07963 933644 

Posts tagged “building maintenance”

Due to issues beyond our control, Nancy, the 15m tracked spider had to be cancelled. However, as this left us with a gap in our fleet we decided to upgrade Nancy to the new Platform Basket 18.95 hybrid and placed the order in January 2023 with the understanding that this model was still being fine tuned in developement. 
 
Nancy has a working height of 17.6m with a max. side outreach of 9.6m and a Safe Working Load (SWL) of 230kg. Her full specifications can be found on our 'Applications Page', just click on her name to download her brochure. 
 
Well now she has arrived at Promax Access Ltd and will be with her sisters very shortly. 
 
Her sisters will be very pleased to meet her. 
Nancy, our new Platform Basket 18.95 hybrid tracked spider has arrived.
On our annual ‘Busmans Holiday’ to Vertikal Days this year at Peterborough Showground we were impressed by a lot of new products and services being launched, or soon to be launched. Amongst them was one that we did not expect. 
 
Let me elaborate! 
 
Whilst enjoying the fantastic hospitality on the Promax Access stand, we were surprised by the unexpected arrival of Carlo and Davide from Platform Basket. During our very pleasant and relaxed, on/off conversation over a few hours we were informed of several new products in the final stages of development, one of which, is a new 15m hybrid tracked spider, due to be launched later in the year. 
 
I can’t tell you any more about their new products as it is not my place to do so. However, what I can tell you, is that High Reaching Solutions has placed the FIRST ORDER in the UK with Promax Access for the new 15m hybrid tracked spider and her name will be NANCY. Hopefully she will arrive later this year or very early in 2023. 
 
Her sisters will be very pleased to meet her. 
Narrow tracked spider access platforms are designed and known for being able to get into tight and awkward spaces, this is their specialty! As spider platforms have developed and got larger, one of the main design additions is the multi-positioning settings for the outriggers, or legs. 
 
Outriggers are needed as, from the beginning, the spider platforms have been designed to be light in weight, not only for ease of transport, but primarily so they can also be used in areas where 'traditional' wheeled access platforms are physically too large and heavy. The outriggers also allow the spider platform to self-level, which means they can set-up on slopes/inclines whilst keeping the chassis of the machine horizontal, enabling a safe and sturdy structure to work from. 
Selina, our Platform Basket 22.10 EVO, using her adjustable leg settings in this situation and utilizing her 10m of outreach to allow contractors to gain access to a roof to carry out repairs. There was not enough room in the garden for a smaller tracked spider to get their outriggers down. 
Tracked spider cherry picker set in middle of fence reaching over roof.
 
The latest addition to our fleet, LOTTIE, a lithium/diesel 20.95 hybrid tracked spider has had her first outing. Although not doing a glamorous job of clearing gutters and down pipes, it is essential work to maintain the integrity of every building. And what a beautiful building and setting this is for Lottie. 
 
She certainly impressed our client with her smooth and sturdy operation. Using her radio remote controls enabled our experienced operator, whilst working from the ground, to manoeuvre our client in the basket to wherever he needed to be safely and efficiently by allowing all-round visibility. 
 
Lottie, tracked spider on lawn clearing gutters.
 
Lottie, tracked spider on gravel at the front of the house clearing the gutters.
 
 
After working on gravel at the front of the building Lottie was moved steadily around the property. When at the rear, plywood boards were used to protect the lawn and with Lotties' superb outreach, she only needed to be placed in one position to reach all of the guttering, which helped to speed up the work. 
Jamie, from J. W. Decorating in Scarborough got in touch with High Reaching Solutions as he had an awkward project to do and wanted to do it safely and efficiently. 
The property hadn’t been decorated for some years due to the awkwardness of its location in the grounds combined with a ground floor extension on one side, conservatory on the opposite side and an old slab-paved patio in the middle, which also contained large and heavy stone garden ornaments. 
 
The only access to the side with the extension and to the patio area further on was via a narrow, sloping and twisting gravel path. 
View from bottom of path showing where Sophie needed to come down.
View from top of path showing where Sophie needed to go.
 
 
 
Our client of several years had a project in Leeds to decorate the exterior of an apartment block. Most areas were easy to gain access to via a mobile boom lift, however the rear created somewhat of a challenge for them due to the restrictive narrow access. 
 
On realising the difficulties of the task they gave High Reaching Solutions a call and ask for Selina, our Platform Basket 22.10 EVO Hybrid. Having used her before they knew her 10.5 meters of outreach at 11 meters up and multi positioning stabilizer settings ensured that their experienced decorator would be able to get to the furthest point they needed to from the restrictive setup space. 
 
They also knew that she was very quite when using her Lithium Ion batteries. 
The narrow start of Selinas, the tracked spider, journey to her work area.
This photo shows the narrow and awkward path Selina the tracked spiderlift had to take on the start of her journey to the work area. 
The next view of Selinas continuing journey down a narrow path to the work area
 
 
 
After negotiating the narrow start as shown above Selina would need to continue her journey down this narrow and restrictive path.  
 
Great care would also be needed so as not to damage the established vegitation in the garden, which at times would be very difficult and time consuming to do. 
 
High Reaching Solutions good friends at Tracked Access Platforms, based in Bradford, asked if we could assist one of their clients on a gutter cleaning and repair job in York. They needed Scarlett Grace, our Platform Basket 13.80 Hybrid narrow tracked spiderlift as she was small and able to set-up and operate in a confined area. With a working area of no more than 3 meters wide they thought Scarlett Grace would be ideal as they had taken into account her negative tail-swing, dual tracking speed, outrigger footprint of less than 3 meters and of course her lithium batteries to negate noise echoing between the buildings. 
Tracked spider gutter cleaning
 
Adam Smith, an excellent carpenter in Scarborough needed to work at height safely on one of his jobs in Scalby village. He needed to replace some rotten wood on a gable end of a house which entailed cutting out the old rotten wood before replacing it with new oak on this listed building. He didn’t want to use scaffolding as this was a straight forward and relatively quick job for him so decided on a cherrypicker for speed and security. 
 
He came to High Reaching Solutions through recommendation and after we surveyed the site we suggested that Scarlett Grace, our Platform Basket 13.80 Hybrid tracked spider would be the ‘lady’ of choice. Her light weight, easy manoeuvrability and quiet lithium batteries would be ideal in this peaceful village location. The house he was working on is opposite a local landmark, a K6 telephone box, newly refurbished by local decorating company J.W. Decorating - Scarborough which now contains a Defibrillator instead of a phone, great idea to conserve heritage and benefit the local community at the same time.