Power Plant Hire has been supplying access equipment to businesses across Leinster and the South East for decades. We often get asked about the different types of access equipment available, and which ones are best suited to particular jobs. This article will examine some of the more common ones and their advantages.
Low-Level Access Equipment
When we think of access equipment, one may imagine cherry pickers and aluminum towers. However, sometimes the height isn’t particularly great and you simply need a wide, solid surface to work just a little bit higher than ground level. This is where low-level access equipment comes in. For example, if you’re working on a ceiling for a sustained period of time, a low-level access platform can provide a safer, more practical solution than a ladder. You’ve room to move across and can store extra tools alongside removing the need to constantly head up and down a ladder, which of course increases the risk of injury. Power Plant Hire can even provide foldable low-level access platforms for easy transportation from site to site. They are very suited to indoor use, where a larger piece of access equipment might be at best cumbersome, or at worst, not fit the space at all.
Scissors Lifts
Ideal for indoor use as well as outdoor, scissors lifts tend to have a higher reach than low-level access equipment while providing more space for tools, equipment, and even extra personnel, than a ladder would. This of course makes them safer than ladders, as workers need not dismount to collect extra equipment. By their very nature scissor lifts have superior stability to ladders, which is another reason why they are safer for working at a height. Scissors Lifts also offer an advantage over scaffolding, as they can be quickly set up and moved along without needing to dismantle and re-erect scaffolding. This also makes them more efficient for jobs involving working at heights, for they take up less room and negate the need for a large amount of equipment—one scissor lift can do the job of 100 meters of scaffolding, for example. This also means that there is less equipment to store or transport.
Vertical Mast Booms
Vertical Mast Booms are designed for ease of use in tight areas. They are compact and can be easily manoeuvred around obstacles that would hinder the use of other types of access equipment, such as scissor lifts. They are also designed so as to be portable while not compromising on their reach capability.
Cherrypickers
Cherrypickers are perhaps one of the most flexible types of Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs). They consist of a bucket or small platform fixed to the end of a hydraulic arm. Generally speaking, their height range exceeds that of scissor lifts allowing for a wide range of applications from window cleaning to overhead wire maintenance. They can also be used on various terrains, so it’s not uncommon to see them in use on construction sites, being rugged enough to be safely used on uneven surfaces. They offer an advantage over ladders and scaffolding in that they require relatively little time to set up. They also include guard rails making them a safer option for working on a height. Naturally, they don’t require the user to physically climb any ladders which reduces the likelihood of worker injury on the job. Cherrypickers can also be utilised to good effect on exterior building painting projects.
There are two principal types of Cherrypicker—Articulating booms and Telescopic Booms:
Articulating Booms
Articulating Booms go from smaller electric booms (mainly but not exclusively for indoor use) through to diesel articulating booms, which are designed for outdoor use at greater heights.
Telescopic Booms
Telescopic Booms are outdoor machines and have a higher reach than articulated booms. As such, they are the preferred lifting boom in many construction applications, for example, steel erecting.
Call the Power Plant Hire team today at 053 923 5003 to find out more about our range of access equipment. You can also email the team at sales@powerplanthire.ie.
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