The concept of dock levelers is relatively new but is particularly interesting for many business owners. After all, according to Activant Capital, the United States alone has over 10 million loading docks. However, various parts of these machines can naturally run down with time and may need maintenance steps to stay strong. The following four symptoms all indicate that your dock leveler needs a little TLC with a repair team.

1. Cracked Welds

Like many machines, a dock leveler has multiple welds throughout its beams that keep it strong. When you notice cracks in these welds, it's time to work directly with a high-quality professional. These cracks could indicate severe stress throughout the system and may end up causing it to fail if you don't take the proper steps to keep it strong and secure.

2. Heavy Oil Usage

Oil helps to keep your dock leveler running smoothly and efficiently. However, heavy usage and leaks could severely impact the quality of your level and cause severe long-term problems that you simply can't ignore. For instance, it could cause your mechanical elements to break down and trigger other issues with its operation that could cost you thousands of dollars to fix.

3. Beam Issues

The beams on your dock levelers help it to operate smoothly and stably and must be kept strong and effective. Unfortunately, they experience many problems that can impact their operation, such as cracks and even bends in the beams. Make sure that you pay close attention to their surface to ensure that they stay strong and avoid long-lasting damage issues that could affect them for years to come.

4. Mechanical Failure

When your system starts failing to run properly, it's time to get maintenance or even replacement done to keep it strong. After all, your leveler is a delicate machine and needs to work properly to ensure that your dock stays strong. When you notice problems with the leveler, such as jerky or hesitant operation or even failure to work at all, contact a mechanic right away to get help.

No matter what kind of dock levelers your facility uses, it's important to make sure that you keep them strong and operational. By watching these and other common mechanical failure signs, you can keep them running smoothly and properly. If you're not sure what's wrong with your leveler or need a little more support, then don't hesitate to contact us at Material Handling Products Corp right away to learn more about this process.