An employee was engaging a manual spring-type ramp for a docking bay and needed to put weight on the ramp to bring it down. He asked a temporary employee to help him by walking over and adding his weight to the ramp. As the employee bent down and pulled the front ring, the temporary employee went to grab a second ring at the other end of the ramp used for adjusting the angle of the flap. The temporary employee's right index fingertip became caught in the hinge between the dock plate and the dock flap. The hinge closed and he sustained amputation of his right index fingertip to the first knuckle.