The most common mistake when ordering an aerial platform costs not money but a lost day of work: the machine is chosen by height, arrives on site — and cannot reach. The reason is that height and outreach do not exist separately: the further you need to reach sideways, the lower you can go.
Platform height versus working height
Specifications quote two figures, and the difference between them is consistently about two metres. Platform height is measured to the basket floor; working height is a notional point reachable by a person standing in it, with a standard two metres added.
So a «30-metre platform» in two quotations can mean different machines. Before comparing, reduce both to the same basis — usually the basket floor, since that is what the working envelope diagram shows.
Outreach — the figure that ruins schedules
Side outreach is how far the basket moves away from the machine axis. It matters whenever you cannot park directly under the work: a flowerbed, a fence, rail tracks, a substation, parked cars, soft ground.
🔴 Crucially, maximum outreach and maximum height are never available at the same time. Every machine has a working envelope — a contour within which the basket can operate. The higher you go, the less outreach remains. Asking for «30 metres up and 20 out» is meaningless until you look at the envelope of a specific model.
A practical method: measure not the height of the work, but the distance from where the machine can actually stand to that point — horizontally and vertically. Those two figures are what you plot on the envelope.
Basket capacity
A typical basket takes 200–300 kg. That sounds generous until you count honestly: two workers in harnesses are already around 180 kg, and then come tools, cable, a luminaire, a section of railing. Many machines also carry a second limit: permissible weight is lower at maximum outreach than close to the mast.
Chassis and outriggers — where the machine can physically stand
- Dimensions and weight. In a courtyard or a car park the constraint is often access and permissible floor loading, not height.
- Width across outriggers. Deployed stabilisers extend well beyond the vehicle — that is the real footprint to be cleared.
- Ground. Spreader plates are almost always required; on loose ground or above buried services this is a condition of work, not a recommendation.
- Slope. Machines have a limit on the gradient they may work on — check it in advance, not on arrival.
Live-line work is a separate class of machine
For overhead lines, street lighting or catenary systems a standard platform is not suitable. You need an insulated boom and basket with a current test certificate for the relevant voltage class. This is not a comfort option — it is what the safety officer checks before granting access to the site.
What to include in the request
- The height of the work — and the horizontal distance you are reaching from.
- What you are doing: lighting maintenance, installation, pruning, façade work, live-line work.
- How many people and how much material go up.
- Where the machine will stand: surface, slope, clear width, access restrictions.
- Whether this is a one-off job, regular maintenance, or continuous fleet use.
We supply access equipment through direct imports and service what we deliver. From practice: two aerial platforms with a 34-metre working height for a regional power distribution operator, specified for work on high-voltage infrastructure. If you have a task rather than a finished specification, describe it and our engineers will size the machine.