MAST-GUIDED EQUIPMENT
19
JULY-AUGUST 2014
ACCESS, LIFT & HANDLERS
E X P E R I E N C E A L I F T I N
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likely going to come down to an assessment
of the economics of each feasible method
of access. Basically, it is a calculation of
combined costs; installation costs, rental or
purchasing costs of the access equipment,
and most importantly the cost of the labor to
complete the work from the access system
they are considering.
“The labor cost is often overlooked in the
calculation which is surprising when it is
almost always the largest factor,” Gordon says.
An additional important influencing factor
is the impact to schedule. Most trades can
complete their work more efficiently from mast
climbers, and that should result in schedule
and labor savings.
Typically, installation for traditional
scaffold is more expensive than MCWPs, but
the equipment cost is usually less. As an
example, an informal ratio of 80:20 can be
applied: 80 percent equipment, 20 percent
labor for MCWPs, and reverse for scaffold:
20 percent equipment and 80 percent labor.
Generally, the higher the building, the more
cost effective MCWPs become. The general or
trade contractor can determine what sort of
economies can be achieved with each type of
access according to their project needs.
Another thing to consider is that if a project
requires frequent moves, and a trade is looking
for a scissor/boom lift, they may also wish to
consider a self-propelled mast climber with a
powered chassis.
“The mobility of the self-propelled MCWP
approaches that of a large scissor lift/boom
lift and some MCWPs can be moved with 72
feet of mast and 50 feet of platform in good
ground conditions,” Gordon says. “If the trade
is working in the same work area for longer
than one day, the self-propelled mast climber
may be the right choice when considering that
they have much more access to the façade or
ceiling at once; as well as increased capacities
compared to scissor or boom lift.”
New units
Across the board, companies have unveiled new
products over the last two years.
Safway Group introduced a new vertical
access work platform, the SafRise Climber, last
summer. The SafRise can ascend at 30 feet per
minute bearing massive live loads – giving it the
highest speed-to-capacity ratio on the market.
It offers single and twin-mast options, lifting
adaptable modular platforms that can conform
to curves and corners. The single mast set-up
has live load capacities of 8,000 pounds and
“The transport platform is a newer
market, not as established as the
mast climbing work platform market,
however, we are seeing more growth as
a percentage,” Klimer says.
