- Location
- Ebbw Vale, Gwent
- Main postcode district
- NP23
- Nearby (straight line)
- Merthyr Tydfil (8 miles), Blackwood (8 miles) and Pontypool (9 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.
Where does this fit at a dock in Ebbw Vale?
Every leveller recommendation we make for a dock in Ebbw Vale follows a measured survey of the pit, dock height and the trailers you actually receive. Mixed bays at a site in Ebbw Vale, where some trailers have tail lifts and others do not, may suit a combination of swing-lip and telescopic levellers.
Fitting out a new warehouse in Ebbw Vale with pre-formed pits makes swing-lip levellers a straightforward choice for most general loading from day one.
Step one is a survey at your site in Ebbw Vale, which costs nothing and carries no obligation. Step two is a written quote with a fixed price and a clear scope. Step three is installation, scheduled around your operation and carried out by specialist installation engineers working under our management, including evenings or weekends if agreed. Step four is handover, when the equipment is tested in front of you and the paperwork is passed over.
How long should a dock leveller platform be?
A leveller platform should be long enough to keep the slope gentle across the full range of trailer heights you load, because the steepest gradient decides which handling equipment can use it safely. A longer platform spreads the same height difference over a greater distance.
- Know your trailer mix: with a dock typically around 1,200 mm high and trailer beds ranging from roughly 900 to 1,600 mm, the height difference can be considerable.
- Check your equipment: low-clearance electric pallet trucks cope with less gradient than a counterbalance forklift with good ground clearance.
- Common lengths: platforms are commonly made from around 2 to 3.5 m long, with longer units where trailers sit very low or very high.
- Width: a wider platform gives more room when pallets sit close to the trailer sides.
When replacing a unit, the pit size limits what can be fitted, so we measure the pit and record your trailer heights at survey before recommending a length.
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 do we check at the survey?
- Control positions, isolators and any existing interlocks
- Gaps around trailers where heated or chilled air escapes
- Wheel guide positions and yard markings for reversing vehicles
- Wind exposure at the dock, which affects door and shelter choice
- Yard gradient and the slope of the approach to the dock
- Power supply at each bay, including three-phase availability
Options to discuss
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.
Standard swing-lip leveller
A hydraulic pit leveller with a hinged lip of about 400 to 500 mm, suited to general distribution with curtain-siders and box trailers.
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 Ebbw Vale, your insurer or competent person will confirm the regime, and we check what applies at survey.
Questions about swing-lip dock levellers in Ebbw Vale
Is the site survey in Ebbw Vale 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.
How do you price swing-lip dock levellers for a site in Ebbw Vale?
Guide budgets for supply and fit are £5,200 to £8,800 per leveller, excluding VAT. The figure moves with size, insulation, the operator, electrics, access, any pit or groundworks and out-of-hours working. Where levellers are involved, the guide assumes an existing, sound pit. After the free survey you receive a fixed written quote, and that is the price for the agreed scope.
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 Gwent 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 capacity of leveller do we need?
The leveller needs to be rated for the heaviest combined load of forklift and goods that will cross it, allowing for the truck moving over it. General-purpose levellers are typically rated around 60 kN, with heavier ratings for heavy goods or large forklifts. We confirm the rating after looking at your equipment.
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.
Swing-lip dock levellers near Ebbw Vale
Looking beyond Ebbw Vale? Our pages for Merthyr Tydfil (8 miles), Blackwood (8 miles) and Pontypool (9 miles) describe the same loading bay services and how to get in touch.
Other loading bay services in Ebbw Vale
Full guide to swing-lip dock levellers · Everything we do in Ebbw Vale
Whether it is a new bay or a fault on an existing one, call us or request a quote for your site in Ebbw Vale.