Greater savings in program time, greater cost savings and a means of reducing the threat of workplace injuries and long-term health issues…

If you’re responsible for ensuring all of the above, then you want to source equipment that helps you achieve this. Whether you’re selecting the materials used, the trades on site, or the vertical access that enables the work to be completed , the decisions made here affect the results you achieve.

While choosing vertical access might seem like an oversight, the decision to use a mast climber can play a significant role.

But what makes them so capable of cost & efficiency savings?

It all comes down to the design and construction. Let’s start with the obvious.

1: A Mast Climber Is a Single Platform

Standing at the bottom of two different construction projects; one using mast climbers, and the other using scaffolding, the uninformed might notice one significant difference.

A mast climber is a single platform, whereas scaffolding has many different levels depending on the scope of the project and the size of the building.

This is one of the greatest features a mast climber has, though, but why?

Working At The Right Height

If you’re responsible for the health and safety of workers on a construction project, you want to take every precaution to protect their wellbeing.

Having a mast climbing work platform (MCWP) and a single platform for vertical access is just the start.

Scaffolding has fixed levels and trades must work within those limitations. A mast climber and its single platform, however, allow precise height positioning to ensure operatives are working at an optimal and comfortable level, completing work quicker and much safer.

Get Parts Where You Need Them Much Quicker

Negotiating scaffolding can be time-consuming. As projects progress, materials are required on different sides of the building at different levels. When you’re working from a single loading bay and having to negotiate large cladding panels or bricks through scaffolding poles and tight corners, it can become incredibly time-consuming.

With a single platform, a mast climber can be driven down to the bottom of the mast, loaded, and returned to the required height in little time. Not only does this help get your project completed much quicker, but it’s also much safer as trades aren’t working within confined spaces.

2: The Modular Design of A Mast Climber

Quicker Set-Up

With a single platform, projects can get underway much quicker. Those that start quicker, end quicker and means you can be far more efficient throughout.

With scaffolding, there are countless individual components: 12ft tubes, wooden boards, and essential fittings. All of these need to be carefully assembled and erected by operatives at a significant expense.

Mast climbers arrive on-site in much larger modules. Once the single platform is fitted to the masts and they are secured to the building, work can commence.

Typically, it’s around 2-days for a mast climber to be erected on a 40m high building. In comparison, this would be around 16-days for scaffolding.

Multiply that time saving across every elevation on your project and ask yourself….Easy To Extend

The scaffolding you think you need and the scaffolding you actually need are two very different things.

It’s not uncommon for sudden changes to be required; reinforced boards need to be added or you might need to extend another few floors. This takes time, and time is money. When scaffolding is being extended, your trades aren’t working.

This problem is alleviated with a mast climbing work platform. The modularity means mast climbers can easily be extended, either vertically, horizontally or around corners with minimal disruption.

3: Mast Climbers – Improving The View

Betting For The Building’s Residents

Imagine you live in a high-rise residential building and work needs to be completed on the entire external façade. This will last for potentially several months and part of the process involves enclosing the entire building in scaffolding.

What effect might this have on you and your everyday life?

The blocking of natural light, the constant noise of construction work, there’s going to be a significant impact.

This isn’t the case with a mast climber. The single platform moves up the building’s façade one floor at a time, so even if the work is on your level, it will only last for a minimal amount of time. Once complete, you’ll have the daylight and peace & quiet of normality.

The Project Manager's View

It’s a psychological fact that people work harder when they know they can be seen. Rather than being hidden by the scaffolding, a mast climber and the work being completed can be seen from the bottom of the building.

This creates greater accountability and a piece of wider knowledge to project managers of what exactly is going on at all times.

More efficient workers mean a more efficient project and that you’ll be meeting your targets.

Mast Climbing Work Platforms For Your Project

There’s so much more that a mast climber can bring to your project and these features only really scratch the surface of their possibilities.

As material costs and labour shortages continue to hold back the true potential of the construction industry, it’s up to people like you to find ways of injecting efficiency into your projects while also managing costs.

It starts with considering the benefits a mast climber can bring.

Speak to the BFT Mastclimbing team today who will discuss your project in full, creating the best possible vertical access solution.

Get a better understanding of a mast climber and how it can work alongside traditional scaffolding today and start saving your program running time.