Lift for a shopping centre or office building: which to choose

For work in an operating shopping centre or office building (replacing lighting, servicing installations, decorations, painting) you choose an electric cherry picker (aerial work platform, MEWP):

• In the atrium, mall and lobby: an electric scissor lift of 7.72–14.3 m.
• With narrow doors and tight passages: a narrow 8 m scissor lift or a 10 m vertical mast lift.
• Over escalators and display islands: a 15 m electric articulating boom lift.

The machine should be free of exhaust fumes and on non-marking tyres, and before it goes in you need to check the load capacity of the floor and slab and the dimensions of the doors and goods lift (elevator). Below: which machine for which job, how to get through doors and a goods lift, what to do about tiles and slabs, and how to organise night work and the area below the platform.

Which lift for which job in the building?

• Electric scissor lift — atriums, lobbies, halls, malls: lamps, decorations, installations.
  • Haulotte Optimum 8: 7.77 m, platform 1.72×0.74 m.
  • Genie GS-3246: 11.75 m, capacity 318 kg, weight 2,812 kg.
  • JLG 4069LE: 14.2 m, weight 5,300 kg.

  The platform holds a crew and materials and rises vertically, so a scissor lift is placed exactly under the work point.

• Narrow 8 m scissor lift — for narrow passages, doors and goods lifts:
  • Genie GS-1930: width 0.76 m, weight 1,456 kg.
  • Haulotte Optimum 8: width 0.79 m, weight 1,590 kg.
  • Genie GS-1932: width 0.81 m, weight 1,503 kg.

  Details in the article on the narrow lift that goes through a door.

• Self-propelled vertical mast lift — JLG Toucan 10E L: 10.10 m, machine width 0.99 m, capacity 200 kg (2 people indoors, 1 outdoors), horizontal outreach 3.38 m — the platform reaches over a counter or an obstacle.
• Electric articulating boom lift — over escalators, retail islands and furniture, where a scissor lift cannot place its platform under the work point:
  • Manitou 150 AET2: 14.85 m, horizontal outreach 8.86 m, capacity 230 kg.
  • Haulotte HA15 IP: 14.87 m, outreach 8.65 m, capacity 230 kg.

  These are machines weighing 7,085–7,230 kg and 5.6–6.65 m long, for large spaces rather than narrow doors.

• Manual installation lift — Sumner 2000 (7.7 m, capacity 300 kg, weight 190 kg): lifts material or a fitting where the load capacity of the slab does not allow a heavier machine. It is a material lift, not a platform for people.

Why only electric machines indoors?

Customers and tenants are in an operating building, so a machine must not emit exhaust fumes, should be quiet and should leave no marks. Electric machines have non-marking tyres and need no exhaust ventilation. Diesel ones are kept for outdoor work. A comparison of the drive types is in the article electric or diesel lift.

Will the machine go through doors and a goods lift?

Before you order a machine, measure the route from the unloading point to the work point and compare it with the model data:

• Width of doors and passages — GS-1930: 0.76 m, Optimum 8: 0.79 m, GS-1932 and Compact 8: 0.81 m, Toucan 10E L: 0.99 m, 10 m scissor lifts: 1.17–1.20 m.
• Height — the narrow scissor lifts are 1.82–2.39 m high (e.g. Optimum 8: 1.99 m, Compact 10N: 2.35 m, GS-2632: 2.39 m). With low doors the guardrails are folded. Also measure door frames, lamps and beams along the route.
• Goods lift (elevator) — compare the weight of the machine (e.g. Optimum 8 — 1,590 kg, GS-1932 — 1,503 kg, Compact 10N — 2,160 kg) with the rated load of the goods lift, and the length (Optimum 8 — 1.90 m, GS-1932 — 1.83 m) with the depth of the cabin. The goods lift data is confirmed by the building manager.
• Bends and ramps — the length of the machine and its turning radius decide whether you can enter a side corridor.

Tiled or stone floor and the slab: what should you check?

