Looking at spider lifts, the accessibility offered makes them an unbeatable choice, so which specifications should you be looking at?
• Good return on Investment = High Utilisation
• High Utilisation = Design + Performance + Transport + Reliability
Design = Productivity
As you know we can be three times more productive and safer if we work out of any EWP, not to mention avoiding being fatigued halfway through the day. Reducing labour costs is the first and foremost element that should be looked at when surveying the bigger picture of any industry, as this is the biggest cost to business that can be reduced.
One of the keys to reducing time in the air is with smarter designed ZED style boom configurations.
The True Zed style boom system is by far the most versatile and productive of all, creating a larger working envelope without outreach weight limiting, offering faster deployment and positioning times. This, combined with providing a more natural, versatile approach to operator boom movements (as old-style arching movement designs will take up to three times longer to position), plays a massive factor in rapid positioning works such as arboriculture.
Today it is all about reducing labour cost, and that means a call for increased productivity – which comes from the superior design style offered by the Z Boom System.
Performance = Access
As every site is different, access and set-up once in the site are always the challenges presented. This is what a Spider Lift is supposedly all about, but many of the older designs fail here.
If we cannot access the site, we lose utilisation.
Key areas:
• Dimensional length
• Width
• Gradeability
• Departure angles
A machine that has smaller dimensions and higher gradeability can give us the maximum ability to access the job along with assistingin setting up in tighter work areas to then conduct the job. There are many other factors to consider once on site for set up, especially smaller stabilisation footprints, zero tail swing and up and over capabilities to deal with avoiding obstacles and obstructions. All these aspects of design and performance specification aid in increasing a machine’s utilisation factor.
Transport
Spider Lifts provide an excellent solution for a transportable all-round EWP, especially for businesses involved in working at heights.
Transportation costs are extremely important, especially when doing multiple jobs per day.
Many people miss the importance of this area, and how it relates to weights and dimensions, trailer designs, braking, load limitations and tow vehicles GVMs. Improvisation will affect time management, all of which play additional factors in the all-up and ongoing costs. Note: Currently passing through government national roads rules is a limit that will be placed on the 50mm towing hitches for up to 3.5 tonne vehicles and will be limited at 2900kg tow capacity. This now means more importance needs to be given when assessing tow vehicles for a more cost-effective transport solutions, especially for machines in the 17/20m mark.
Reliability = Keep it Simple
The idea is to look at the machine make-up for better reliability and keep it simple.
Spider Lifts are a unique style of EWP compared to all other machines, in that they are extremely compact machines with a lot going on in a small area. Today’s safety standards for EWP’s require many electronic safety controls to protect the operator, but also with more electronic features such as self-levelling. Many are running weight limiting outreach systems that limits the telescopic extension by basket weights based on 80/120/200kg weights. These are and quite often complicated systems of load managementprotecting the stabilisation, which do not benefit the user in the bigger picture.
Varied stabilisation with masses of limit switches both on stabilisers and booms also create technical diagnosis nightmares. These can be, and are in a lot of cases, costly to maintain.
A standard fixed envelope system is by far more reliable and less complicated, and machines with less features such as auto levelling, outreach limiting etc. are smarter from a reliability point of view. Booms that house the hydraulic and electrical service are preferred for less hook ups and deterioration. All these factors make for a cost-effective approach to reliable service over the term of ownership.
When assessing Spider Lifts, CTE’s Traccess Range stands tall above the competition. They offer all of the vital features discussed above, and more.
Overall, there are many considerations a business owner or manager has to make, no matter the scale of the operation. When looking at maximising your investment, the factors discussed here are vital. To help you make the expert decision, it is vital to understand the different elements that will improve profitability.For more info visit www.platformsales.com.au or call 1300 882 762 or 0428