Tag: Access Hire

The arguments in favour of Electric Vehicles (EVs) are now very familiar. They reduce carbon emissions, minimise air pollution and provide a more sustainable means of transport. 

But the question is how long until adoption is widespread? 

More than 10 million EVs were sold last year, and that number is expected to reach 14 million in 2023. With the government’s pledge to phase out – and eventually make illegal – the sale of new oil and petrol vehicles, this growth can only increase.

What does it mean for your infrastructure projects?

It depends on your perspective. 

Because if you seize the opportunity, it could deliver a  substantial competitive advantage.

The genie is not going back into the bottle

Now that it is possible for an infrastructure project to use fully-electric Van Mounted MEWPs, there will be an inevitable chain reaction. Early adopters will improve their ESG scores rapidly, which in turn will help them win more tenders. 

Once this becomes clear, competitors will have to adopt EVs just to keep up – at which point those that have got ahead of the curve will have the headstart of being used to this new way of working.

The advantage of this emerging technology is the ease of integration into current operations. With us as the UK’s pioneering supplier of a fully electric fleet of Van Mounted MEWPs, our customers find that incorporating these vehicles into their daily routines can be a seamless process. The experience of operating an electric vehicle quickly becomes second nature. The earlier you embrace this change, the sooner you can begin reaping the benefits of electric technology – giving you an upper hand in this rapidly evolving sector.

 

Electric vehicles will only improve

While the current crop of fully-electric Van MEWPs produces significant savings, there is already research suggesting that the life-cycle emissions of a typical EV will be cut by 73% by 2050. As usage grows, production becomes more efficient and the grid is optimised, it’s inevitable that the rest of the industry will cotton on to the undeniable benefits.

That is part of the reason we have made sure to get ahead of the curve. We believe our role is not just to provide our customers with quality equipment, but to help them embrace innovation and carve out a more positive future.

We are confident that Electric Vehicles will be a major part of that future for the infrastructure sector, and we are proud to be the first to take bold action and offer ambitious, forward-thinking project leaders a fully-electric fleet.

Want to learn more about Access Zero?

MEWPs are essential for many infrastructure projects, enabling faster, safer work at heights. Choosing the right MEWP will:

• Save time by reducing delays
• Save money by enabling faster, more efficient work
• Improve workers’ experience on-site

But how do you know who has the capability and who to trust with the responsibility of providing your MEWP?

At Access Hire, we pride ourselves on being trusted advisors to our customers. Which is why we’ve put together this guide to choosing the perfect MEWP supplier for your project.

Here are four factors contractors should consider before hiring a MEWP:

1. Site Safety and Conditions

Whether working on a town or city street, or in more rural environments, the central concern for any MEWP hire is picking the correct MEWP for the job. This will depend on the specifics of the job and industry: working on a smaller site will require a smaller, more agile vehicle; jobs in rural areas will likely benefit from a 4×4 pickup style MEWP.

The majority of projects, however, will benefit from van mounted MEWPs. Without the need for towing, they can simply be driven to wherever they are needed and get to work. This is not only more efficient; it allows the vehicle to be moved more quickly – granting your project more flexibility. 

2. Service offering

From rigorous testing to fast delivery, the service of a MEWP provider can make all the difference to your project. What level of support does the vendor offer? Is maintenance and servicing included in the contract? And how quickly can your vehicle be delivered to the site? 

These factors can impact the overall economics of your hire: costs incurred due to faulty machines, downtime, maintenance and servicing are often underestimated and overlooked when planning to source a MEWP.

3. Courtesy Vehicles

How easily can a vehicle be replaced? And what does that potential downtime cost you? For most contractors, time without their MEWP can lead to big losses. And delays will typically slow down the entire project’s workflow.

Your chosen provider should therefore be able to resolve issues with their MEWP quickly. Signs to look for are the size of the supplier’s fleet (as this indicates whether a replacement vehicle is likely to be ready) and the quality of their engineers.

