Cherry Picker Hire vs Scaffold Hire

Whether you are a property owner who needs to undertake repairs, or a commercial business that needs to use an elevated work platform on a building, you will need to research Cherry Picker Hire vs Scaffold Hire.

When it comes to high reach access platforms, many people think of scaffold hire as the only solution. However, in many cases using a cherry picker can be faster, cheaper and more appropriate for the job.

What is a scaffold?

A scaffold is a temporary work structure set up to support access or working platforms. It is commonly used in construction work to give workers a safe and stable work platform.

Scaffolding hire is a complex structure of individual components. These include tubes, couplers, frames and materials that when assembled form a scaffold.

This type of work must be undertaken by a person holding an appropriate class of high-risk work license. Therefore, this definition applies whenever the term ‘scaffolding work’ is used in this guide.

Cherry Picker Hire vs Scaffolding Hire:

Originally, The cherry picker was designed for fruit picking. Over time, the cherry picker has had many technological advancements. Now they are one of the most versatile and efficient pieces of EWP equipment. In fact, a cherry picker specialises in reaching hard to access areas that are difficult to get to and maintain.

Do you want to engage in gutter cleaning, fascia repair, or trimming of high tree branches? Hiring a cherry picker can provide you with the needed elevated work platform to complete these jobs. Using a cherry picker instead of a ladder, or makeshift scaffolding structure, is an efficient and safe alternative.

Ease of Use and Setup:

When considering ease of setup & use, the cherry picker wins over a traditional scaffold. Traditional scaffold hire setup can take hours. By hiring a truck mounted cherry picker, you can quickly move the work platform to where you need it. In fact, there is very little setup required with a cherry picker. This also means that removing the elevated work platform setup is also easy. A cherry picker has a highly manoeuvrable work bucket platform that is controlled via a hydraulic arm. It can be controlled and positioned from the ground or from the work bucket.  On the other hand, traditional scaffolding hire setups are difficult and take hours to erect. Scaffolding setups take more than one person and can be costly.

When hiring a cherry picker is better than scaffolding hire:

• If a job requires one or two people to complete the work.
• If the work required does not take a significant amount of time to complete. (eg: Days or weeks)
• If the work is in a hard to reach or obscure places.
• If you have a limited window of opportunity to complete the job (eg: a busy road, or limited times of the day).

Applications and Duration of Use:

These are just some of the applications for hiring a cherry picker.

• Signage
• Telephone and Power Line Maintenance – A very common role of a cherry picker
• Building Construction and Maintenance
• Home and Garden

Generally, all these applications have short-term work durations. As such, one benefit is the vehicle can be moved from one location to another quickly until the work is completed.

Price:

The cost of hiring scaffolding is often dictated by several factors. Hence, before opting for scaffolding hire, you need to assess the following factors:

• The height and size of the work area.
• How many levels of scaffolds are needed.
• Whether there is a need for scaffolding roof cover.
• Access issues.
• If there is a need to bridge areas.
• The quality and quantity of materials.
• Your geographical location.

Four types of materials are being used for scaffolding today. These can greatly impact the cost of hire. Consequently, they can be taken into account when choosing between a cherry picker and scaffolding. These materials include the following:

• Tube and Coupler component
• Timber
• prefabricated modular system
• H-frame/facade modular system

Safety:

When working on any elevated platform it is imperative that you adhere to safety requirements and guidelines.

Working on a lofty position comes with many risks. These risks can sometimes result in accidents and injuries. To avoid or limit such risks, companies often implement strict safety guidelines and standards for workers.

Our Tips:

• While the boom is extended don’t move the vehicle.
• Workers should check and wear the restraining belt and/or harness.
• Maintain clearance between the picker and any potential overhead hazards.
• Always treat power lines as live or energized and maintain distance.
• Engage the wheel brake and deploy the outriggers before any boom operation.
• Observe the vehicle’s or boom’s load limits and plan accordingly.

A cherry picker is a great alternative to scaffolding hire in many situations. These include maintenance and repair of hard-to-reach areas. Firstly, evaluate the task at hand based on the abovementioned parameters. Then as you evaluate the task, you can decide on whether the task you need to do is best accomplished by hiring a cherry picker.

If you have any questions about hiring a cherry picker, give us a call today. We are happy to help you decide what the best solution is for your application.

Quick Lift Qld Pty Ltd provides a fully qualified licensed operator with every Cherry Picker Hire. Any Cherry Picker that has a capacity over 11m requires a fully certified operator to manage the machine under all circumstances. We will provide a set of safety harnesses, witches hats, safety signs and tool buckets to assist you with your works.