If you have work at height coming up, a cherry picker could be just what you need. These clever MEWPs, also called boom lifts, are known as safe and efficient equipment for work in high places. If you’re wondering if you need a cherry picker for your project, this expert guide to the benefits of cherry pickers and their uses in different industries will help you to decide.
What Are The Benefits of Cherry Pickers?
There are so many benefits to using a cherry picker when working from height. We’ve listed some of the key ones below.
Safety
One of the most significant benefits of a cherry picker is the increased safety. Unlike with scaffolding or ladders, workers don’t have to climb up or move around themselves, removing a lot of potential for human error and accidents.
Manoeuvrability
Many cherry pickers have a knuckle in the boom (the extending arm), allowing them to lift the platform up and over rather than straight up. This is excellent for projects at heights where an obstacle may be in the way.
Efficiency
Cherry pickers are highly efficient and can help speed up tasks. Unlike scaffolding, there is no extensive setup process. You simply drive your cherry picker to the desired location and raise it upward.
Tool Transport
Another benefit of a cherry picker is that it removes the need for workers to carry their tools and materials up and around with them. Instead, tools and materials can be placed on the platform and brought to the worksite. This reduces strain and injury risk for workers, cutting back on downtime. It is important that the tools and materials are secured and don’t contribute to exceeding the platform’s Safe Working Load (SWL).
How are Cherry Pickers used across Different Industries?
The benefits of cherry pickers can be of use in a number of industries and specialisms, from construction and maintenance to film and TV. See our guide on cherry picker uses to see the versatile ways these MEWPs can be applied.
Cherry Picker vs Scissor Lift
A MEWP is beneficial for almost any work-from-height task, but which access platform is most beneficial for your specific project depends on a number of factors.
Your job at height may actually be better suited to a scissor lift, a platform that lifts vertically using a mechanism that opens up like a pair of scissors.
Which Cherry Picker Do I Need?
In a fleet as impressive as Horizon’s there are plenty of cherry pickers to choose from, so you can select a model that closely suits your needs. Our cherry pickers include indoor and outdoor types, electric and bi-fuel, and range of maximum heights, widths and capacities.
How High Up Can a Cherry Picker Go?
Our cherry pickers have working heights up to 40 metres plus.
Can I Hire a Cherry Picker?
Anyone can hire a cherry picker, however, they must be 16 years old or more and have a powered access licence (PAL card) to operate one safely in accordance with HSE guidelines. In fact, advancements in MEWP technology mean that some cherry pickers can be set-up so they won’t function unless the appropriate PAL card is scanned.
What Training Do I Need to Operate a Cherry Picker?
At Horizon Platforms, we offer IPAF Operator training either at our training centre or on your site for your convenience, with an impressive 96% pass rate. We also have a range of other training options, including MEWPs for Managers to enable you to plan MEWP work properly and IPAF Instructor training so you can train others to operate MEWPs at your site.
For cherry picker operation specifically, you will need either IPAF 1b training for a static boom lift or 3b training for a mobile cherry picker.
Where Can I Hire a Cherry Picker?
Wherever you are in the UK, you can hire cherry pickers with Horizon. Our location allows us to deliver easily across the north of England while our performance-benchmarked partner network enables MEWP delivery from the north of Scotland to the south of England..
When you hire a cherry picker with Horizon Platforms, experience a swift, efficient and fully supported rental process. We offer both same-day and next day delivery for your convenience and are available 24/7 – here for you whenever you need us.
And our accreditations, including IPAF Rental+ certification, mean you can rest assured that we deliver the highest quality with utmost care for health and safety.
Choose to hire your way. Call or email our knowledgeable team or use HireHub to find the cherry picker you need then receive an order confirmation in just fifteen minutes.