- A planned maintenance visit should check every door, leveller, shelter, seal, restraint, light and lift table at the bay, with findings recorded for each item.
- Busy docks are commonly serviced twice a year, but the right frequency depends on use, environment and the manufacturer's instructions.
- Short daily user checks catch damage early; staff should report faults and take unsafe equipment out of use until it is repaired.
- Servicing is different from insurer inspections and LOLER thorough examinations, and repairs found during a service are priced and agreed before work goes ahead.
Why does a loading bay need planned maintenance?
A loading bay needs planned maintenance because its doors and dock equipment are work equipment under PUWER, which must be maintained in a safe condition. Regular servicing also keeps the bay running, since a door or leveller failure can take a bay out of use at the worst moment.
Dock equipment works hard. Doors cycle many times a shift, levellers carry the weight of loaded trucks, and shelters and seals are pressed by every trailer. Wear builds up gradually, so faults found early are generally quicker and cheaper to put right. A door that is out of balance or a leveller with a sticking lip puts extra strain on other parts, and small faults left alone tend to become larger repairs.
A planned programme gives you:
- fewer unplanned breakdowns
- a record of the condition of each item
- evidence of maintenance for insurers and inspectors
- time to budget for replacements instead of reacting to failures
See loading bay servicing for how planned visits are arranged.
What does a service check on loading bay doors?
A door service checks that the door opens, closes and stops safely, and that the parts that wear or carry load are in good order. The exact checks depend on the door type.
- Sectional doors: springs, cables, drums, rollers, hinges, tracks, panels and seals, plus the device that stops the door falling back.
- Roller shutters: laths, end locks, guides, barrel and the safety brake.
- High-speed doors: curtain condition, breakaway reset, sensors and drive.
- Cold store doors: seals, heater elements and panels.
- Powered doors: safety edges, photocells, limit settings, controls and manual operation where fitted.
Regulation 18 of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 requires upward-opening doors to have a device that prevents them falling back, and powered doors to have features that prevent trapping. The service should confirm these work. Springs and cables on sectional doors carry high tension and wear with every cycle, so they deserve particular attention on busy doors. Faults found are handled through loading bay door repairs.
What does a service check on dock levellers and lift tables?
A leveller service checks the hydraulics, structure, lip and safety features so the platform raises, lowers and supports loads as designed. Lift tables get similar checks, with attention to the scissor mechanism.
Dock levellers:
- hydraulic oil level, hoses, cylinders and leaks
- platform and lip plates for cracks or distortion
- hinges, lip pins and the lip mechanism
- controls, emergency stop and safety devices
- toe guards or skirting, which HSE notes may be needed where something could be caught
- pit cleanliness and drainage
Keeping the pit clean matters: debris and stretch wrap in the pit can foul hinges and hydraulics and stop the platform returning to its stored position.
Scissor lift tables:
- scissor arms, pins and rollers
- hydraulics and safety devices
- guards, gates and controls
Servicing does not replace the LOLER thorough examination of a lift table or the insurer's PUWER inspection of a leveller. Leveller faults are handled through dock leveller repairs.
What does a service check on shelters, seals, restraints and lights?
The service checks that shelters and seals still close the gap around the trailer, that restraints hold the vehicle, and that lights and interlocks show the right signals in the right order.
- Retractable shelters: curtains for tears, frame springs and fixings, and the head curtain.
- Inflatable shelters: airbags, fan, controls and inflation in use.
- Dock seals: pad covers, foam compression and fixings.
- Vehicle restraints: engagement, release, sensors and drive.
- Traffic lights and interlocks: the signal sequence, and that interlocks block the wrong action.
- Dock lights, bumpers and wheel guides: damage, fixings and lamps.
Torn curtains, worn pads and damaged airbags are replaced through dock shelter and seal repairs. Worn bumpers should be replaced before trailers start striking the wall or leveller.
Restraints and interlocks are safety-critical, so any fault found should be treated as a priority, with a backup safeguard such as key control in place until the repair is done.
What should staff check every day?
Staff should do a short walk-round check of each bay at the start of a shift, looking for obvious damage and confirming the safety equipment works. It should be quick, and it catches problems before they cause harm.
- The door opens and closes smoothly with no unusual noise, and safety edges and photocells stop or reverse it.
- The leveller raises, the lip extends and it returns to its stored position, with no oil on the platform or in the pit.
- Traffic lights change correctly and the restraint engages and releases.
- Shelter curtains, seal pads and bumpers are in place and undamaged.
