01 · Calculator
Shift Demand In.
Door Mix Out.
Door assignment usually gets decided by habit or whoever is shouting loudest. This planner gives a quick, structured starting point for how the door mix should look before the shift starts.
Inputs
Allocate active doors by lane
Enter total active doors plus planned load volume and average minutes per load for inbound, outbound, live, and drop work. The planner converts that demand into recommended door counts at the selected utilization target.
Results
Recommended door mix
The planner shows the door mix your workload ideally needs and how the currently available doors would likely need to be spread if every lane still has to run.
Ideal doors needed
8
Sum of the recommended lane-level door counts
Door-hours needed
50.5
Total modeled demand across all four lane types
Raw doors needed
5.9
Before ceiling the lane counts up to whole doors
Inbound
2 / 4
Recommended / assigned doors. 14 planned loads at 70 minutes each create about 16.3 door-hours of modeled demand.
Outbound
2 / 3
Recommended / assigned doors. 12 planned loads at 55 minutes each create about 11 door-hours of modeled demand.
Live
2 / 3
Recommended / assigned doors. 10 planned loads at 85 minutes each create about 14.2 door-hours of modeled demand.
Drop
2 / 2
Recommended / assigned doors. 18 planned loads at 30 minutes each create about 9 door-hours of modeled demand.
Capacity check
The current setup leaves about 4 doors beyond the modeled minimum recommendation.
Inbound vs outbound
Compare the recommended counts before fixing the layout. If outbound or inbound consistently claims the larger share, the building likely needs a more stable default split instead of daily improvisation.
Live vs drop
Live freight usually needs more protected door time per load, while drop volume can often run through fewer doors with faster turns. The planner helps make that trade explicit before the shift starts.
Important note
These recommendations assume flexible door sharing is possible. In real operation, keep at least one overflow option or swing door available when arrival patterns, no-shows, or urgent loads can disrupt the planned mix.
02 · Method
The Planner Uses
Door-Hour Demand by Lane
Each lane type turns planned loads and minutes per load into required door-hours. From there, the tool estimates the ideal whole-door count and compares it against the number of doors actually active for the shift.
Use Real Minutes per Load
Keep the lane assumptions honest. Minutes should reflect handling plus turnover, not just the fastest possible unload or load in perfect conditions.
Convert Demand to Door Count
The planner converts lane-level door-hours into whole-door recommendations so the result is useful in an actual shift discussion.
Show the Forced Compromise
When the workload wants more doors than the building has active, the assigned-door result shows how the current doors will likely need to be stretched.
03 · Use Cases
Useful for Daily Planning,
Lane Balancing, and Recovery
This tool is designed for shift setup conversations when teams need a structured way to balance inbound, outbound, live, and drop pressure before congestion builds.
Daily Door Split
Set a better default split between inbound and outbound before the first trucks arrive and the building starts improvising.
Live and Drop Tradeoffs
See how live and drop volume compete for the same door pool and whether one swing door needs to stay flexible.
Overloaded Shift Recovery
When the ideal mix needs more doors than you can staff, the planner helps show where the likely pinch points will hit first.
Need Another
Door Tool?
The tools library is growing around real warehouse, yard, and freight planning questions. If there is another dock-planning calculator your team needs, send it over.