How A Universal Dock Door Can Benefit Your Business

When installing loading bay equipment, one of the most important things to consider is the type of dock door you choose. Finding the most adaptable door capable of handling the various vehicles you need to facilitate is no longer a chore.

What Is A Universal Dock Door?

There is now a dock door that combines the many benefits of a modular lift with a specially adapted bridge plate and a unique tail lift pocket to create a universal dock door capable of handling a wide variety of vehicles within a dock door unit that adjusts easily and quickly to any configuration or vehicle type. Known as a Universal dock door, manufacturer and installation experts Transdek share with us the benefits this unique design brings to warehouse, retail and logistics businesses. In fact, any business that receives or dispatches goods regularly.

The Universal Dock Door arrives as a modular unit that enables quick and smooth installation without needing a pre-dug pit. Installations only take a day or two and are suitable for fitting within new and existing facilities. 

A unique tail lift pocket and adapted bridge plate enable the unit to cater for any vehicle type, whether a small transit or a double-decked trailer unit.

Stowable tail lift pocket

The design enables the vehicle tail lift to be stored underneath the lift platform, utilising a compartment that is not achievable with a traditional scissor lift. This reduces the need for distribution centres to rely on tail lifts. The loading and unloading process becomes much safer for the operative and dramatically increases the speed at which vehicles can be loaded and unloaded. Home delivery service vehicles can dock safely and be followed by stock delivery trailers without requiring multiple docking stations to cater for each vehicle style. The reduced use of vehicle tail lifts on your vehicles will extend their wear and reduce maintenance costs, ensuring excellent reliability on a client’s site.

Adjustable bridge plates

The universal dock door incorporates a ‘Vandango’ bridge plate capable of adjusting its width using hydraulic systems. A range of vehicles can be catered to with the bridge plate changing size within a few seconds. Businesses regularly looking to accommodate vehicles such as a 3.5t home delivery van to a large double deck trailer can do so quickly, reliably and safely.

 Modular plug-and-play design

The universal dock door is part of a broader range of modular plug-and-play loading solutions, enabling businesses to adapt and meet the growing productivity demands they face. Whether looking to update or replace existing equipment or add to an existing or new facility, the plug-and-play universal dock door will work perfectly and can be combined with bespoke or standard docking facilities you already own or are looking to add.

Universal dock door features

There are some great features of the universal dock door that can really impact your dock’s safety and efficiency. Here are just a few:

• Two-section structurally engineered load-house featuring impact dispersal bumpers fixed to the ground and warehouse front to give a sealed environment. Optional extras can include load-houses designed to protect temperature-controlled environments.
• Rugged, heavy-duty lift platforms can be raised and lowered 2-3 faster than a scissor lift.
• HMI touchscreen controls include rapid fault diagnostics to improve user-fix capability and reduce specialist repair costs. Mobile login features enable remote troubleshooting reducing downtime should a breakdown occur.
• Twin-interlocked safety gates are electrically and mechanically interlocked to provide safety rails.
• Two-section load-house supplied as modular base and roof units enable speedy installation, including integrated safety systems, including automated safety zones, loading lamps, interior lighting and segregated walkways, with optional safety operator doors are also available.

 The ability to quickly adapt your loading bay for a range of vehicles without the need for extensive changes or multiple bays is invaluable. The universal dock door is just part of a great range of loading bay solutions that will streamline any business receiving and distributing goods, and combined with other modular loading bay solutions, you can improve efficiency and staff wellbeing in just a matter of days and of course, help you meet the HSE requirements for safe loading areas.