110 The Masterbu||der - August 2012 www.masterbu||der.co.

|n
CE AeriaI Work PIatforms
he epoch when stacks o |adders
and scao|d|ngs were requ|red
Tor construct|on, repa|r and ma|n-
tenance act|v|t|es to be done at he|ghts,
has |onggone. Today, as th|s h|gh|y auto-
mated era r|ght|y deserves, the con-
struct|on |ndustry has sw|tched over to
the easy to use, qu|ck, e|c|ent & sae
Aer|a| Work P|atorms wh|ch have been
cater|ngtothe ||t|ngneeds o the boom-
|ng lnd|aneconomy or qu|te some t|me
now!
Cmo|lomyo o, Ooyo|

!|~e ^meoo
||tl|mg ^e||o| 1o|- -|olto|~s
lo New e|gmls
111 www.masterbu||der.co.|n The Masterbu||der - August 2012
CE AeriaI Work PIatforms
Today, many d|erent types o |ndus-
tr|es have come to use the aer|a| p|at-
orms and have grown to count on them
|n order to get spec||c pro|ects done |n
a sae and t|me|y manner. These p|at-
orms are usua||y assoc|ated w|th the
construct|on |ndustry but over the t|me
other trades such as w|ndow c|eaners,
s|gn |nsta||ers, m|n|ng surveyors, pa|nt-
ers, ra||way ma|ntenance workers and
even mechan|cs have bene|ted rom
the use o these mach|nes. Depend|ng
on the nature o the bus|ness, one can
|nd |ust about any aer|a| ||t that canper-
orm spec||c unct|ons or spec||c
requ|rements.
Aerial BoomLifts: What arethey?
An aer|a| boom ||t |s the most su|t-
ab|e equ|pment present |n the |ndustry
current|y, | you need to ||t personne| or
mater|a| to certa|n he|ghts. These ||ts
have work|ng p|atorms or buckets
attached to the|r ends as per the app||-
cat|onrequ|rements. Theyarebe|ngused
w|de|y |n construct|on and ma|ntenance
work today.
A boom ||t dev|ce may be des|gned
w|th |ts own base mov|ng p|atorm or
may be mounted on a truck. The basket
or work p|atorm var|es |n surace area
and max|mum we|ght capac|ty, a||ow-
|ng or a ||m|ted number o construct|on
and ma|ntenance workers to perorm
tasks at vary|ng he|ghts. Stra|ght and
art|cu|ated booms are boom||t dev|ces
des|gnedtomeet aw|derangeo access
s|tuat|ons, |nc|ud|ng avo|d|ng obsta-
c|es and negot|at|ng narrowspaces.
WherewouldyouuseaboomLift?
There are broad|y three ma|n mar-
ket segments |n aer|a| access equ|p-
ment. One |s |n the construct|on |ndus-
try (e|evated road/ra||, a|rport term|na|
bu||d|ngs, aer|a| p|pe||ne, stat|ons etc).
The second |s |n ma|ntenance/ac|||t|es
management (hote|s, shopp|ng ma||s,
theatres, etc) and the th|rd |s |n |ndustry
(sh|pbu||d|ng, warehouse, granary, |arge
and ta|| abr|cat|ons, etc).
Anywhere you need to reach h|gh
up and you wou|d trad|t|ona||y use a
|adder, sma|| scao|d|ng or tower, you
andspeed. W|tha|adder, there|sa|ways
go|ng to be a worry that you can a|| o
|t eas||y wh||st concentrat|ng on your
work, or | the |adder eet s||p you can
have a nasty acc|dent. W|th a boom ||t,
you have our whee|s and potent|a||y
outr|ggers to p|ant |n to the ground to
make |t extra secure. That has a very
|ow chance o mov|ng un|ess you want
|t to, as many newmode|s |et you move
the ||t wh||e the p|atorm |s ra|sed up.
W|th|n the p|atorm, you wear a harness
wh|ch |s connected to the ra|||ngs so
even | the worst happens and you a||
out, the harness w||| save you.
l you use a tower or scao|d|ng,
can use a ||t or access |nstead. Th|s
cou|dbetocarryout ma|ntenance|ns|de
a shop, chang|ng ||ghts or advert|s|ng
boards, access|ng h|gh stock she|ves
|n a stock roomor warehouse, |nventory
storage, |x|ng ro||-over doors or other
|ndustr|a| equ|pment that are mounted
h|gh up, pa|nt|ng, |nsu|at|on pane|s
|nsta||at|on, e|ectr|ca| |nsta||at|ons, p|p-
|ng |nsta||at|ons, sand b|ast|ng opera-
t|ons, w|ndow c|ean|ng, |nspect|ng roos,
tr|mm|ng trees and bushes and so on.
