While scaffolding is a common sight on jobsites around the country, it has a time and a place and might not be suitable for your specific project. Elevated Work Platforms (EWPs) such as scissor lifts and boom lifts are increasingly preferred for their speed, safety and cost-effectiveness.
When working at heights on your busy construction site, choosing the right access equipment can positively or negatively affect your project timelines, efficiency and productivity. Here are the main benefits of choosing an EWP over scaffolding.
Cost-Effective and Quick Set Up
Elevated Work Platforms are often more cost-effective than scaffolding due to the reduction in labour hours and site downtime. While scaffolding needs a full team of qualified scaffolders to install and dismantle, an EWP is ready to go and can be used immediately. You can also hire an EWP for an afternoon or a short-term project, meaning you only pay for the time you are using it rather than committing to a multi-week rental for scaffolding.
Reduces Fatigue
When using scaffolding, you have to set it up, climb up it and carefully maneuver through it without falling off. While workers are harnessed to the scaffolding, they still have to move around a lot and lift heavy tools and equipment to complete their tasks. Using an EWP reduces fatigue by doing the heavy lifting for you, thereby improving concentration.
An Elevated Work Platform also allows you to position the platform at the perfect height, preventing unnecessary back and muscle strain from reaching too far.
Increased Speed and Efficiency
When you need to finish your project on time, you need to find the most efficient way to complete your tasks. While scaffolding has its advantages and is useful for multi-week projects, it has a time and a place. For shorter projects, EWPs significantly improve efficiency and allow you to finish your project quickly.
EWPs keep your worksite and project moving by:
- Being able to use it immediately when it arrives on your site
- Rapid vertical movement so your workers can work at heights in minutes
- Can drive at height and when elevated
- Precise placement
- Easier access to hard-to-reach areas like ceilings and roofs
Superior Maneuverability
If you are working on multiple sites and changing heights often, Elevated Work Platforms are the way to go. They are agile, and attachments like boom lifts can reach over and under structures like roofs. EWPs can also be driven while elevated, allowing workers to move along a wall or ceiling without coming back to the ground and resetting.
Unlike scaffolding, which requires it to be totally dismantled to be moved, an EWP allows your tradespeople to drive alongside, keeping tools and operators in the air until the job is finished.
Flexibility for Different Terrains and Operations
Typically, scaffolding is used in outdoor environments and are unable to be moved or adjusted when set up properly. Elevated Work Platforms come in a wide range of shapes and sizes and can be used both indoors and outdoors. Choose an electric boom lift for indoor warehouse jobs or an all-terrain scissor lift for gravel or mud worksites.
Maximise Your Project Efficiency with Elevated Work Platforms
Traditional scaffolding has its time and place, but if you want to work smarter, safer and faster, hiring an Elevated Work Platform is the way to go. By removing time-consuming logistics and the high cost of specialised labour, you can move your project along effectively and protect your company’s bottom line.
Whether you need to reach the top of your Sydney warehouse or need to do a quick maintenance job on your roof in the Sunshine Coast, the right access equipment makes all the difference.
To maximise your project, call our professional team on 1300 360 936 or complete our online enquiry form for expert advice about which Elevated Work Platform is right for you and your project.