Don’t Run with Scissors - DOWNLOAD PDF ARTICLE
Don’t Run with Scissors – There’s a Better Way to Lift.
Every warehouse, distribution center, and receiving dock has a sign that reads “Safety First”. While business owners are genuinely concerned about their employees’ safety, material handling is inherently dangerous. Employees rely on material handling equipment like forklifts, lift tables, dock lifts & levelers to improve their efficiency and safety. While this equipment does both, it’s often designed to operate within a hair of OSHA and ANSI standards. The right equipment could increase an employee’s efficiency 3X and improve safety.
Many larger companies employ a full-time Safety Manager to ensure that employees are properly trained to operate equipment that is properly maintained. Unfortunately, both can be overlooked, especially in smaller companies, and you’re then reliant on the thin safety margin of your equipment, procedures, and employees’ common sense. Exceed that margin and you’re reliant on your lawyers and insurance to keep you operating. Your best defense is to start with the safest equipment available.
“Scissor” has become permanently paired with “Lift“, and most assume this is the only method to raise a platform. It’s unfortunate that a lifting mechanism with a shearing/amputation danger would be given such a literal name. Joking aside, there seems to be a race to the bottom with 20+ Dock Lift manufacturers producing an almost indistinguishable product that is slow, structurally unstable, vulnerable to damage, and barely compliant with OSHA standards. “Safety” chains and manual ramps have become standard on these lifts. Not only do these provide very limited protection, they are often unused by the operator. While competition has made them cheap, you get what you pay for.
What’s the primary difference between these six “scissor” lifts? Color.
Cantilever-Style Lifting
The Speed-Lift™ by Superior Handling is the only dock lift that incorporates cantilever-style lifting and automatic-folding safety ramps and bridges. It is the safest, fastest, and most robust dock lift on the market. Instead of using a scissor-lift mechanism underneath, it incorporates cantilever lifting arms at the end. We’ve raced to the top to produce a product that exceeds OSHA and ANSI standards while outperforming and outlasting all “scissor” lifts.
Why choose a Cantilever Speed-Lift over a Scissor Lift?
1. 2-3 TIMES FASTER LOADING/UNLOADING - A Speed-Lift is 2-3 times faster than a scissor lift. The industry seems to accept that scissor lifts are slow. Plus, add to that the time required to move chains and raise/lower ramps (if they’re used. See next point). The efficiency of the Speed-Lift makes it a truly viable alternative to building a dock.
2. IMPROVED OPERATOR SAFETY - The Speed-Lift is also the only dock lift on the market with automatic folding ramps and bridges. These, together with non-removable steel railings, provide the operator with a 360° protection barrier at all times. The outer frame provides 360° toe protection. Scissor lifts require the operator to move chains and adjust platforms, which is often skipped and questionably adheres to OSHA or ANSI.
3. REDUCED ENERGY COSTS - The Speed-Lift only uses electricity when the platform is raised and returns to the ground by gravity. A scissor lift uses power in both directions.
4. INCREASED STABILITY – The Speed-Lift has a full load rating across the entire platform while the load rating on a scissor lift is reduced by up to 60% of the capacity on the ends and sides. Scissor lifts have an inherently unstable design.
5. LOWER INSTALLATION COST - Speed-Lifts are fully self-contained, have built-in bumpers, and are surface-mounted either on concrete or asphalt. Simply level, anchor, and plug it in. Most scissor lifts require ancillary structures like bollards to protect from truck impact as well as a concrete pit which can be dirty and difficult to maintain. They often have external hydraulics and motors that must be separately installed.
6. LONGER LIFE - The Speed-Lift has a proven useful life of 25+ years with regular preventative maintenance.
7. MORE MOBILITY - All Speed-Lifts have wheels, so they can either be moved around a single location or transferred to another location if needed. Scissor lifts are rarely movable after installed.
8. MORE FLEXIBILITY – The Speed-Lift can be modified to accommodate specific needs and unique layouts. For example, a Lateral Track Mobility system for servicing multiple bays with one lift, side-off ramps for sites with space constraints, extra wide platforms.
9. MORE PEACE OF MIND - The Speed-Lift has an unmatched 5-year parts, 2-year labor, and 15-year frame warranty. Scissor lift manufacturers typically only offer a 1 or 2-year warranty that often does not include labor.