Lifts by job · 4m to 14m working height
Lifts for warehouse and racking work
Racking installs, beam labels, high-bay lighting, sprinkler and cable runs all happen over a smooth concrete floor, which suits battery machines. The figures to compare with your site are working height against the top beam or light, stowed width against the narrowest aisle, and machine weight against what the floor can carry.
How high is the job?
Common working heights for this kind of work. Measure your own job to the highest point you need to reach: working height allows for a person standing on the platform, about 2m above the platform floor.
| Task | Typical working height | Machine types often used |
|---|---|---|
| Stockroom shelving and low racking | 4m to 6m | Mast lift or push-around lift |
| Pallet racking beams, labels and repairs | 6m to 10m | Narrow electric scissor or mast lift |
| High-bay lighting, sprinklers and roof services | 10m to 14m | Larger electric scissor |
| Reaching over racking, conveyors or plant | Depends on the reach | Electric articulated boom |
Machine classes used for this work
Electric scissor lifts
Battery powered, so no exhaust in the building, and quiet. The deck takes two people with fittings, cable drums or racking parts, and it lifts straight up from where it parks. The narrow models are around 0.81m wide, which fits many racking aisles; check the stowed width against your narrowest aisle.
Mast lifts
One person and tools on the smallest footprint. A self-propelled mast lift drives along a picking aisle with the platform raised, which makes quick work of labels, lamp changes and inspections.
Electric articulated booms
When you cannot park under the work, a jointed boom reaches up and over racking, conveyors or plant. The narrow electric models are built for indoor floors.
Catalogue machines in this range
Machines we hire in the classes and heights above, with their key specs, for you to compare with your job. Every figure on the machine pages comes from the maker's data sheet.
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Check the access and ground before it arrives
- Measure the narrowest aisle and every door on the route, and compare them with the stowed width and height on the machine page.
- Check the floor can carry the machine. Its weight is on the machine page from the maker's data sheet: 1,279kg for the Genie GS-1932, for example, on four small wheels. Mezzanines, suspended slabs and older floors need confirming by whoever is responsible for the building.
- Look for floor drains, trench covers and dock levellers. HSE warns that trenches, manholes and uncompacted backfill can tip a machine, and that temporary covers must be strong enough for it.
- Plan for forklift and pedestrian traffic. IPAF advises an exclusion zone around the machine and a traffic plan so nothing can strike it.
- If the work is close under roof steel or racking beams, brief the operator on trapping risks. HSE suggests considering machines designed to stop the operator being pushed onto the controls.
- Battery machines need charging, usually overnight from a 230V socket, so plan one near where the machine will park on a hire of more than a day.
IPAF cards and safety
Whoever operates the machine needs an IPAF PAL card, or equivalent training, that covers its category. The card lists the categories the holder is trained on, and each machine page on this site shows its category.
Self-propelled scissor lifts and mobile mast lifts are category 3a (mobile vertical). Static mast lifts are 1a, and push-around lifts have their own PAV category. Booms are 3b (mobile boom).
IPAF strongly recommends a full-body harness with a short restraint lanyard in boom-type platforms. In scissor and mast lifts a harness is not normally needed unless your risk assessment says so.
Supervisors who plan MEWP work can take IPAF's MEWPs for Managers course.
Book it for the days you need
You set a fixed end date when you book and pay for those days up front, so there are no open-ended charges. On delivered hires we arrange collection from your end date. Need longer? Call us before it ends and we will extend it.
Questions
- Will a scissor lift fit between my racking?
- Often, yes. Narrow electric scissor lifts such as the Genie GS-1932 are 0.81m wide stowed. Measure your narrowest aisle and leave room to steer, then compare it with the stowed width on the machine page. If the aisle is tighter, a mast lift such as the Genie GR-15 is narrower, at 0.75m.
- Can I use it on a mezzanine floor?
- Only once the floor is confirmed to take it. The machine weight is on every machine page from the maker's data sheet, and the load sits on small wheels, so ask whoever is responsible for the building to check it before the machine goes up.
- Diesel or electric indoors?
- Battery machines have no exhaust and run quietly, which is why electric machines are widely used inside warehouses. The indoor filter on the machine list shows only electric, hybrid and manual machines.
- Do my staff need an IPAF card to use it?
- Yes. Operators need training for the machine's category, and the IPAF PAL card is the usual proof: 3a for self-propelled scissor and mast lifts, 1a for static mast lifts, PAV for push-arounds and 3b for booms.
- How long can I hire it for?
- You choose the start and end dates when you book and pay for those days up front, so the hire has a fixed end date and no open-ended charges. On delivered hires we arrange collection from your end date, so there is no call to off-hire. Need longer? Call 0333 038 4946 before the end date and we will extend it.
Sources
Safety points on this page summarise public guidance. Read the full text before you plan the work.