Powered access is today the access solution of first choice for an ever-increasing number of painting and decorating contractors. It is now widely recognised as the safest and most efficient option for carrying out exterior painting to windows, walls and soffits, interior decoration of walls and ceilings, pipework and ductwork, the application of specialist coatings and finishes, graffiti removal and sign-writing.

The country's leading powered access rental company is Nationwide Access, which operates out of 50 depots spread throughout the UK, and has a 6,000-strong hire fleet of scissor lifts, self-propelled booms and Skylift truck mounted booms.

Recent applications in the painting and decorating sector have included the repainting of a residential apartment block on the outskirts of Leamington Spa by Malcolm Hewitt, a Warwick-based painting and decorating contractor. The company has used Nationwide's equipment for over 20 years, this time opting for self-propelled booms and Skylift truck mounted units. It was a solution that Malcolm Hewitt readily acknowledges cost a third of what would have been needed had the original plan to use scaffolding been adopted.

Another contractor, this time Bond Painting, also saved a scaffolding bill that would have run to £20,000 when repainting the exterior of St George's girls school in Birmingham. The decision to use one of Nationwide's mobile elevated work platforms for the job enabled the redecoration to be completed in just three days, rather than the two weeks it would have taken had the company utilised scaffolding.

But such a range of equipment does raise the question: how do you choose the right machine for the job; the one that will get the job done quickly, cost effectively and safely? Fortunately, there is a very simple solution that is available to contractors from their nearest Nationwide depot - a free on-site survey.

But it does help to have some idea of what the main differences are between these three types of machine.

Scissor lifts are limited to vertical elevation only. However, they provide safe and reliable access for working heights between 6.4 metres and 28.3 metres, with plenty of room on the stable and secure platform for tools and paint. Three power options are available; diesel, which is popular for external use, electric, for indoor use where emissions are unacceptable, and bi-powered.

They can be used for a host of painting and decorating tasks and are particularly popular - especially the electric and bi-powered models - for indoor use. Typical applications include atrium and shopping mall decoration, because the machines are compact, fume and noise free, and cause the minimum disruption and inconvenience to employees and shoppers alike.

Turning to Nationwide's self-propelled booms, much of their popularity has to be attributed to their versatility. For, in addition to providing the essential vertical lift, they also offer an outreach capability, which enables the boom's work platform to reach over walls, trees and buildings, gaining access to areas that would be inaccessible to equipment where the operation is limited to vertical elevation. Again the height options are considerable, from just eight metres to an impressive 24.4 metres.

Finally, Skylift truck-mounts. As the name implies, these are mounted on the back of trucks, some of which are all-terrain, four-wheel-drive vehicles. They are able to move on and off site quickly and efficiently and be fully operational within minutes of arrival on site. Most Skylift booms are able to rotate a full 360 degrees and are manipulated via controls located on the work platform. As with self-propelled booms, the outreach capabilities mean that movement is not restricted to vertical elevation.

Skylift machines range from 14-metre working height units, all the way up to a colossal 72 metres and every machine is supplied with a fully qualified and experienced Nationwide operator.

Full details of Nationwide's powered access range, along with depot locations, are available at www.nationwideaccess.com or for connection to your nearest Nationwide depot, telephone free on 0845 745 0000. There is also a special Freephone number that connects callers to the nearest Skylift Master depot - 0845 850 8888.

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January 2003 Nat3.070a