In many industries such as construction, municipal engineering, electric power, and landscaping, aerial work is an important part of daily construction. Choosing the right aerial work equipment can not only improve work efficiency but also ensure construction safety. There are various types of aerial work platforms on the market, and different types of equipment have different focuses on structure, performance, and applicable scenarios. This article will detail the common types of aerial work equipment and their core characteristics, and provide a practical selection guide to help you make the best decision based on actual needs.

 

 

 

1. Scissor Aerial Work Platform  

Core Advantages: Strong stability, wide working range, outstanding load-carrying capacity, making it a highly versatile aerial work equipment.  

Structural Features: Adopts a scissor-type mechanical structure, with stable lifting process and good platform stability after lifting. The working platform has a large area, supporting multiple people to stand and work at the same time, and the overall equipment is flexible in movement, adapting to different site transitions.  

Applicable Scenarios: Widely used in mobile operations such as aerial equipment installation, inspection, and maintenance in various industries, such as equipment installation in factories, ceiling maintenance in shopping malls, and cargo access in warehouses, where stable support and large working space are required.  

 

 

2. Telescopic Boom Aerial Work Platform  

Core Advantages: Significant advantage in working height, convenient operation, adaptability to complex environments, and high safety and reliability.  

Structural Features: Realizes aerial work through a telescopic boom, which extends flexibly and can easily reach ultra-high positions. The platform supports multi-angle rotation, covers a large working radius, and has a solid overall structure with strong environmental adaptability.  

Applicable Scenarios: Specially designed for ultra-high altitude operations, especially suitable for scenarios requiring work in special environments, such as large shipyards, bridge construction, and maintenance of super-high workshops. It can work stably in humid, dusty, high-temperature, or low-temperature environments, meeting construction needs under harsh conditions.  

 

 

3. Articulating Boom Aerial Work Platform  

Core Advantages: Strong operational flexibility, simple operation, balanced safety and efficiency, making it a multi-scenario general aerial work equipment.  

Structural Features: Uses a folding working arm (usually two-section or three-section arm), which can flexibly extend, fold, and achieve multi-angle operations. The platform supports 360° rotation, and both the turntable and the working bucket are equipped with operating devices, facilitating operators to adjust the operation method according to their position.  

Applicable Scenarios: Extremely versatile, widely used in municipal engineering, power maintenance, street lamp maintenance, advertising installation, communication base station construction, garden pruning, airports, ports, and other industries, especially suitable for scenarios where the working position changes frequently and the working angle needs to be flexibly adjusted.  

 

 

4. Vehicle-Mounted Aerial Work Platform  

Core Advantages: Convenient mobility, high work efficiency, good stability, suitable for outdoor mobile operations.  

Structural Features: Vehicle-mounted, with a lightweight boom design, overall light and flexible, and easy to transfer. The outrigger span is large, providing stable support, and equipped with automatic outrigger reaction force detection function. If any outrigger loosens, the equipment will automatically stop working to ensure safety.  

Applicable Scenarios: Mainly used for outdoor mobile aerial work, such as municipal road maintenance, street lamp maintenance, street tree pruning, billboard installation and maintenance, and traffic facility maintenance, where frequent changes of work locations are required.  

 

 

 

When selecting aerial work equipment, the following factors should be comprehensively considered in combination with actual construction needs to ensure that the equipment matches the scenario:  

 

1. Working Height  

Choose equipment according to the actual height requirements of the construction site. For medium and low-altitude operations (e.g., 6-15 meters), scissor-type or articulating boom-type may be more suitable; for ultra-high altitude operations (e.g., high-rise buildings, tops of large workshops), telescopic boom-type is an ideal choice. Avoid insufficient equipment height affecting work or excessive height causing resource waste.  

 

2. Working Range  

Consider the breadth and flexibility requirements of the work area. If the work point is fixed and the range is concentrated, the large platform advantage of the scissor-type is more obvious; if a large radius or multi-angle operation is required (e.g., bypassing obstacles), the folding arm design of the articulating boom-type is more flexible; if 360° dead-angle-free operation is needed, the rotation function of telescopic boom-type or articulating boom-type can meet the demand.  

 

3. Load Capacity  

Select according to the number of operators and the weight of tools and materials. Scissor-type platforms have a large area and strong load-carrying capacity, suitable for multi-person collaborative operations or carrying more tools; articulating and telescopic boom types need to be based on the load requirements of a single platform to ensure that they can accommodate operators and necessary equipment at the same time.  

 

4. Working Environment  

The complexity of the construction environment directly affects equipment selection. For indoor dry environments (e.g., factories, shopping malls), scissor-type or articulating boom-type is sufficient; for outdoor humid, dusty, high-temperature, low-temperature, or corrosive environments (e.g., shipyards, chemical sites), telescopic boom-type has more prominent weather resistance advantages; for frequent transfer between different outdoor sites, vehicle-mounted type has more suitable mobility.  

 

5. Operational Convenience  

Consider the proficiency of operators and the difficulty of equipment operation. Scissor-type has a simple structure and low operation threshold, suitable for most construction personnel to get started quickly; telescopic and articulating boom types may require professional training due to their complex functions; vehicle-mounted type needs to combine vehicle driving and equipment operation, ensuring that operators have corresponding qualifications.  

 

 

 

The selection of aerial work equipment should be based on the core principles of "safety, efficiency, and adaptation". The stable universality of scissor-type, the ultra-high altitude capability of telescopic boom-type, the flexible multi-scenario adaptability of articulating boom-type, and the mobile convenience of vehicle-mounted type correspond to different demand scenarios. By clarifying the working height, range, load, environment, and operation requirements, you can more accurately match the equipment, improving construction efficiency and safety. It is hoped that the introduction and guide in this article can provide practical reference for your selection of aerial work equipment.