There are many types of booms to choose from, including articulated, telescopic, mast style, towable and compact crawler.
Careful consideration should be given during selection to the work to be done, height requirements, obstacles the boom may need to maneuver up and over, the number of people, tools and materials the platform will need to support and to the space in which the boom will need to operate.
“Urbanization is resulting in less open space,” says Jennifer Stiansen, director of marketing at JLG, “which drives greater demand for compact equipment. Boom lifts are no exception. Today, smaller models are gaining in popularity because of their ability to work in tight quarters and are easily transportable.”
Stiansen says that selecting a boom has traditionally been manual in nature. “If you get it right,” she adds,
“you’re off to work. If you get it wrong, you have unnecessary delays and downtime on your hands.”
If you get it right, you're off to work. If you get it wrong, you have unnecessary delays and downtime on your hands.
To help make the boom selection an easier process, as well as to improve efficiencies on the job, Stiansen says that JLG recommends that its customers use the brand’s new digital tools like Building Information Modeling (BIM) and augmented reality (AR) for assistance.
According to Stiansen, BIM can help contractors anticipate challenges, manage risk and eliminate guesswork in the built environment. The JLG BIM library allows design engineers to select and place to scale equipment models into 3D environments during project planning.
Once onsite, the JLG AR app which Stiansen says has five tools to help users plan projects accurately and manage equipment efficiently, can help facilitate machine selection. “The JLG AR app allows contractors to virtually place and maneuver a machine in the space in which it will be used,” she says.
Both of these tools are available for desktop and mobile use, making them valuable resources for contractors wanting to maximize job site efficiencies by matching the right boom type to the job. Whether on-the-go or in the office, digital tools like these from JLG can offer contractors real-time solutions to real-world job site challenges.
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