At Access Hire, for example, we employ a highly responsive team of engineers who are experts in the specific units we hire out. As a result, they can often diagnose issues over the phone – reducing your potential downtime from hours to minutes.

We also have dedicated courtesy vehicles to minimise downtime and help our customers to get back to work quickly!

4. Environmental impact

A growing number of tenders require contractors to demonstrate their eco-credentials. This is a key topic currently and it will be a growing priority moving forward – and project managers should be aware that environmentally friendly Van Mounted MEWPs are now available.

The first fully electric MEWP lease package, Access Zero, was recently launched, enabling Fleet Managers to reduce their carbon emissions and show their dedication to environmental concerns. If you believe improved ESG will give you a competitive edge, this may be the unit for you.

Explore Access Hire’s full MEWP range here or contact sales for more information.

The business case for Learning and Development (L&D) is well established. Research shows that offering workers educational opportunities makes companies 92% more likely to produce innovations, increasing retention by 34% and boosts engagement by 14%.

But the strongest argument for increased L&D is not about your bottom line – it’s about your people. 

Professional development is a central driver for individual workers’ wellbeing and confidence on-site. Whether they are operating a van mounted MEWP or simply going about their daily tasks, proper training keeps your workers safe, confident and motivated.

Here are three ways it does that:

1. An investment in people 

While 82% of employees say it’s important for their organisation to see them as a person, not just an employee, only 45% of employees believe their organisation actually sees them this way. 

Professional development helps tackle that problem. Workers who are given opportunities to develop – whether training for van mounted MEWPs or management courses – feel their company is investing in them. That sense of being valuable translates not just into loyalty and productivity gains – it helps lift the entire morale of the workforce.

2. Confidence at work

A lack of confidence in carrying out a task can lead to anxiety at work. For workers experiencing this, training can validate their competence and give them the skills they need to positively navigate their daily tasks.

Working at heights is the perfect example. While van mounted MEWPs make workers safer and increase their productivity, operating such vehicles requires both knowledge and experience – both of which can be acquired through the right training program. The key is to provide training which allows workers to practise with the actual access equipment hire they will be using on-site. This will help them get used to the specific van mounted MEWP and help the training stick.

3. Career security

Experts argue that a lack of stability is a key factor in workers’ mental health. This is certainly true of most infrastructure sectors: with long, irregular hours and widely perceived lack of job security, many workers feel they lack the long-term security of other professions.

An investment in professional development helps provide more security. Not only does it ensure today’s workers are able to adapt to the innovative technologies that will define the industry’s future – it ensures that individual employees feel they are making progress in their careers.

There’s little debate that modern van mounted MEWPs improve infrastructure output: 79% of contractors say such advanced technologies improve on-site safety, and 78% say they increase labour productivity.

But even the best van mounted MEWPs require regular servicing and maintenance. Rather than seeing this as a regulatory burden, however, project leaders should focus on the benefits this process offers.

Here are three important ways inclusive service and maintenance helps you get more value from your van mounted MEWPs:

1. Increase safety 

Van mounted MEWPs make working at heights far safer. But that doesn’t mean there is no Health and Safety risk when vehicles are not properly maintained. A large study found evidence of 736 MEWP-related accidents between January 2019 and December 2020¹. 

According to a report from the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF), the most common causes of injuries and deaths are: falls from the platform, electrocutions, entrapment, overturns, MEWPs hit by an object or vehicle, or struck by a falling object.²

But regular maintenance and servicing dramatically reduces these risks, ensuring the vehicle functions smoothly. As the IPAF states:

“All accidents can be avoided, if the correct steps are taken during a rigorous pre-use planning process.”²

What do these ‘steps’ include? Proper training, rigorous checks, and regular servicing and maintenance.

2. Ensure compliance

Lifting equipment like van mounted MEWPs are subject to rigorous LOLER examinations every 6 months. Every vehicle in your fleet must pass these tests to remain road legal – and avoid logistical problems and potential delays to the project.

Regular maintenance and servicing ensures your MEWPs pass in several ways. Not only do they ensure any vehicle wear is addressed and the vehicle functions properly, it also helps increase fuel efficiency.

