Scissor or articulating lift? What to choose for building a hall

Building or fitting out a hall is one of the most common situations in which you have to decide between a scissor lift and an articulating boom lift (cherry pickers, also called aerial work platforms or MEWPs). Both types cope well on the flat, hard ground typical of a hall interior. The difference lies in HOW exactly you have to reach the point of work, not in which of them is “better” in a general sense.

When a scissor lift is better

If the work is directly above the place where the lift can be set up, for example installing services under a ceiling, finishing work over a large open area, painting steel structure, or running cable routes along a straight stretch of the hall, a scissor lift will usually be the more convenient and more economical choice. A large, stable platform lets several people work at once with tools and materials, which on longer finishing jobs really shortens the time, because the crew does not have to keep repositioning the machine. The scissor mechanism itself is also simpler and cheaper to run than a multi-segment articulating boom.

When an articulating boom lift is better

The problem appears when the hall already contains racking, machines, production lines or structural elements that a scissor lift cannot simply “go round”, because it moves only vertically, from the spot where it stands. Then the articulating boom comes to the rescue: with it you can extend the platform sideways and over the obstacle, reaching the point of work from a different place to the one where the machine itself stands. Articulating boom lifts also work well for spot jobs, for example repairing a single element of an installation high above warehouse racking, or reaching an element of the roof structure above equipment that is already installed, where you do not need a large platform but precise access from an unusual angle.

Work efficiency in practice

It is also worth thinking about the efficiency of the whole crew, not only of a single task. If the work involves moving along a long, straight stretch of the hall (for example painting a wall, or installing lighting in a row), a scissor lift, even though it moves only vertically, is often more efficient, because it is easy to move step by step along the line of work. If, on the other hand, the tasks are scattered at points in different, hard-to-reach places in the hall, an articulating boom lift lets you reduce the number of times the machine is repositioned, because from one spot it can reach several points thanks to the reach of its arm.

What else to look at

It is also worth comparing platform capacity and platform dimensions: scissor lifts usually offer a larger working area and a higher platform capacity at the same working height, which matters if the work needs several people or heavier tools and materials. The second factor is the drive: inside a hall, on level ground, the electric versions of both types work well. They are quiet and do not leave marks on the floor, which matters especially in buildings with a finished surface. If the hall is under construction and the ground is not yet fully compacted, it is worth considering diesel versions with 4×4 drive, which cope better on uneven ground.

When to consider both types together

On larger projects, where several kinds of work are going on at the same time, the best solution is often to rent both types at once: a scissor lift for work on large, open areas and an articulating boom lift for spot tasks in hard-to-reach places. This avoids compromises: the finishing crew works comfortably on a large platform, and the team doing, for example, installations around the roof structure has a machine with the right reach. Such a split of equipment often turns out to be more cost-effective than trying to squeeze all the tasks out of one universal machine.

Summary

In short: if the work is “straight up” above the place where the machine is set up, and a larger group of people with materials is to go onto the platform, choose a scissor lift. If you have to reach a place offset to the side, over an obstacle or at a hard-to-reach point scattered around the hall, an articulating boom lift will do the job. If in doubt, describe the layout of the hall and the nature of the work to us and we will help you choose a model suited to the specific task.