Industrial Maintenance Platforms

Industrial maintenance platforms typically refer to ladders, steps, and lifts that are used when working on industrial equipment and vehicles, with a large portion of industrial maintenance platforms are dedicated to working on aircraft.

Unlike a car that is easily accessible from the ground, many large vehicles and industrial equipment can’t be reached without additional support. Ladders can provide height but they don’t give the user the ability to carry necessary tools and material to work on the vehicle or machine without endangering himself or others. Industrial maintenance platforms, at its most basic form, give mechanics a secondary level of support off the ground so they can freely work from heights otherwise unreachable.

The difference between industrial maintenance platforms, especially aircraft maintenance platforms, is that they can accommodate large objects and many people at the same time. A boom or scissor lift, for example, has a very small amount of enclosed space for the operator to work; industrial maintenance platforms can be used to create large amounts of workspace directly near the areas that are being attended to.

Another difference in aircraft maintenance platforms and other types of lifts is that industrial maintenance platforms aren’t intended to reach extremely tall places. While a telescoping boom lift can place the operator 60 feet in the air, maintenance platforms usually go no higher than 10 to 20 feet, the height at which most machines, industrial equipment, and aircraft require work at.

Industrial platforms are designed to give the user workspace and allow him or her to reach places that would otherwise be inaccessible. Some platforms may only be a few feet square and raise a few feet off the ground while others can be used to work on helicopter blades. Choices for maintenance platform sizes are virtually endless and are only determined by the job they are required for.

Unlike many other lifting platforms, a lot of maintenance platforms are vertically stationary. They usually have a base with wheels so it can be moved from place to place when working on aircraft or equipment, but they are not usually able to move up and down. While small bases may work like miniature scissor lifts, industrial maintenance platforms for the most part use attached stairs or ladders to get the mechanic into the air. This allows anyone to work at heights without knowing how to operate machinery like boom or scissor lifts. 

Industrial Maintenance Platforms

Scissor Lifts

Originally created for industrial uses only, scissor lifts (sometimes referred to as table lifts) are now becoming a popular choice in retail environments as well. Scissor lifts are named after the fact that their lattice-like scissor construction that draws together, allowing the lift to sit completely flat on the ground and extend to extreme vertical heights while supporting a lot of weight. These properties make the lift very popular for transporting and lifting heavy objects and equipment in industrial environments. In retail environments, scissor lifts can be used to move boxes or lift employees to high shelving areas in warehouses.

Because they have such a wide variety of applications, scissor lifts are now made in various sizes to suit the operator’s needs; scissor lifts can be powered mechanically or by pneumatic or hydraulic mechanisms. With their construction, scissor lifts can be built to reach extremely high places—some models can extend well beyond 60 feet in the air, high enough to reach the top of any warehouse shelving or allow maintenance to be done to the sides of buildings, equipment, and other areas where high-reaching manlifts are required.

Because the scissor lift works on such a basic principle, operating one is relatively simple allowing almost anyone to use one in a variety of environments. The fact that the lifting mechanism sits directly under the base allows even distribution of weight so technical skills for operation are unnecessary. Depending on the user’s needs, scissor lifts can be created for stationary purposes or in the case of many industrial scissor lifts, the machine can be made mobile for the easy transportation of heavy equipment.

With their relatively simple design, these types of lifts go perfect with attachments and additions—these include turntables which can allow the lift to rotate or tilters that give operators the ability to tilt the lift to one side, perfect for sliding boxes or other loaded equipment off of the lift quickly and easily.

Another benefit to these types of lifts is that they don’t take up a lot of space when not in use. In retail and wholesale environments, space can be limited at times. By lowering the scissor lift completely down, the lift can be placed out of the way so it doesn’t impede other necessary functions in the work environment.

Because of its simplicity, ease of use, and practicality scissor lifts are becoming a commonplace staple in work environments (especially warehouses) around the world—if you need something lifted or moved, scissor lifts will probably be able to handle the job.

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Scissor Lifts