Devices for lifting persons - Suspended platforms

Variable-level suspended platforms are used in the civil engineering and industrial sectors to provide access for personnel to a work area located at height. Some of the most common types of work performed from a suspended platform are listed below:

• facade cleaning and painting;

• sandblasting and painting of large metal structures;

• construction and maintenance of engineering structures ;

• work on high-rise structures such as antennas, chimneys and lighthouses.

The characteristics of the platform - dimensions, payload - depend on the structure and the type of work being carried out; nevertheless, platforms are classified according to three types:

• Platform permanently installed on a building to maintain and clean its facades, known as a "facade maintenance unit";

• standard platform temporarily installed for routine work ;

• special platform designed to meet a user's specific needs.

The selection criteria that favor the use of a suspended platform are :

• working area over 20 m high;

• duration of work beyond one day.

On the other hand, the selection criteria that favor the use of a platform lift are :

• working area up to 25 m high ;

• time-limited work at the same location ;

• high mobility ;

• ground access must be kept clear.