Dimensions
What is a working lift?
The working lift is the lift a scaffold is currently being used from — the one that is fully boarded and edge protected for people to work off.
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<figure>
<img src="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/working-lift/diagram.svg" alt="working lift — scaffold diagram from ScaffoldOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/working-lift">What is a working lift?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk">ScaffoldOptix</a>
</figcaption>
</figure>A scaffold may have several boarded lifts, but the working lift is the one the job is happening at. It is the lift that needs full boarding, guard rails, toe boards and the duty the work requires.
The working lift moves as the job progresses, which means edge protection and boarding move with it. That transition is when platforms are most often left partly complete.
Which lift is the working lift is also what the inspection is most concerned with, since it is the one people are standing on.
What goes wrong on site
- Edge protection moved up with the work but not reinstated at the lift below.
- Partially boarded lifts used as working platforms because they are nearly finished.
- The duty of the working lift not matching what the trade using it is doing.