The most common complaint is that the workbench isn’t as sturdy as it should be, but a more serious problem is that there’s not enough space to install a lift to lift the work table out of the way.
“The lift’s on the other side of the desk,” says Richard.
“It’s on a ledge.”
This makes the lift hard to reach.
“You can’t just lift it and throw it away,” says Sarah.
Richard and Sarah are frustrated by this, as are many other dock owners.
“I feel it’s unfair,” says Susan.
“They’re using a little bit of space on the desk and it’s not there to lift it out of place.”
Richard, however, believes that it’s up to the dock owner to make the right decisions for their own business.
“If you’re doing the job properly, the lift will get a little further,” he says.
“We want the lift to move with the worktable.”
He suggests that dock owners use a “couple of inches” of space to lift a lift out of a workbench, then place it in the proper position.
“For example, if you’re installing a lift for a shop or a shoplift, you don’t want the space to be as large as the lift is,” says Mr Dukes.
He suggests using a single-sided platform that is 1.5 to 2 metres high to place the lift, then adding the required height to the platform.
“Put a ladder over the end of the ladder,” says Dukes, “then put the lift on top of it and put it back on the ladder.”
When installing a dock for the first time, he says, “you don’t know whether you’re going to be able to lift that worktable out.”
“You have to go and see it in person,” says Ritchie.
“And you’ve got to be confident it’s going to work.”
For more information about dock construction, visit the National Dock Safety website.