Working Height vs Platform Height: Scissor Lift Guide

The short answer

Platform height is how high the platform floor goes. Working height is platform height plus about 2 m, the industry allowance for an average person standing on the platform and reaching up. Measure your work against working height, and if any of the work is outside, use the machine’s outdoor figure.

What a 19ft machine name means

A “19ft scissor lift” is a size class. The 19 feet (about 5.8 m) describes the platform floor at full height, not how high you can work. On a typical 19ft machine the working height is closer to 7.8 m. The same pattern runs up the range, so read the metric figures on the machine page rather than converting the name.

Manufacturers round and some model names are older than the current specification, so two machines in the same class can differ by 100 to 300 mm. When you are close to the limit, use the figure for the exact model.

Both figures on our current fleet

Why outdoor height can differ

Wind loads a raised platform, so many machines carry a lower rating outdoors than indoors. The outdoor rating can cut the height, the number of people allowed, or both, and some machines are rated for indoor use only. For example, the LGMG SC0610EL-2 is rated to 8.8 m working height indoors with up to two people, but 7.5 m outdoors with one person. The rating is on the machine’s plate and in its manual; plan an outdoor job to the outdoor figure.

What the 2 m allowance assumes

It assumes a person of average height, standing upright with hands raised, on a level platform. It does not allow for two-handed work at full stretch, lifting a panel overhead or leaning over the guardrail. If the task needs force or control, choose a machine whose working height sits comfortably above the work.

Stay inside the platform and guardrails. Getting on or off the platform at height is only acceptable where the manufacturer’s manual and your site’s risk assessment specifically allow it; it is not something to plan around by default.

The other figures that decide the hire

Height and access figures and what to compare them with

Figure	What it is	Compare it with
Platform height	Platform floor at full elevation	Overhead clearance at the work position
Working height	Platform height plus about 2 m	Height of the work
Outdoor working height	The rated height when used outside, where it differs	Height of any outdoor work
Outreach	Sideways reach of a boom basket	Distance from where the machine can stand to the work
Width	Machine width at its widest point	Narrowest door, gate or aisle on the route
Stowed height	Height with the platform lowered	Door heads, roller doors and car park headroom

Clear height at the work

Ducts, lights and services stop the platform below its maximum. Measure at the exact work position, not at the doorway.

Next step

If you know the height but not the access, the width and site access guide covers the measurements to take, and what size scissor lift do I need walks through the whole choice. To match a machine now, try help me choose or browse electric scissor lift hire. Above a scissor lift’s reach, or where something is in the way, compare boom lifts.