Scissor Lifts

Garage Lift Companies Lift Experts

This rather exciting brand of lift actually refers to many different type of raised platform and hydraulic lifting arms which are present within many modern-day industries and business. Scissor lifts get their name from the scissor-like concertina-effect look of their arms which are hydraulically raised up with a flat table or a bucket on the end of them.

This table or bucket will contain goods or indeed workers which need  to be transported to different levels quickly and safely so that work can be carried out; they come in all shapes and sizes and really have revolutionised the way that a whole plethora of companies can operate and go about their business.

They can come in forms as small as the car jacks which are used in garages and go all the way up to massive industrial sizes the likes of which can lift tonnes and tonnes of cargo up and down. Many of them come with wheels which means that they can have much more flexibility when it comes to moving heavy goods around than a lift might possibly have. Some with wheels also come with their own built in steering and this means that they can be driven around larger building sites and attend many different jobs quickly- clearly this means that they are much more practical than lifts. However, if you are thinking that a large scissor lift may well be the way to go for your company, you need to think of the practicalities; do you have space to store one when it is not in use?

Do you have people who are trained to use them safely and securely and, if not, do you have the money to pay for such training courses to be undertaken? If you have answered no to any of these questions then you probably need to consider whether or not a scissor lift is going to be the right decision for you and your business. Similarly, if you are only ever lifting things up from one set place to another set place just above it, then a lift may well be able to the same job for you but without the problems of advanced training and storage- scissor lifts are more suited to large warehouse and outdoor jobs where movement is an essential part of the order of the day.

At the top of the scissor hydraulic arm there is generally some form of table which either your workers can stand on or goods can be hoisted up on- railings are fitted around the side to ensure that everything is completely safe and, much like it’s smaller cousin the cherry picker, scissor lift tables contain two sets of controls which mean that someone is always in charge of what is happening. One set of controls will be at the base of the scissor lift or on the vehicle it is attached to- these controls will dictate the height, the speed and the angle of the scissor lift table. These bottom controls will be used if goods are being moved and there is no human presence at all on the table. The other set of controls will be on the table itself and will allow anyone riding the scissor lift to control their own height, speed and angle. This check and balance of the control system means that, again, there is a greater degree of flexibility as to how they can be used.

Clearly, because of the sheer size of some of the machines and because of the complex engineering work which goes into building them, scissor lifts are very expensive to purchase new and this leads people to turn to two different options as a way of saving money. Firstly, some people decide that they are going to buy a second hand model from another company- this is a valid and legal way of saving money but you should obviously be aware that second hand models are going to require more maintenance and may not even comply with some of the latest health and safety legislation; if either of these things are true then you could well end up paying out much more money in the long run than you initially managed to save.

Alternatively, a lot of companies turn to renting a scissor lift. This is a wise move if you don’t usually require one but you have one job for which you need s scissor lift otherwise said job will simply not get done. Renting scissor lifts is a common practise but you should be aware you need people, or need to be able to afford to hire people, who are trained in operating them.

Read the following articles and then make your decision; remember that training and safety are the two most important things to consider.

Scissor Lift Information Guide: