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Every contractor has two main goals at the start of a new project: to do the job right in a timely manner, and to minimize accidents on the job site by providing workers with superior safety. The chances of a dangerous accident occurring can be greatly reduced, even eliminated, just by choosing the appropriate equipment and following the safety guidelines specified. Too often, safety is sacrificed in the hands of cost. However, it is possible to specify an option that will eliminate safety dangers without breaking the bank.

Choosing the right method
To ensure that the proper hoist is being chosen for the task at hand, the contractor first needs a clear idea of whether the hoist will be transporting materials or personnel. It is imperative that a passenger hoist be used whenever the transportation of people is involved. If both people and material need transporting, contractors must take into account the volume of people that need to be moved versus the volume of materials. If there is a large amount of materials and a considerably smaller group of workers, it may be in the contractor's best interest from both a safety and budgetary standpoint to have two smaller hoists running side by side. Many people are conditioned to believe "bigger is better" when it comes to hoists, and do not always recognize that there are other more cost-effective options available to them.

In addition to determining what the hoist will be carrying, the project's budget and the height and weight requirements should also be considered when choosing a hoist. Some lifting methods like forklifts, cranes, or rope and pulleys may well be the most suitable options for the project. However, these more traditional methods do come with limitations. Forklifts typically have a reach of only 50 to 60 feet, which restricts how high material can be lifted. Cranes can be very expensive (costing up to $1,000 per day) and can not always fit into tight, hard to reach areas. Rope and pulleys run solely on manpower, and can thus slow down productivity over the course of a day.

Chris Ionta, a project manager at NER Construction, faced this problem and chose a platform hoist for a recent granite façade restoration project when cranes, forklifts and pulleys proved to be insufficient and failed to offer the range or stability he needed.

"Safety is always a paramount concern when you're working with materials as heavy as granite slabs," said Ionta. "For this project, I needed a hoist light enough to set up on rooftops with a minimal amount of cribbing, and motorized to provide workers with a stable platform to move around safely upon."