3. Cost savings

Research shows that maintenance accounts for 30% of vehicle costs. But these costs can be kept under control with regular servicing and maintenance, as this ensures issues are caught earlier – and dealt with quickly. When hiring van mounted MEWPs, inclusive maintenance and servicing therefore provides a huge cost saving – both in the short and long-term. 

That’s why we include it with every vehicle you hire or lease from Access Hire and Access Lease. The goal is to help our partners unlock more value and keep their projects running, so they’re free to focus on what they do best.

Everybody wants to create a safer, happier working environment. But turning good intentions into practical applications is not always so easy. 

UN Safety & Health At Work Day exists to promote awareness of these challenges – and help leaders overcome them. As a leading partner to the infrastructure industry, we at Access Hire feel responsible for supporting these efforts.

Here are four keys factors construction and infrastructure contractors should focus on:

1. Proper vehicle training

Equipping workers with the information they need to stay safe on site is essential. But simply imparting abstract knowledge is one thing; helping workers ensure that they act on that knowledge is something else.

Access Hire’s IPAF training enables workers to learn proper safety procedures using the exact models of Van Mounted MEWPs they will use onsite. This helps them habituate proper safety protocols, memorise safety information more easily and operate the vehicles confidently.

Key action: Book every worker who operates Van Mounted MEWPs a full training course.

2. Stress reduction

Workplace stress is endemic on construction and infrastructure worksites: 48% of workers have taken time off due to unmanageable stress, and a third deal with elevated stress every day.  

But this isn’t just a problem for workplace wellbeing; researchers find that heightened stress increases the likelihood of poor safety behaviour, ultimately increasing the frequency of accidents and injury.

Employers can improve worksite safety by reducing individual workers’ stress levels. This can be achieved in multiple ways, from providing more space to relax during breaks to teaching stress reduction techniques and offering more reliable shift patterns.

Key action: Develop a clear plan for reducing stress and create the right environment onsite to facilitate that.

3. Rest breaks

Construction and infrastructure shifts can be gruelling. Workers are doing physically demanding work for long periods, often with relatively little downtime. This can lead to poor decision making and less attention paid to safety measures.

Introducing more frequent ‘micro breaks’ enables workers to manage that workload more effectively. It gives them a chance to recoup energy and recharge their focus – both of which are essential to ensure everyone follows safety protocols and stays healthy onsite.

Key action: Make regular breaks a right for every worker and ensure they are taking them.

4. Better equipment

Working from heights is a key part of most infrastructure projects. But traditional ladder work puts workers at unnecessary risk.

Leaders should focus on providing Van Mounted MEWPs to enable workers to operate at heights more safely. They should focus on procuring the newest models possible, and ensuring every vehicle is properly maintained and rigorously checked.

This is exactly what Access Hire offers: the UK’s youngest fleet of market-leading Van Mounted MEWPs, with inclusive maintenance and servicing to keep your project running – and keep your people safe.

Key action: Use the best Van Mounted MEWPs available to empower workers to work securely at heights with ease.

The Security Event is the UK security industry’s biggest annual event. It brings together professionals from various sectors, including cybersecurity, physical security, fire safety, and facilities management to learn about the latest technologies and innovations that will define the future of security.

This makes it a perfect platform to introduce Access Zero – our brand new fleet of fully-electric Van Mounted MEWPs – which leverages cutting-edge technology to solve some of the biggest challenges security businesses face.

Here are five ways Access Zero does this:

1. Reduced emissions

The pressure to show progress towards net zero is growing. But security businesses regularly need to use Van Mounted MEWPs that produce emissions. This is particularly problematic for CCTV installers working in urban environments who grapple with tough ULEZ regulations.

Access Zero removes those emissions from your value chain, by running entirely on electricity. Not only does that improve your environmental credentials – our electric van mounted MEWPs’ silent running reduces noise pollution, too. 

The result? Lower emissions and easier ULEZ compliance.

 

2. Faster deployment

Security installers have to move from site to site quickly. But traditional MEWPs tend to use outriggers, which slow deployment down dramatically. 

