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This article looks at: what is a work platform used for? We look at the common uses and benefits of mobile elevating work platforms.

Mobile elevating work platforms

Mobile elevating work platforms, or MEWPs, have a wide range of applications in many industries and commercial enterprises. 

However, they are often complex pieces of dangerous machinery that require a competent person with a great deal of training and practical knowledge to operate them safely, given that they are often used to reach nearby hazardous areas. 

There have been cases of people being injured or killed using these mobile elevating work platforms, and you should be extremely careful when using them. 

There are guidelines for the safe use of these types of machinery and how MEWPs should be properly maintained to ensure a safe workplace. 

The responsibility for this care, maintenance and regular inspections falls on the duty holder, who could be the employer, employee, principal, designer, manufacturer, hirer or supplier working on or with the MEWP. 

What Is A MEWP Licence?

The machinery must meet the obligations defined under the HSE Act (Health and Safety in Employment Act of 1992) and the HSE Regulations (Health and Safety in Regulations of 1995). It is the task of the duty holder to see that it does. 

These are not the only health and safety information sources regarding the proper maintenance and operation of mobile elevating work platforms. 

You can use many other processes to ensure the correct use of these pieces that conform to the safety standards outlined in the previously mentioned legislation. You should also ensure that the work you need to do is properly planned and that the ground conditions are right for handling materials at height. 

Additionally, different industries will face different problems and challenges when using MEWPs than others. Therefore, you may be able to find specific safety regulations and information for your specific industry, such as electrical work or horticulture, via other sources. 

Ensuring your or your workers' safety is a number one priority when using this equipment, so familiarising yourself with the appropriate safety guidance is essential. 

Industries that use aerial work platforms

The guidelines previously mentioned for all the different industries that use MEWPs is the best available at the current time, suggesting that things may change in the future with further development. However, despite this, there is currently a wide range of advice on operating these pieces of equipment safely that are common between industries.

Most of the guidelines and regulations you can find regarding MEWPs conforms to systems where you can adjust the height of the moveable work platform with a scissor mechanism, telescopic boom or tower or any other articulated combination of these. Therefore, you can see how some of these guidelines for best practice can translate between industries that use similar systems to operate their MEWPs.

You can support these systems with different mobile units, such as those that are vehicle-mounted, self-propelled, manually pushed or towed by another vehicle. The majority of these systems are used to access areas above or below ground level to carry out the necessary work, with even further guidelines and regulations regarding the different kinds of work and how they can be done safely. 

Different Platforms for Different Uses

MEWPs are often designed for a specific purpose within a specific industry. Therefore, it is common to find customised pieces in different work environments. 

For example, you may find some MEWPs altered so that the machine's ground controls have easy access for the operators. Some pieces may also have been altered to make all the higher areas easier to reach for maintenance purposes. However, this does not mean that every MEWP can be altered to suit every purpose. 

While the custom platform you have works perfectly for the work you are carrying out, trying to reach higher sections by climbing on the effective guard rails or other safety features not meant for climbing can pose a serious threat to your health and safety. 

A better method is to ensure that you have the right MEWP that safely reaches the heights you need without endangering you or your employees. 

Types of work platforms

Given the wide range of industries that use these platforms, it is only natural that there is a variety of them to suit each specific purpose. 

From washing windows to maintaining overhead, fixed structures or powerlines, several different types of platforms suit different industrial needs. The uses of these specific pieces of equipment also determine how they are designed, such as balance requirements or the heights they need to reach.

Articulating Boom Lifts

These MEWPs use articulated booms that you can unfold and manoeuvre to compensate for the geography or design of the area you are working in, making them very safe and adaptable to use at different heights. 

The articulated design means that these mobile work platforms offer a brilliant combination of vertical and horizontal reach, meaning hard to reach places can become easy to reach for work positions or work areas. They are a very popular type of aerial platform, more commonly known as "cherry pickers". 

The articulated booms also mean that the work platform can reach over obstacles or around buildings to reach areas that other MEWPs cannot. This makes articulating boom lifts one of the most adaptable and useful MEWPs out there. They offer both flexibility, being perfect for almost any work at height, whilst guaranteeing the safety of the operators, so long as the safety guidelines are closely followed.

Telescopic Boom Lifts

These are among the most common mobile elevating work platforms you will see. The telescoping booms they use allow for maximum vertical and horizontal reach, meaning the base of the boom can be placed further away from the target area but still reach it for the required work. 

This makes telescopic boom lifts perfect for tricky environments with many obstacles. However, when working at any serious height, you should always be mindful of severe weather or high winds.

While these lifts are ideal for hard to reach areas, they can sometimes become an obstacle in themselves when used in confined spaces on-site or close to nearby vehicles. Therefore, they are best used when you place them in open areas. This makes them especially useful for landscapers or tree surgeons who primarily operate in open areas at great heights.

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We hope you got some useful information about the uses of work platforms.  If you require access equipment hire in Daventry and Northampton contact our specialists today. 

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