JLG Industries, Inc.
World-leading access equipment manufacturer
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McConnellsburg, PA
The body shop employees at a Midwestern facility of a national energy provider are responsible for keeping a fleet of eight boom trucks in tip-top shape and ready to respond in an emergency.
From general maintenance and repairs to inspections, the mechanics often have to work on the booms at heights of up to 14 feet. However, because much of the work on the booms requires the use of two hands, the garage foreman at the body shop was tasked with finding a safer alternative to the unstable extension ladder they were using.
Speed, Space, Safety and Savings
The garage foreman contacted Roger Beckley of Herc-U-Lift to discuss several requirements he needed to meet in finding a replacement for their extension ladder. “Our shop is very small, and many of the personal lifts we looked at were simply too large to use in our facility. Cost also was a consideration, naturally.” said the foreman. We needed a reasonably priced, easily mobile product that would allow us to safety use both hands to get the job done right the first time.”
Beckley brought a LiftPod® portable aerial work platform to the facility for the body shop team to try. “Before I even managed to get myself out of the truck, the garage foreman had assembled the entire LiftPod himself,” said Beckley. “It couldn’t have taken him more than 30 seconds.”
We needed a reasonably priced, easily mobile product that would allow us to safely use both hands to get the job done right the first time.
Success
“The LiftPod is the perfect solution for us,” said the foreman. “Because the base is small and fits directly under our trucks, we can get much better access to the boom we’re working on without taking the truck outside. And the enclosed work platform allows us to more safely use both hands to operate the grease gun used on the pivot points.”
The LiftPod breaks down into three lightweight components, permitting the body shop team to easily transport it in their pick-up truck for trips between two different facilities that they run. “It also stores easily in the corner of the shop and doesn’t take up too much space, which is really at a premium in both locations,” said the foreman.
Sharing Success
The body shop team is now using the LiftPod for everything from performing ongoing maintenance on the trucks to fixing the baskets that the electricians stand in to repair power lines. “We only need an 18-volt drill to power the LiftPod, so we’ve even been able to take it out for field service requests to repair burst hoses on the booms,” said the foreman. “Tasks that used to take us over 30 minutes now only take us 10. And because we’re in an enclosed basket, we have minimized concerns for slipping or falling. We also don’t have to waste time moving the truck outside – or bundling up to face the bitter cold.”
In fact, the body shop team liked the LiftPod so much, they called the garage foreman at another facility to recommend it. “He ended up buying one for his shop as well. He saw the same value we did. The LiftPod makes our work so much more efficient, as well as safer and easier to do. It really is the ideal solution.”