Last year I stumbled across a video of a Hinowa tracked aerial platform and I keep going back to it. I couldn’t tell you exactly why. Maybe because it’s a cool gizmo and reminds me of the scary things I’ve done on ladders that would have been safer with a lift. Or it could be because of all the times I erected staging past parts of the building I did not need to work on to get at the parts I did. Wouldn’t it have been great to drive up in a machine, fiddle with some joysticks, and be lifted to just where I wanted to be?
Any number of companies sell boom and aerial lifts in this country—JLG and Genie being two of the better known brands. Headquartered in Italy, Hinowa is better known and more widely distributed in Europe than here.
I don’t claim to be an expert on machinery of this type because it’s not something I used in my construction career or follow that closely as an editor. But it’s hard not to notice the difference between equipment designed for use in the wide open spaces typical of the U.S. and equipment intended for use in the cramped spaces more typical of Europe.
The videos below were produced by the manufacturer, so “watchers beware”.
The first one shows a Goldlift model 14.70 driving down the ramps of the delivery truck, across a narrow bridge, and through a narrow passageway—into a courtyard where it is then used to access the building exterior.
The second video shows a battery-powered version of the Goldlift (they’re usually gas or diesel) being taken into a church and used to access hard-to-reach areas. All I can say is that’s an expensive machine to use for changing light bulbs and dusting. Then again, it’s probably cheaper in the long run than setting staging or working off ladders.
