"Give us the tools and we'll finish the job.", said Sir Winston Churchill to President Roosevelt in 1941. Nowadays, companies may not be seeking help from the USA as during the world war but Churchill's basic principle remains sound. When it comes to handling goods and specifically to lifting and lowering them, two alternatives exist. A scissor lift offers much to loading bay operators but in many respects, a mast lift is a practicable alternative. A mast lift can be the tool with which the job can be finished, easily and economically.
Mast lifts, as their name implies, consist of a platform that can be raised and lowered on a single column. However, this simplistic portrayal can't even begin to describe mast lifts, let alone convey their advantages. Such as? Mobility is a major benefit of mast lifts. Most can be used by a single operator and can be situated and set up quickly and easily. Their light weight and manoeuvrability means they can be used in many and varied locations. As a scissor lift is necessarily a fixed item, it is incapable of providing movement in any direction other than up and down.
How do mast lifts work? Let's start with the base unit, the 'foot' of the mast lift. This is wheeled and often boasts a zero inside turning radius. Extendable, locking legs fold out from their retracted positions to support the lift, preventing its toppling especially where the mast is free standing and can't rely on additional side support from, say, a wall or bank of shelving.
Now we have our feet (or foot) on the ground, we can consider the mast itself. This may be a single column but some mast lifts have a telescopic frame. Regardless of its structure, the mast is often extendable and can give a working height of more than ten metres. Some mast lift's columns are manually extended, using an integral winch mechanism, though power operation is often available, perhaps as an option. The mast lift's platform may also be power-operated.
A mast lift's platform is a component where refinement may be found. Often, the platform has its own, integral safety rails. These prevent loads falling from the platform. Where personnel are using the platform, these rails not only act as handrails and guard against falls, they also protect individuals against crush or trap injuries as the platform is raised and lowered. Naturally, platform rails have one or more gated sections. Moreover, where the mast lift is powered, the platform often has a control panel. This, essentially a facsimile of the main control panel on the base unit, allows 'riders' to control the platform when they're on board.
As is inevitably the case with goods-handling products, safety and reliability are of paramount importance. Like scissor lifts, mast lifts are built to comply with the appropriate British and international standards. Rigorous pre-production testing ensures that mast lifts are capable of coping with the kind of use (and abuse) meted out to them in real-life working situations. What's more, complete product advice, comprehensive warranties and full parts and service backup ensure that the correct mast lift will meet a customer's needs over a long and highly productive service life.
A mast lift cannot entirely replace a scissor lift but then again, scissor lifts can't match the versatility of mast lifts. To paraphrase Sir Winston Churchill, finishing the job can't even be considered without the right tools to start it.
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