Access Platform

A cherry picker is a device that is part of the aerial access platform family. Usually they are mounted on the back of a truck, and consist of a platform affixed to a hydraulic arm. The name ‘cherry picker’ is quite simply due to the fact that they were designed to be use in fruit orchards, so that the pickers could reach fruit in the highest trees, but it quickly became apparent that a similar deign would be useful for servicing equipment that was in an elevated position, for example cables and television aerials.

Access platform

An access platform is the genus to which cherry pickers belong, and as such there are various types of access platform. The other main type of access platform is the scissor lift platform. The scissor lift is a purely vertical lifting mechanism, with a platform or bucket set atop a series of ‘X’ shaped links. The mechanism is activated by hydraulic pressure from the outside inwards on the bottom set of links, like cutting with scissors. This elongates the ‘X’ shaped network, propelling the platform upwards.

Platforms

Platforms such as cherry pickers and scissor lifts are utilized for many tasks that are located at heights that make them difficult by any other means, from engineers repairing electrical equipment atop poles, to fire departments helping people to egress from upper-story windows. Platforms are available in hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical formats, with the electrical models being smaller and much more suited for more compact work, such as window cleaning, whilst hydraulic models are much heavier.