, too. Either way, workers are putting themselves at risk. Aside from accidents that could happen, there’s also a good chance they’ll incur injuries over the long term, ones that could force them to miss days in the future or simply work at a much slower pace.

Having a ramp makes manually loading or unloading a truck so much safer. It’s also the safe alternative if you’re using a forklift and don’t have a perfect transition between the truck bed and the loading surface. Steel yard ramps can easily support a forklift, and they’re durable enough to put up with all the wear and tear that goes with them.

Don’t think a loading dock is your only option simply because you depend on trucks for your business to run. Yard ramps made from steel deliver just as many, if not more, advantages.

You can find Steel Yard Ramps with superior safety features at Yard Ramp Rental. You can buy or lease a yard ramp today. In context to visit original article click Here