How high does a lift reach? How to choose the working height

“How high does this lift reach?” sounds like a simple question, but it hides the most common misunderstanding when choosing a machine (cherry picker, aerial work platform, MEWP). The height that the manufacturer gives in the name and the specification is usually the working height, not the height at which your feet stand. The difference is usually about two metres, and it is exactly what decides whether the machine you have chosen will really reach the point of work, or whether you will fall short by those few crucial centimetres.

Working height and platform height

Platform height is the height to which the floor of the platform rises, that is the level on which the operator stands. Working height is a conventional value: the platform height plus about 2 metres, the estimated reach of the arms of a person standing on it. In other words, a lift with a working height of 12 metres raises the platform to about 10 metres, and the operator can work with their hands at roughly 12 metres. So when you choose a machine by working height, remember that the platform itself will be about 2 metres lower.

Where does the “+2 metres” come from?

It is an averaged value adopted across the whole mobile elevating work platform industry: it assumes the average working reach of an adult standing on the platform with their arms raised. This allows manufacturers of different brands to state height in a comparable way. In practice it is worth treating these 2 metres as approximate: if the job needs precision overhead, or you are using a long tool, the real comfortable reach may be somewhat different.

How to calculate the height you need

Start with the most important figure: at what height is the point where you will actually be working (for example a light fitting at 9 metres, a roof eaves at 7 metres, an installation under a hall ceiling at 11 metres). Subtract about 2 metres of arm reach from that value, and you get the minimum platform height. Choose a machine for the result with a small margin, but without overdoing it: an oversized lift means a higher cost, larger dimensions and more difficult access, and often a lower platform capacity as well.

For example, an installation at a height of 10 metres means a platform at about 8 metres, that is a machine with a working height of around 10 metres. Work on a façade at 14 metres means a platform at about 12 m and a lift with a working height of about 14 metres.

Not only “how high” but also “how far”

Height alone is only half the story. If you cannot position the machine exactly under the point of work, because there is an obstacle in the way, a flower bed, a production line or part of a building, you also need the right horizontal outreach. In that case, instead of a scissor lift (which rises only vertically), you choose an articulating or telescopic boom lift, which reaches sideways and over obstacles. So when choosing, give both values: how high, and how far from where the machine will stand.

Inside or outside also changes the choice

Height is one thing, but the working conditions narrow the choice. Inside halls, on hard ground, electric platforms work well (quiet, no exhaust fumes, non-marking tyres). On unpaved ground outside, use diesel machines with 4×4 drive. Always check also the permitted wind speed for work outdoors and the platform capacity for the planned number of people and weight of tools, because maximum reach and maximum capacity rarely occur together.

If in doubt, give us the parameters of the job

If you are not sure which working height to choose, you do not have to guess. Give us the height of the point of work, any horizontal outreach, the type of ground and the nature of the task, and we will choose from the fleet a model that reaches where it needs to, without you paying for unnecessary margin. It is better to settle this before delivery than to discover on site that the machine is a metre short.