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Multi-stage scissors lifts

Multi-stage scissors lifts offer a distinct advantage as people can ride on the lifts with the materials they are moving. This greatly enhances the utility of the mezzanine space at a facility. Faster, safer, and more labor-efficient, the multi-stage hydraulic lift platforms can offer long-term savings over other options. Michael Renken discusses the use of multi-stage scissors lifts which allow companies to move personnel and material from ground level to mezzanine level

Multi-stage scissors lifts are being used more frequently for moving large loads and an operator up to a second-floor level or mezzanine. The multi-stage scissors lifts are a great alternative to a vertical reciprocating conveyor (VRC) or a freight elevator. The product offers a distinct advantage over a VRC because people can ride on the lifts with the materials they are moving. This greatly enhances the utility of the mezzanine space at a facility. Faster, safer, and more labour-efficient, the multi-stage hydraulic lift platforms can offer long term savings over other options.

Benefits of scissors lifts

Scissors lifts have been moving workers and material from ground level to higher elevations for more than 60 years. For example, with VRCs, a worker must run up a set of stairs to offload product, or the company has to employ two workers to complete the job. Running up and down stairs or having two workers generates a far greater chance of injuries. With scissor lifts, the national building code and the vast majority of municipalities allow riders to accompany the product, making the process faster, safer, and more efficient.

While the project cost is comparable to that of VRCs, installation offers significant savings. This is because industrial scissors lifts come fully assembled from the factory instead of in kit form like vertical reciprocating conveyors, thus avoiding costly field assembly by elevator installers. Only the gates and enclosures need to be assembled on site, saving multiple days of installation in most cases.

These factors make industrial scissors lifts different from other kinds of lifts:

1. Fully assembled at the factory, not field-assembled from kits.
2. Feature no external guide rails and/or pulley mechanisms to entangle riders. All the stability and lifting is provided by the scissors lift mechanism beneath the platform.
3. Use constant pressure push buttons so the rider operator is in constant control of the lift movement.
4. In many cases, they do not require an elevator license or an elevator installer to install them.

Elements of a properly configured rideable industrial scissor lift

An industrial scissor lift should be equipped with 42-inch high guardrails with mid rails and 4-inch toe plates. The lift platform should have electrically interlocked gates that prevent lift movement unless the lift gates are closed.

The control should be a constant pressure pushbutton that the rider operator must keep depressed to maintain movement of the lift. Note that the use of call/send buttons are not allowed with riders on the lift. The rideable material lift should also be equipped with a manual down valve on the power unit to lower the lift in case of power failure. Again this is not a code requirement, but most municipalities will require it.

The design should include a smooth mezzanine fascia. The entire surface of the mezzanine adjacent to the lift from ground level to the top of the guardrail on the upper level must be equipped with a smooth face to eliminate shear points. This may be wallboard, polycarbonate galvanised plain sheets, or fine mesh. Interlocked doors and windows are allowed.

The rideable mezzanine lift must include an enclosure system surrounding it. The sides not adjacent to the mezzanine must be enclosed from ground level to the height of the highest guardrail in the fully raised position. The access gates on the upper and lower levels on the mezzanine must be electrically interlocked to prevent lift movement when the gates or doors are opened and mechanically locked so that they cannot be opened unless the lift platform is present. The gap between the platform and the mezzanine should be 1 inch. The gap between the platform and the enclosure on all other sides should be approximately 3 to 4 inches. This gap requirement is not found in the code but is another common sense feature often required.

Regulatory standards for rideable industrial scissors lifts

It is important to point out that most jurisdictions do not require industrial scissors lifts to follow standard elevator/VRC-type permitting and inspection regulations and ancillary requirements, which reduces operational costs.

Instead, rideable industrial scissors lifts are governed by rules contained in the 2015 International Building Code, Chapter 30 Elevators and Conveying Systems, Section 3001.2, which references standards found in American National Standards Institute (ANSI) MH29.1-2020 Safety Requirements for Industrial Scissors Lifts. The standard applies to scissors lifts that are used for commercial purposes, intended for use on firm, level surfaces, stationary, and used to load, unload, position, feed, or transfer materials or personnel. This updated IBC cleared up confusion with other codes, including ASME17.1 for elevators, ASME B20.1 for vertical reciprocating conveyors, and ASME90.1 for other types of scissors lifts.

Most states, counties, and municipal agencies accept the IBC references because they respect the rigorous multi-year and multi-constituency review process conducted by the International Code Counsel. However, this can vary by jurisdiction, and all facilities should work with their local building department to determine any additional permitting and regulatory requirements. Also note that other codes governing the height of such features as guardrails or enclosures on mezzanines or upper floors must be reviewed in conjunction with the industrial scissors lift code. Enclosure heights at upper levels may vary in different jurisdictions.

Under the hood of a multi-stage industrial scissors lift

One example of the multi-stage industrial scissors lifts is Advance Lifts’ Big Friggin Lift (BFL) series lift tables, designed for high travel applications that also require large platforms. These lift tables move larger loads and operators up to second levels and mezzanines, and are being widely used across all facets of manufacturing, warehousing, and retail.

The BFL lifts are self-supporting and do not tie into any other structures unlike VRCs, which have to tie into a mezzanine or building structure. BFLs are all built with tubular steel legs to maximise the unit’s rigidity, minimise the weight, and optimise costs.

The lift platforms are equipped with guardrail and snap chains. There are controls on the lift so the rider is always in control and the lift moves only when the operator is holding the button. The enclosure doors are interlocked to the lift. The lift will not move unless the outer doors are shut and the outer doors cannot be opened unless the lift is present at that level.

Available in a wide range of platform sizes, speeds, and load capacities, the BFL lifts feature vertical travel options ranging from 120 inches to 216 inches (10-18 feet – though Advanced Lifts has built lifts as high as 22 feet), platform sizes up to 96-inches by 144-inches (8×12 feet), and load capacities of up to 6,000 pounds. The lifts are extremely customisable and can be built to suit the specific applications, with custom capacities, travel heights, platform sizes, and loading patterns. The enclosures are also customised to fit site specific needs.

Lifts give automotive shops more storage room

At a large fast-growing automotive group throughout the midwest, 20 of the company’s 40 locations have installed the BFL lifts in their parts rooms. They built mezzanines to store low usage or large items, while small higher traffic everyday items are stored underneath the mezzanine, giving them more space in which to operate. The BFLs were installed to allow their employees to move large, oddly shaped, or heavy items without having the struggle of carrying them up and down the mezzanine stairs.

This configuration has allowed them to cover double the inventory while storing it in a far more organised fashion without the expense of a building expansion.

Consider using a rider mezzanine access lift

Rider mezzanine access lifts move larger loads and operators up to second levels and mezzanines quickly, safely and efficiently. Sometimes called a ‘dock lift on steroids’, these durable scissors lifts meet the rigorous demands of a wide range of retail, food processing, material handling, automotive, manufacturing, and warehousing industries.

Michael Renken is Vice President, Advance Lifts.

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