Lift for installing signs, billboards and 3D letters

To install a sign, a sign box, 3D letters or a banner, a scissor lift is usually enough if the machine can stand right under the wall on level ground. When there are steps, planting, cars or a canopy over the entrance under the façade, you need an articulating boom lift, which extends the platform sideways and over the obstacle. Advertising on the roofs of halls and tall buildings is installed from a telescopic boom lift. If the machine is to stand on a pavement or carriageway, you need a permit to occupy the road reserve.

Scissor, articulating or telescopic lift for advertising?

• Scissor lift — a large platform that holds the sign box, tools and two installers. It travels only vertically, so it must stand right under the mounting point. Electric versions work well in shopping centres and halls, and the diesel rough terrain ones in car parks and yards.
• Articulating boom lift — the jointed arm goes round a canopy, shelter, awning, planting or parked cars. The most common choice for signs above an entrance and letters on the parapet of a low building.
• Telescopic boom lift — great height and reach, when the machine has to stand far from the building: advertising on hall roofs, tall pylons, a logo on the façade of an office block.

How do you calculate height and outreach?

Working height is matched to the upper edge of the advertisement (that is where the fixings are), plus a margin: the installer works with their hands about 2 m above the platform floor. The second figure is the distance from the wall: if the machine cannot drive up to the façade, horizontal outreach counts, and the platform capacity falls at full reach. Both values are checked on the load and reach chart of the specific machine. We describe this in detail in the article how to choose the working height.

When do you need a road occupation permit?

Signs and advertisements usually hang on the street side, so the machine often stands on a pavement or verge. Before the installation you must then obtain from the road authority a road occupation permit, most often together with an approved temporary traffic management plan (signage, barriers, a pedestrian crossing). Decisions can take a few days, so the application is submitted before the machine is booked. On private land, for example in a shop car park, the landowner’s consent and fencing off the zone under the platform are enough.

Safe installation of advertising from the platform

• Capacity counted in total — installers, tools, anchors and the advertisement itself. Long items are not hung under the platform or leaned against the guardrails, because this changes the stability of the machine.
• Sail effect — a flat sign box or banner catches the gust. The wind limit for most platforms is 12.5 m/s, but with large flat elements the installation is stopped sooner.
• Cables and lighting — illuminated advertising is connected to the electrical installation, and in the street above the pavement there may be overhead lines and lamp posts. A distance is kept from live conductors.
• Zone under the platform — it is fenced off, because screws, tools and pieces of the old advertisement can fall from above. More rules in the article on safe work at height.

With an operator or without?

Operating a mobile elevating work platform requires a UDT licence. Advertising companies that install a few signs a year often choose rental with an operator: the operator positions the machine and works the platform, while the installers deal with the advertising. For regular installations it pays to train your own employees.

Frequently asked questions

Which lift should I use to install a sign or a sign box?

When the machine can stand right under the wall on level, hard ground (pavement, car park, shopping centre floor), the simplest choice is a scissor lift: it has a large platform that holds a sign box and two installers. When there are steps, planting or parked cars under the façade, or you have to reach over a small canopy or shelter, an articulating boom lift is better, because it extends the platform sideways and over obstacles. For tall façades and advertising on hall roofs, a telescopic boom lift is used.

Do I need a permit to install advertising on the street side?

If the lift will stand on a pavement, carriageway or verge of a public road, you must obtain from the road authority a road occupation permit and usually an approved temporary traffic management plan. The advertisement itself may be covered by a separate procedure (for example a building notification or the municipality’s landscape resolution), which the client checks. A machine on private land, for example in a shop car park, is positioned with the landowner’s consent.

How heavy a sign box can be taken up in the lift platform?

The deciding factor is the platform capacity given in the machine’s data sheet, and it is counted in total: installers, tools, screws, anchors and the advertisement itself. With boom lifts the capacity also depends on reach, and at full extension of the arm it can be lower. Heavy or long items are not hung under the platform or leaned against the guardrails; if a sign box does not fit in the platform or exceeds the capacity, the installation is planned with other handling equipment.

Can advertising be installed in windy conditions?

Most mobile elevating work platforms have a permitted wind speed of 12.5 m/s, but with advertising the problem is the sail effect: a flat sign box, banner or letter catches the gust and jerks the installer and the platform. In gusty wind the installation of large flat elements is stopped, even if the machine itself is still within its limit.

Do I need a UDT licence to install advertising?

Yes. Operating a mobile elevating work platform requires a qualification certificate from the Office of Technical Inspection (UDT), even for a one-off sign installation. An advertising company without a qualified person can rent a lift with an operator or train its installers.