Conventional approachvs. BoomLifts
The advantages o an Aer|a| Boom
L|t over |adders or scao|d|ngaresaety
Art|cu|ated ||t be|ng demonstrated
112 The Masterbu||der - 2012 August www.masterbu||der.co.|n
these have to be set up. s|nga L|t, you
|ust dr|veup, c||mbonboardandyoucan
be |n the a|r |n seconds. No mess|ng
about and stra|ght onw|ththe |ob!
Though a cost|y equ|pment to pur-
chase, |ts not that buy|ng |s the on|y
opt|on ava||ab|e. l youre on|y go|ng to
use one occas|ona||y, you can h|re an
Aer|a| Boom L|t rather thanbuy|ng |t.
Providing need based solutions: Type
of BoomLifts available
Today, there are d|erent types o
boom ||ts that can be used w|th sepa-
rate mechan|sms as we|| as ue| sources.
These are c|ass||ed pr|mar||y on the
bas|s o the|r movement mechan|sm,
the he|ght they can access and the
type/ arrangement o boom(s) attached.
s|ng a comb|nat|on o these too|s/
attachments one can choose the aer|a|
||t perect or a spec||c |ob, as des|red.
BoomL|ts, by the|r nature, are des|g-
ned or temporary works and thereore
requent|y requ|retransportat|onbetween
s|tes, or s|mp|y around a s|ng|e s|te (o-
tenas part o the same |ob). For th|s rea-
son, they are a|most a|| des|gned or
easy movement.
npowered or towab|e boom ||ts
are usua||y sma|| un|ts wh|ch have no
mot|ve dr|ve and requ|re externa| orce
to move them. Dependent on s|ze and
whether they are whee|ed or otherw|se
supported, th|s may be poss|b|e by
hand, or may requ|re a veh|c|e or tow-
|ng or transport. Sma|| non-powered
||ts can be ||ght enough to be trans-
ported |n a p|ckup truck bed, and can
usua||y be moved through a standard
doorway.
Se|-prope||ed un|ts are ab|e to
dr|ve themse|ves (on whee|s or tracks)
around a s|te (they usua||y requ|re to be
transported to a s|te, or reasons o
saety andeconomy). lnsome|nstances,
these un|ts w||| be ab|e to move wh||st
the |ob |s |n progress, a|though th|s |s
not poss|b|e on un|ts wh|ch requ|re
secure outr|ggers. The power can be
a|most any orm o standard mechan|-
ca| dr|ve system, |nc|ud|ng e|ectr|c or
gaso||ne powered, or |n some cases, a
hybr|d (espec|a||y where |t may be used
both|ns|de and outs|de).
veh|c|e-mounted un|ts are mounted
on a veh|c|e, usua||y a truck or |t can be
mountedona|at backp|ckupvanknown
as a se| dr|ve), though other veh|c|es
are poss|b|e, such as ra||way cars. Th|s
veh|c|e prov|des mob|||ty, and may a|so
he|p stab|||ze the un|t - though outr|g-
ger stab|||zers are st||| typ|ca|, espe-
c|a||y as veh|c|e-mounted AWPs are
amongst the |argest o the|r k|nd. The
veh|c|e may a|so|ncrease unct|ona||ty by
serv|ng as mob||e workshopor store.
Whee|s vs. Tracks |s another |mpor-
tant cons|derat|on to be made. Track
mounted booms ow|ng to the|r ab|||ty to
trave| across sot rough terra|n have
becom|ng |ncreas|ng|y sought ater by
a w|de var|ety o users part|cu|ar|y |n the
ut|||t|es and energy sectors.
A|| the market |eaders are work|ng
to |aunch versat||e craw|er boom ||ts,
want|ng o course to cap|ta||ze on th|s
sma|| but grow|ng n|che market. These
track mounted booms w|th a comb|na-
t|on o sturdy tracked undercarr|age,
mu|t|p|e sect|onbooms and a |ong bas-
ket w|th a h|gh capac|ty have aroused
the |nterest o many. Deve|opment work
cont|nues on custom|z|ng the mach|ne
or spec||c tasks (|nc|ud|ng an opera-
tor cab).