Access Zero’s fleet does not require such outriggers, meaning you can transport the vehicles faster and deploy them more quickly.

The result? Improved efficiency and faster deployment.

3. Safer operation

From installing new security systems to undertaking CCTV maintenance, ladder work is just part of the job for many security businesses. But working from heights was the largest cause of workplace deaths in 2022, and ensuring workers are safe is paramount. 

Access Zero offers a far safer way of working at heights. Not only are our Van Mounted MEWPs less strenuous and more secure than traditional ladder work, we also provide IPAF training and assistance to support your people to operate the equipment like experts and keep everybody on site safe.

The result? Fewer accidents and higher employee confidence on-site.

4. Flexible budgets

With unprecedented economic uncertainty, control over your supplier costs is more important than ever. A sudden, unexpected bill could send ripples through the most well-run project.

That’s why Access Zero offers flexible lease options to suit your project’s specific needs. Each option includes a total service package that ensures no nasty surprises.  This gives you the room to take control of your budget and spread the costs in a way that works for you. Plus our model allows you to save in several key ways.

The result? Greater control of your cash flow and access to the best vehicles on the market.

Join us at The Security Event

Want to learn about how Access Zero supports security businesses? We will be at stand 4/B70 at The Security Event, 25-27th April.

UK sales of Electric Vehicles (EVs) hit an all-time high last year.¹ But we are still just scratching the surface of this major shift in transport and technology.

Fully-electric Van Mounted MEWPs are now available to lease and hire for businesses across the country, and this is expected to have a significant impact on construction and infrastructure projects in several ways.

Here are four core benefits businesses can expect:

1. Reduced emissions

The most commonly cited benefit of EVs is their environmental impact. Even accounting for the generation of electricity and battery manufacturers, going electric dramatically reduces the amount of GreenHouse Gas (GHG) emitted through the lifecycle of each vehicle.

This is particularly true for fully-electric Van Mounted MEWPs. Each vehicle produces a large annual reduction of CO₂ every year and across an entire fleet, this equates to an enormous improvement to your carbon footprint.

 

2. Fuel savings

A common misconception about EVs is that they are more expensive. While brands like Tesla have created the perception that going electric is costly, switching to fully-electric Van Mounted MEWPs can actually result in a long-term cost saving.

Events from last year made clear just how expensive traditional fuel sources can be – not to mention highly volatile. Electricity is far cheaper and businesses can expect to save a significant amount per year on fuel.

3. Noise

Noise pollution is a major issue for the construction and infrastructure sectors – especially when working on inner-city projects. Heavy vehicles are a large contributor to that problem, but few projects can run successfully without them. This ultimately limits the times when projects can operate at full capacity.

Electric Van Mounted MEWPs provide a powerful solution to this problem. They run completely silently, thus entirely removing one of the biggest sources of noise pollution from your site – and enabling work during the night and early morning in areas where noise restrictions are strict.

4. Improved ESG

Whether you operate in the public or private sector, there is growing pressure to demonstrate the steps you are taking to improve your sites’ Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) scores. Opting for fully-electric Van Mounted MEWPs is an easy win in this regard, providing a large improvement that can be actioned immediately.

Sustainability is top of the agenda for most local councils. But delivering sustainable infrastructure projects is easier said than done.

Despite the recent announcement of extra Government funding ¹, the process of planning, managing and delivering sustainable infrastructure is a huge challenge. Tier 3 emission accounting means leaders need to implement green alternatives across their entire supply chains – and this creates a serious problem for many councils.

A gap in the sustainability market

Key infrastructure projects require strategic equipment like Van Mounted MEWP. But these are generally seen as a big source of carbon and noise emissions. Today, fully-electric alternatives exist – they have just not been readily available to local authorities. 

Access Zero offers the UK’s first fleet of fully-electric Van Mounted MEWP, enabling infrastructure projects to run more smoothly and with far less impact to the environment. 