The floor in a shopping centre or lobby is often polished or made of expensive stone, and beneath it lies a slab with limited load capacity (for example above an underground car park). Ask the building manager about:

• the load capacity of the floor and slab along the route and at the work point,
• whether mats or plates that spread the load and protective film are required,
• bans for some areas (for example above tills, evacuation zones).

The weight and wheel loads are in the model data and the machine manual; we have collected them in the article how much does a lift weigh. When the load capacity of the slab is very limited, material can be lifted by a light vertical mast installation lift (190 kg).

How do you organise night work and cordon off the area?

• Outside opening hours — work in customer areas is usually arranged for night or early morning, in line with the building’s rules; the hours and access to the building are set by the manager.
• Area below the platform — cordoned off with tape or barriers and marked; tools and decoration elements may fall from above. No one walks under the platform.
• Route and evacuation — the machine and the cordon do not block escape routes or entrances to units.
• Work over escalators and islands — the machine is placed beside them, on solid floor, and the platform goes over the obstacle (horizontal outreach of an articulating boom lift 8.65–8.86 m). A lift is never placed on an escalator.
• Qualifications — the machine is operated by a person with a certificate from the Office of Technical Inspection (UDT); the crew can be trained (training with an exam) or you can rent the machine with an operator.

For work overhead in halls and on ceilings, for example installations, see also the article on installations under the ceiling. In your enquiry give: the height of the work point, the door width and goods lift dimensions along the route, the type of floor, working hours and the number of people in the platform.

Frequently asked questions

Which lift should I use for work in a shopping centre or office building?

An electric one, free of exhaust fumes and on non-marking tyres. The choice depends on the place of work:

• In an atrium, mall or lobby: most often an electric scissor lift (7.72–14.3 m working height in our fleet).
• For tight passages and narrow doors: a narrow 8 m scissor lift (the Haulotte Optimum 8 is 0.79 m wide, the Genie GS-1930 0.76 m) or the JLG Toucan 10E L vertical mast lift (10.10 m, width 0.99 m).
• Over escalators, display islands and furniture, which a scissor lift cannot reach: an electric articulating boom lift (15 m).

Will the lift go through a door and a goods lift?

A narrow electric scissor lift will, if the door is wide and high enough:

• Haulotte Optimum 8: 1.90 m long, 0.79 m wide, 1.99 m high.
• Genie GS-1932: 1.83×0.81×2.11 m.

You also have to compare the weight of the machine (1,456–2,065 kg for the narrow 8 m scissor lifts) with the rated load of the goods lift (elevator), and the length of the machine with the depth of the cabin. The 15 m electric articulating boom lifts (5.6–6.65 m long, 6,700–7,400 kg) will not fit in a typical goods lift, they drive in from ground level. The dimensions and load capacity of the goods lift are given by the building manager.

Will a tiled or stone floor and the slab take the machine?

You need to establish that before driving in. The lightest electric scissor lifts in our fleet weigh 1,456–2,065 kg, the taller scissor lifts up to 5,300 kg (JLG 4069LE), and the 15 m electric articulating boom lifts 6,700–7,400 kg. The load goes through four wheels, so the building manager or a structural engineer confirms the load capacity of the floor and slab, and if in doubt plates or mats that spread the load are used. When the slab does not allow a self-propelled machine, a light Sumner 2000 manual installation lift (190 kg) can be considered for lifting material.

Can you work in a shopping centre during opening hours?

Work at height in customer areas is usually planned outside opening hours, at night or in the morning, and during the day only in zones cordoned off from customers. It depends on the building’s rules and the manager’s decision. An electric machine is quiet and free of exhaust fumes, so the work does not disturb many tenants, but the area below the platform is always cordoned off.

Will the work leave marks on the floor?

Electric machines have non-marking tyres, which do not leave streaks on a light floor. The risk is mainly the point load of the wheels and supports on tiles. On sensitive floors managers often require additional mats or protective film.

Who may operate a lift in a retail or office building?

A person with a qualification certificate from the Office of Technical Inspection (UDT) for mobile elevating work platforms. A service company or contractor without a qualified employee can train its crew or rent the machine with an operator. People in the platform wear a harness with a lanyard attached to the anchor point.