PAR2007 - IPAF

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in Wiltshire required equal kid-glove
treatment. While former pupils have
occasionally been known to shin up
the side to place a chamber pot atop
the spire, a safer solution was required
to inspect the 250kg bell, hung from
a height of 25m. Surveyors were concerned
the bell housing had become
unsafe. A Genie S-85 telescopic boom
allowed a speedy inspection that confirmed
the presence of both rot and
corrosion in the bell’s iron reinforced
timber frame.
With its 23m of outreach and a working
height of up to 27m, the S-85 was
easily able to get up and over undergrowth
restricting the perimeter of the
chapel. Two trained operators from the
college’s maintenance team used the
machine’s articulating jib to reach a
compact 160mm square timber hatch
on the tower roof, which covers the bell
fastening.
With the introduction of the Work
at Height Regulations in 2005, many
trades have had their eyes opened to the
benefits of powered access, particularly
those that have traditionally relied on
ladders such as window cleaners and
decorators.
Powered access was used by a refurbishment
specialist painting waterside
A smaller JLG 450AJ boom lift is used to
raise flags in the Mall.
balconies in Wapping. The five-storey
Capital Wharf apartment block on the
edge of the Thames presented a number
of challenges to the contractor, including
tight deadlines and a complete lack
of vehicular access to the base of the
façade. These were solved by a lightweight
Niftylift Heightrider 21 self-propelled
articulated boom that was floated
down the Thames on a barge and then
lifted by crane into position. It proved to
be a faster, simpler and more cost effective
alternative to traditional scaffolding,
the contractor learned.
Weight advantage
The Heightrider 21 was chosen due to
its high operating envelope and low
overall weight. At just 6,100kg, it could
be easily lifted by the barge crane onto
the narrow water frontage. It then made
light work of getting two operators up
and over ground level obstructions to
each individual balcony – the highest
at 20m up.
Good reach from a small package was
also required by specialist contractor
Rotary (Yorkshire) to install overhead
cabling and ductwork in the new
Oncology Unit at the St James’ Hospital
in Leeds. A fleet of eight ultra-compact
Genie Runabout GR15 mast platforms
is being used to beat the space constraints.
“The days of step ladders and trestles
are long gone,” says Rotary’s project
manager Graham Rawlins. “The small
battery-powered scissor lifts are now
the standard spec for this work, but on
this occasion the compact nature of the
GR15 provided access to more areas.”
The Genie Runabout features a
telescopic vertical mast that allows
unbeatable compactness for a given lift
height. The stowed height of the GR15
is only 1.57m and the chassis is just
700mm-wide and 1.35m-long. With
a working height of 6.47m this kind
of machine provides access through
both restricted entrances and between
pipework at height.
Perfect solution
Rawlins reports that the Runabouts have
proved the ideal solution for his team.
“Most of the rooms within the building
are already finished and some of them
are quite small,” he says. “Consequently,
we have to manoeuvre in very tight
spaces and are travelling from room to
room all the time.” The GR15’s compact
frame allows it to pass easily through
a narrow doorway and its zero inside
turning radius means that once inside
a room it can quickly navigate its way
into the right position.
Access challenges are also presented
by roller coasters and other such theme
park attractions.
Chessington World of Adventures in
Surrey uses a JLG 800AJ articulating
boom lift for routine maintenance work
on the high-level rides at the park.
A platform height of up to 24.4m,
combined with the ability to articulate
the boom, enables maintenance
personnel to access and work on the
high-level twists and turns of the rides.
The machine’s four-wheel drive makes it
easy to move it around the park as well.
The 800AJ has an integral generator,
providing on-board electrical power for
tools and other equipment being used
from the boom’s platform. The integral
generator does away with trailing leads
that impede manoeuvrability.
A slightly smaller articulating
boom lift, a JLG 450AJ, is used by the
Enterprise plc, a contractor to the Royal
Parks, to hang Union Jacks on the flagpoles
at Buckingham Palace and down
the Mall for state occasions and royal
events.
The fully proportional controls (via
a dual axis joystick controller and a
thumb rocker switch for steering) provide
the precision required for smooth
operation and easy positioning in all
drive and lift functions, particularly
in challenging high-reach tasks. The
standard 1.8m all-steel platform lifts up
to 230kg, while the 760mm by 183mm
platform gives space for the two workers
and their large flags.
Thanks to A-Plant Powered Access,
Nationwide Access, Panther Platform
Rentals and The Platform Company
for their assistance with this article.
(Left to right)
A JLG 800AJ
articulating
boom lift has
the geometry to
access the high
twist and turns
of a rollercoaster
at Chessington
World of
Adventures;
a Genie S-85
telescopic
boom was used
to inspect the
chapel bell at
Marlborough
College; a 23m
telescopic
boom and two
scissors were
used to repair a
stranded jet in
the Dominican
Republic.
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IPAF POWERED ACCESS REVIEW 2007