Here are three ways electric Van Mounted MEWP help local councils achieve their sustainability goals:

 

1. Reduced emissions

The construction, operation and maintenance of infrastructure are responsible for roughly 16% of the UK’s total carbon emissions ². The machinery and vehicles used during projects is an important part of this – yet these emissions are often seen as inevitable.

Fully-electric Van Mounted MEWP solve that problem – producing zero emissions and requiring far less energy to run. This helps radically reduce the overall output of mobile workforces. It also makes projects easier to run in densely populated urban areas where Ultra Low Emissions Zones (ULEZ) are more common ³ . 

2. Easier budgeting

According to recent reports, 7 in 10 UK councils are struggling to finance their net-zero transition. ⁴ This puts pressure on leaders, even with extra funding from the government. And since green options are generally seen as more costly, many contractors struggle to afford electric vehicles.

This is why Access Zero offers a fully inclusive maintenance solution, enabling local authorities to hire the latest access platform technology in confidence and easily forecast their cash flow due to not having to account for any service or maintenance costs. This means opting for electric Van Mounted MEWP doesn’t mean sacrificing other green initiatives or creating an unmanageable budget deficit.

3. Minimise noise pollution

Noise pollution is less widely publicised than air pollution, but it is just as harmful to the health of the local population. Researchers estimate that excessive noise costs the UK economy £20 billion each year. And Councils have a clear mandate to reduce noise from infrastructure projects – especially in urban areas.

Electric Van Mounted MEWP operate silently. This removes a huge source of on-site noise emissions and makes the environment more pleasant for both workers and civilians.

2.Sweco Group 3.London.Gov 4.Edie

Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms (VMAPs) are an essential part of many infrastructure projects. But without the proper training, they carry a number of safety risks which can lead to delays, hazards – and potentially serious injuries. 

What are the vehicle mounted access platform safety risks?

Working from heights is always considered a health and safety risk; 123 UK workers died in 2022 as a result of falls¹. Whilst Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms present a safe and efficient way of working at height, there are still a number of other safety risks – all of which require operators to be highly trained.

Some of these are related to proper care and maintenance. If not set up or secured properly, the platform can be unstable – potentially causing it to tip over. Equally, if the vehicle is not properly maintained, sudden machinery failures can lead to accidents.

Other risks relate to operators’ skill and knowledge of the vehicle. If the operator does not have proper control over the vehicle mounted access platform, there is a risk of collision with other vehicles or obstacles – not to mention the risks to the person working on the platform.

 

How training mitigates the risk

Comprehensive safety training is not just a matter of legal requirement – it can actually save lives. By ensuring the operator is familiar with the proper safety procedures – as well as protocols for maintaining the equipment and noticing when additional support is required – the right training course will make your operators safer, more confident and more efficient.

Training should include information on how to properly set up and secure the platform; how to properly use the controls and safety features; and how to safely access and work from the platform. Additionally, safety training can help to prevent accidents and injuries by teaching operators how to recognize and avoid potential hazards.

But simply memorising this information is not enough – it needs to be used. And that is where most training programmes run into a serious problem.

Why training needs to use real vehicles

Sitting in a classroom or at a computer is one thing; making decisions in the moment is another. Just 12% of employees say they have been able to apply what they learned in training courses to their real-world job². 

Why? Because they learn in an artificial environment divorced from their real day-to-day work. A trainee may take in all of the information, but it is less likely to stick – and far less likely to become a lasting habit that ensures consistently safe operation.

This is a common problem with operator training.  While International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) training is the industry gold-standard, few organisations are able to offer the programmes using vehicle mounted access platforms – which is exactly why Access Hire stepped up.

Access Hire helps your site stay safe

We now offer full IPAF training onsite using our market leading range of Vehicle Mounted Access Platforms. Not only does this ensure operators are properly accredited – it gives them the opportunity to learn skills specific to the vehicle they’ll be using on site.

This makes the training more relevant and helps them memorise the information more effectively. As a result, safety practices become real habits. The operator follows every safety protocol and operates the vehicle properly without even thinking – and that is what you need to keep your site safe.