Do your employees regularly work at height? If you usually use ladders then it is time to think about investing in a safer and more time efficient solution; your own scissor lift.

Better value than hiring weekly, keeping one or more scissor lifts onsite is a convenient way to ensure your team can work safely at height at any time.

Electric scissor lifts are ideal for warehouse, showroom, factory and municipal onsite operations and repair and maintenance tasks including:

• Second fix installations
• Plumbing, heating, electrical work
• Christmas light installations
• Plasterers and decorators
• Window & gutter cleaning
• Repairing equipment
• Jobs that require heavy tools and materials
• Tasks at height involving multiple workers

Rough terrain scissor lifts are designed for outdoor projects where you need extra stability. For example:

• Constructing or repairing buildings
• Fixing or inspecting utilities
• Erecting signage
• Working on uneven or unpaved surfaces

So we see there are scissor lifts suitable for use indoors and outside and even rough ground.  In short, they replace the need for ladders, towers or scaffolding. As they are quick to set up, you can even drive them while extended, they allow operators to complete jobs in  shorter amount of time.

The machine specification can make a difference as different models have varying platform dimensions, weight capacity and height. There are electric two wheel drive machines and rough terrain four wheel diesels too.

Clearly, there are many advantages to using a scissor lift. But buying rather than renting one does require an investment. So before you take the plunge, here are some important factors you need to know.

Before you begin, consider how and where it will be used. This will help decide the type of lift, its capacity and any extra features you may need.

Do you need to provide access to hard-to-reach areas, lift heavy loads or both? Then consider the following:

Jobs: What type of work do you need to do with the lift?

Environment:  Will the lift be used indoors or outdoors?

Working height: What is the maximum height your scissor life will need to reach for your job?

Load capacity: How much weight will the scissor lift need to bear including people and tools?

Clearance: If your job is indoors, what clearance is needed between aisles or narrow workspaces?

Emissions: Does the work area have strict emission codes?

Terrain: Is it smooth or rough? Is it stable enough?

Weather: Are you likely to be working in difficult conditions?

Frequency of use: How often will you use the scissor lift and how long for?

Safety features: How will you achieve maximum worker safety?

As a general rule, the bigger your machine the more it will cost. Then you have to train your team, maintain it and make sure it has its LOLER certificate.

The good news is that buying used rather than new can save a lot of money.  Machines from reliable suppliers like International Platforms are supplied serviced and with LOLER certificates. You can even opt for a full refurbishment, repaint and a new LOLER certificate if required.

In the end, you need to determine whether the benefits of buying a scissor lift outweigh the costs.

Let us help you! In short the benefits can be:

• Higher productivity because of efficiencies.
• You can take on more jobs, and bigger jobs too if needed.
• Improved safety and easily meeting your obligations to care for the health and wellbeing of your staff.

Where accidents at height at work occur they can be caused by not using the right equipment or training. With aerial platforms, that means getting approved training and certification for everyone who works in and around them.

Scissor lifts will often have more than the operator on board too. Everyone on the platform should be trained and that is something International Platforms can help you with, so please get in touch with us!