Renting work platforms is nearly never as beneficial as buying one for your own. Even with a long-term lease, the costs of rental and the risks of faulty equipment vastly outweigh the initial savings.
First, let’s look at the different options for renting or buying work platforms.
Day-By-Day Rental
This option is criminally expensive, and should only be used if you have a short-term project in mind. They’re also incredibly unsafe. Renting by the day, you will not have a chance to have the lift examined by a safety inspector or an engineer. The odds of getting a faulty lift or one that cannot handle the advertised load are surprisingly high, and can result in production delays and workplace accidents. Depending on the rental policy, you may even share some liability for any injuries or death caused by a bad rental.
In addition, your employees won’t have the ability to get used to the machine with short-term rentals. Even people who have been in the manufacturing business for many years find that there’s a learning curve in using each and every lift, and short-term rentals take away from this, causing greater risk of injury.
Long-Term Lease
Because of safety issues, long-term leases are still not preferred over buying a lift, even though they are much cheaper than day-by-day rental. Additionally, long-term leases are more likely to stick you with liability if the lift fails to operate properly. There is simply no way to tell, at an equipment lease agency, if a lift is going to have the quality that you need.
However if you’re still interested in a long-term lease, make sure you do your research. Look into the background of the company you’re renting from and read reviews online. Not only do you want to know that equipment rented in the past has been high-quality, but it’s important to know whether or not the company has adhered to the contract if you run into any mechanical issues during the lease.
Used Equipment
Used work platforms can be both cost-effective and high-quality. Used lifts have wildly varying levels of quality and reliability. Some are true gems that will last you throughout your rental span, while others are lemons. Be sure to bring an engineer or, at the very least, a good mechanic who knows about hydraulics when renting equipment.
New Equipment
There are many benefits to buying new industrial equipment.
The first is customization.
You can ask a manufacturer to customize a lift’s size, load, and speed in order to better serve your needs.
The second is a limited warranty that covers unforeseen maintenance.
The third is the ability to take advantage of new technology. Driven by the aerospace industry, recent advances have made lifts far more powerful, reliable, and energy-efficient than they were in the past.
Generally speaking, if your business is in it for the long haul, look into buying a new work platform!