E|ectr|c powered Boom ||ts w|th zero em|ss|ons & 60-oot work|ng he|ght
Saety |n Boom ||t
F1 s|te |n Greater No|da
CE AeriaI Work PIatforms
Action Construction
Equipment
They are however not so we|| su|ted to
hard surace part|cu|ar|y the |arger mod-
e|s w|thstee| tracks.
Art|cu|at|ng boom ||t wh|ch |s a|so
reerred to as cherry p|cker, up-and-
over ||t or Z-||t |s used when you need
to not on|y go up, but a|so out or sca|-
|ng over |mmovab|e obstac|es. Th|s
spec||c p|atorm has s|m||ar eatures
as that o the crane, wh|ch |s made up
o |nd|v|dua| |o|nted sect|ons that a||ows
e|evat|on. The trend or th|s type o p|at-
orm has become more popu|ar |n spe-
c||c |ndustr|es. Ava||ab|ep|atormhe|ghts
or art|cu|at|ng boom ||ts common|y
range rom 30 to 60 eet on e|ectr|c
mode|s and 34 to 150 eet on ue|-
powered un|ts. Outreach averages
around 22 eet on e|ectr|c mode|s and
34 eet oneng|ne-dr|venones.
Te|escop|c boom ||t |s a type o
aer|a| work p|atorm a|so known as a
st|ck boom because |ts p|atorm trave|s
stra|ght rom |ts base. The ab|||ty to
ra|se the boom to a vert|ca| pos|t|on, as
we|| as |ower |t to a be|ow hor|zonta|
pos|t|on, makes th|s aer|a| work p|at-
orm un|que. Some te|escop|c boom
||ts come w|th art|cu|at|ng extens|ons
or added outreach. P|atorm he|ghts
can reach above 125 eet and hor|zon-
ta| reachcanequa| 80 eet.
Mast ||t |s a s|ender vert|ca| or near|y
vert|ca| structure that supports the work
p|atorm. However, a poss|b|e opt|ona|
eature can a||ow outreach. Some o
these aer|a| work p|atorms have a s|n-
Track mounted boom ||ts are gen-
era||y very stab|e thanks to the|r heavy
undercarr|ages and they can o course
cope w|th the very worst o ground con-
d|t|ons, wh||e rubber tracked vers|ons
can be more gent|e where |ow ground
bear|ng pressures are needed. Quad
Track systems are the most preerred |
a track undercarr|age |s be|ng chosen.
A 135 Art|cu|ated Boom L|t |n use at F1 Pace Budh C|rcu|t
114 The Masterbu||der - 2012 August www.masterbu||der.co.|n
CE AeriaI Work PIatforms
Garware Wall Ropes Ltd
(Synthesis)
g|e mast to support one worker, wh||e
others have dua| masts to support two
workers. They come |n manua|-push or
se|-prope||ed mode|s. Some mast-type
aer|a| work p|atorms can be o|ded to
transport them eas||y, even through
standard doorways. These ||ts can be
powered by gas or d|ese| eng|nes.
Easeof Control
The ||t unct|ons o an AWPare con-
tro||ed by an operator, who can be s|tu-
ated e|ther on the work p|atorm |tse|,
or at a contro| pane| at the base o the
un|t. Somemode|s are|ttedw|thapane|
at both |ocat|ons or w|th a remote con-
tro|, g|v|ng operator a cho|ce o pos|-
t|on. A contro| pane| at the base can
a|so unct|on as a saety eature | or
any reason the operator |s at he|ght and
becomes unab|e to operate h|s con-
tro|s. Even mode|s not |tted w|th a con-
tro| pane| at the base are usua||y |tted
w|th an emergency sw|tch o some sort,
wh|ch a||ows manua| |ower|ng o the ||t
(usua||y by the re|ease o hydrau||c or
pneumat|c pressure) |n the event o an
emergency or power a||ure.