- The pit, tracks and dock edge are clear of debris, pallets and stretch wrap.
- The dock light works and wheel guides are secure.
Any fault should be reported straight away, and equipment that is unsafe should be taken out of use until it is repaired. A simple checklist per bay, signed each day, makes this routine. Keep it short and specific to the equipment at each bay, so it gets done properly rather than ticked through.
How often should a loading bay be serviced?
Busy docks are commonly serviced twice a year, but the right frequency depends on how heavily the equipment is used, the environment and the manufacturer's instructions. There is no single interval that suits every site.
- Multi-shift or high-volume docks: may need more frequent visits, or extra checks on high-cycle items such as high-speed doors.
- Cold stores and washdown areas: harsh conditions can speed up wear on seals, hydraulics and electrics.
- Lightly used bays: may need fewer visits, provided the equipment stays in a safe condition.
- Older equipment: may need closer attention as parts wear.
It helps to time one service shortly before the insurer's inspection or LOLER examination, so routine issues are dealt with first. The guide price for servicing is £85–£180 per item per visit, ex VAT, agreed before the visit.
On larger sites, spreading visits through the year rather than servicing every bay at once can make it easier to keep enough bays open while engineers work.
What maintenance records should I keep?
Keep a record for each bay showing every service, inspection, defect and repair, so you can show the equipment has been maintained and spot recurring problems. Records also help when a lease ends or an insurer asks questions.
- an asset list with bay numbers and equipment types
- service reports with the date, engineer and findings for each item
- insurer inspection and LOLER examination reports
- repair quotes, work done and parts fitted
- daily check sheets
- manufacturers' instructions and any written scheme of examination
Note when each defect was reported, when it was repaired and by whom, so open items do not get lost. Paper log books or a shared spreadsheet both work, as long as records are complete and easy to find.
How is servicing different from insurer and LOLER inspections?
Servicing is maintenance that keeps equipment working, while insurer inspections and LOLER thorough examinations are formal checks by a competent person that the equipment is safe to continue in use. You need both.
- Engineering insurers commonly inspect dock levellers under PUWER every 12 months.
- Lift tables need LOLER thorough examination at least every 12 months, or every 6 months if they lift people, unless a written scheme of examination sets other intervals.
- A leveller designed or used to lift people may fall under LOLER; it depends on the equipment and how it is used, and your insurer or competent person will confirm.
Our guide to dock leveller inspections covers this in detail. Tell your service provider when the insurer's inspection is due, so the service can be timed to suit. Where a service or inspection finds a fault, we quote the repair and agree the price before any work goes ahead. Contact us to set up a planned maintenance programme.
What should I do if equipment fails between services?
If equipment fails between services, make the bay safe first, then report the fault with as much detail as you can. A failed door, leveller or restraint should not be worked around.
- Stop using the bay and isolate the equipment if it is safe to do so.
- Close the door if it can be closed safely, or barrier off the opening.
- If a restraint or light has failed and the bay must stay in use, switch to a backup safeguard such as key control.
- Take photos, note the bay number and describe what happened.
- Ask us for a repair price, which is agreed before anyone attends.
Do not try to force a jammed door, release a door spring or work under a raised leveller platform without the correct support. These jobs need trained engineers.
Questions
How often should dock levellers be serviced?
Busy docks commonly have their levellers serviced twice a year, but the right frequency depends on use, environment and the manufacturer's instructions. Multi-shift operations and cold stores may need more frequent visits. Servicing is separate from the insurer's PUWER inspection, which is commonly every 12 months, so it can help to time a service shortly before the inspection.
What does a loading bay service cost?
Our guide price for servicing is £85–£180 per item per visit, excluding VAT, depending on the equipment type, how many items are on site and access. Servicing visits are chargeable and the price is agreed before anyone attends. Any repairs found during the visit are quoted separately and agreed with you before the work goes ahead.
Can my own staff maintain the loading bay?
Staff can and should carry out daily user checks, such as testing doors, levellers, lights and restraints and looking for damage. Technical maintenance, such as adjusting door springs, working on hydraulics or setting safety devices, should be carried out by trained engineers, because mistakes can create serious hazards. Door springs in particular store a lot of energy.
Does a service replace the insurance inspection?
No. A service maintains the equipment, while an insurer inspection or LOLER thorough examination is a formal check by a competent person of whether it is safe to keep using. You need both. Dock levellers are commonly inspected by engineering insurers every 12 months under PUWER, and lift tables need LOLER thorough examination at least every 12 months, or 6 months where people are lifted.