- Location
- Pembroke Dock, Dyfed
- Main postcode district
- SA72
- Nearby (straight line)
- Milford Haven (4 miles), Haverfordwest (8 miles) and Carmarthen (30 miles)
- Survey and quote
- Free, with a fixed written quote
A swing-lip dock leveller is a hydraulic ramp set into a pit at the dock edge, with a hinged steel lip along its front. When a trailer is docked the platform rises, the lip swings out, and the platform lowers until the lip rests on the trailer bed, forming a bridge for forklifts and pallet trucks. The lip is typically about 400 to 500 mm long.
How does this suit sites in Pembroke Dock?
Chilled food distributors in Pembroke Dock can specify insulated swing-lip levellers with pit seals to cut cold loss through the floor of the bay. Mixed bays at a site in Pembroke Dock, where some trailers have tail lifts and others do not, may suit a combination of swing-lip and telescopic levellers.
Every leveller recommendation we make for a dock in Pembroke Dock follows a measured survey of the pit, dock height and the trailers you actually receive.
We keep the process simple for sites in Pembroke Dock. A free survey tells us what the dock needs; a fixed written quote tells you what it will cost and what is included. We then organise the installation, with specialist engineers under our management and a programme agreed around your shifts. Night and weekend work is available by arrangement. Before we leave, the new equipment is tested, demonstrated and handed over with its documentation.
What wears out on a swing-lip dock leveller?
The lip hinge, hydraulic hoses and seals are usually the first parts to wear on a swing-lip leveller, and planned servicing finds most of these problems before they stop a bay.
- Lip hinge: takes an impact every time the lip lands, and suffers badly if trailers reverse into a lip that has not been stored.
- Hydraulics: hoses, cylinder seals and power pack oil age and can leak.
- Velocity fuse: the safety valve that stops the platform dropping if a trailer pulls away must be tested.
- Toe guards and maintenance strut: must be intact and working. HSE guidance notes guards or skirting may be needed where something could be caught.
- Dock bumpers: worn bumpers let trailers strike the leveller and dock edge.
A leveller with a cracked lip hinge, a bent platform or repeated hydraulic leaks may be better replaced than repaired. Service and repair visits are chargeable and agreed before anyone attends.
Do dock levellers have to be inspected by law?
Yes, dock levellers are work equipment and must be kept in a safe condition and inspected where deterioration could lead to danger. The law and the regulator depend on where the site is.
- Great Britain: the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER), enforced by HSE.
- Northern Ireland: PUWER (Northern Ireland) 1999, enforced by HSENI.
- Inspection interval: engineering insurers commonly inspect dock levellers under PUWER at 12-month intervals.
- LOLER: most levellers are treated as work equipment under PUWER, but one designed or used to lift people may fall under LOLER, or LOLER (Northern Ireland) 1999, with 6-monthly thorough examination. It depends on the equipment and how it is used; your insurer or competent person will confirm.
- Standard: BS EN 1398:2009 sets the safety requirements for dock levellers. It is current and under review.
Our inspection guide explains what an examiner looks at.
The same published guide range applies across Wales; access, out-of-hours working and site conditions are confirmed at the free survey.
What we look at on site
- Escape routes and pedestrian doors close to the bay
- Wind exposure at the dock, which affects door and shelter choice
- Whether planning, building control or a building warrant may be needed
- Age and condition of the equipment already in place
- Yard gradient and the slope of the approach to the dock
- Access for deliveries, cranes or lifting equipment during installation
Options to discuss
Long-platform leveller
A longer platform that keeps gradients gentle where trailer heights vary widely or low-clearance electric pallet trucks are used across the bay.
Interlocked controls
Control panels linked to the dock door, vehicle restraint or traffic lights so the leveller can only be operated when the dock is safe.
Which rules apply in Wales?
Scissor lift tables and dock lifts in Wales can fall under LOLER, with thorough examination at least every 12 months, or every 6 months where people are lifted, depending on the equipment and its use. For sites in Pembroke Dock, your insurer or competent person will confirm the regime, and we check what applies at survey.
Questions about swing-lip dock levellers in Pembroke Dock
Do you cover Pembroke Dock for swing-lip dock levellers?
Yes. We take on swing-lip dock levellers for businesses in Pembroke Dock and across Dyfed. We survey the site, provide a fixed written quote and manage the installation, with specialist installation engineers working under our management. Visits are arranged in advance at a time that suits your operation, and the same single contact stays with the job through to handover.
Is the site survey in Pembroke Dock free?
Yes. For new installations, replacements, upgrades, conversions and complete bays, the site survey and written quote are free and come with no obligation. The survey lets us measure the openings, check the dock and structure, and understand how the bay is used, so the quote reflects your site. Repair and servicing visits are different: they are chargeable, with the price agreed before anyone attends.
Is VAT included in your guide prices for swing-lip dock levellers?
No. Our customers are businesses, so guide prices exclude VAT, which is added at the standard rate. The same guide range applies in Dyfed as everywhere else: for swing-lip dock levellers, it is £5,200 to £8,800 per leveller, excluding VAT. It covers supply and fit for a typical installation. Your fixed written quote after the free survey shows the net price, the VAT and exactly what is included.
What happens if a trailer pulls away with the lip on its bed?
The platform drops until its safety system stops it. Hydraulic levellers have a velocity fuse that arrests the fall, but the event can still damage the leveller and endanger anyone on it, which is why dock traffic lights, restraints and key control are used to prevent early drive-away.
Can a swing-lip leveller be used as a ramp to the yard?
No, a leveller should only be used to bridge a docked trailer. The lip and toe guards are designed to work with a trailer bed in place, and the platform is not built as a ramp down to yard level. Where you need ground-level access, a separate door or a lift table is the safer answer.
Swing-lip dock levellers near Pembroke Dock
Looking beyond Pembroke Dock? Our pages for Milford Haven (4 miles), Haverfordwest (8 miles) and Carmarthen (30 miles) describe the same loading bay services and how to get in touch.
Other loading bay services in Pembroke Dock
Full guide to swing-lip dock levellers · Everything we do in Pembroke Dock
Tell us what is happening at your Pembroke Dock dock, what equipment is there and when it is used, and we will suggest the right next step.