Contro|s vary by mode|, but are re-
quent|y e|ther buttons or a |oyst|ck. The
typeandcomp|ex|tyo thesew||| depend
on the unct|ons the p|atorm |s ab|e to
perorm. The contro|s can d|rect eatures
suchasvert|ca| movement, Latera| move-
ment, Potat|ona| movement (card|na|
d|rect|on), P|atormmovement & Ground
movement (|nse| prope||ed mode|s).
p, p, and away: Ana|yz|ng the
uture o AWPs
118 The Masterbu||der - 2012 August www.masterbu||der.co.|n
CE AeriaI Work PIatforms
Art|cu|ated Boom L|ts are |dea| or erect|ng PEB Structures
Te|escop|c Boom L|ts prov|des outstand|ng hor|zanta| reach L|t w|th an art|cu|ated boom, rubber-track undercarr|age and 4 outr|ggers
Asons Enterprises
ln lnd|a, |arge construct|on compa-
n|es that de||ver |obs on t|me have begun
to use aer|a| access equ|pment. One
such examp|e |s the use o these equ|p-
ments |n the construct|on o Term|na| 3
at lGlA, New De|h|. Fac|||t|es manage-
ment compan|es though have st||| to
d|scover the advantages |n the use o
aer|a| access equ|pment.
Sma|| bus|ness owners a|so tend to
shy away rom purchas|ng these p|at-
orms due to the assumpt|on that they
areveryexpens|ve. Pesearchhasproved
that buy|ng pre-used p|atorms can be
|ust as e|c|ent as purchas|ng a new
one. There are p|enty o dea|ers that
canoer h|ghqua||ty products and we||
ma|nta|ned mach|nes at aordab|e pr|-
ces. They can a|so be rented on a tem-
porary bas|s based on the |ength o a
pro|ect.
T|mes, o course, havechanged, and
w|th |t, construct|on pract|ces, too.
W|ththe open|ng upo the lnd|anecon-
omy and expans|on o |nrastructure,
|nternat|ona| arch|tects and contrac-
tors have made the|r way |nto the coun-
try. They have brought w|th them new
techn|ques, re|ect|ng |nternat|ona|
trends. The comp|ete out|ook o han-
d||ng a bu||d|ng at a he|ght has
changed, mak|ng |t |mperat|ve that
|nsta||at|on o access equ|pment at the
t|me o construct|on and a|so or the
subsequent use and ma|ntenance |s a
must, and more econom|ca|, rom the
|ong- term perspect|ve.
The P|ann|ng Comm|ss|on has pro-
|ected that |nvestment |n |nrastructure
wou|d a|most doub|e at SD 1,025 b||-
||on |n the Twe|th F|ve Year P|an (2012-
17), compared to SD514 b||||on |n the
E|eventh P|an. O the SD1,025 b||||on,
50 per cent |s expected to come rom
pr|vate sector, whose |nvestment has
been36 per cent |nthe E|eventhP|an.
The scenar|o when |t was hard to
|nd a worker at he|ght w|th PFAS (Per-
sona| a|| arrest system) |s now passe.
The saety ru|es & regu|at|ons are
becom|ng more & more str|ngent |n
lnd|a and compan|es have to o||ow
lnternat|ona| Standards o Saety and
Pro|ect comp|et|on. Saety counc||s
have a|so now regu|ated that us|ng a
|adder |s dangerous and has man-
dated the use o e|evat|ng p|atorms to
ensure a saer work env|ronment. Th|s
has |gn|ted a huge demand o new &
|nnovat|ve techno|ogy to cater to such
huge pro|ects under progress across
the nat|on.
lt |s thus apparent that there |s great
potent|a| |n the market, but |t depends
how d|erent stakeho|ders perce|ve
the scenar|o, espec|a||y |n terms o not
on|y product|v|ty, but more |mportant|y,
the saety o workers. How d||cu|t can
|t be to rea||ze the pro|t & goodw||| that
can be ach|eved by h|r|ng aer|a| equ|p-
ment or ew bucks per month aga|nst
bear|ng the b|ame and pay|ng 10-15
t|mes the amount to compensate or a
|abor acc|dent due to unsae work|ng?
Ev|dent|y, they dont say |t or no reason
- Work we||, work sae!
PhotoCourtesy:
www.macocorporat|on.com
www.thomasnet.com
Pough Terra|n Sc|ssor ||ts prov|des more room to work
CE AeriaI Work PIatforms
120 The Masterbu||der - 2012 August www.masterbu||der.co.|n