When Off-the-Shelf Fails: 3 Reasons You Need a Custom Access Platform Design

Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs) are fantastic for temporary, flexible access. But what happens when the job isn’t temporary? What if your work surface is curved, your machinery is immovable, or your safety standards require a perfect, fixed fit?

For specialised environments where safety, compliance, and efficiency are paramount, a standard scissor or boom lift simply isn’t an option. This is where the power of custom access platform design comes in.

At Global Platforms, we don’t just supply equipment; we engineer permanent solutions. Here are three common, high-stakes scenarios that demand a bespoke work platform tailored to your exact environment.

1. Navigating Complex Geometry (Aviation & Rail)

In industries like aviation and rail, assets are expensive, high-risk, and rarely flat. You need platforms that conform precisely to unusual shapes while ensuring worker safety and preventing damage to the asset.

The Problem:

Accessing a train roof, a specialised production line, or a large aircraft fuselage involves working over curved, sloping, or sensitive surfaces. A traditional lift offers no fall protection against the asset itself, and its platform rarely aligns perfectly with the work zone.

The Custom Solution:

We design platforms that feature:

• Contoured Decking: Platforms custom-cut and angled to seamlessly match the curvature of a fuselage or train roof.

• Rubberised Buffers: Integrated protection around the platform edges to ensure metal components never scratch or dent sensitive surfaces.

• Track-and-Lock Systems: Platforms that securely lock into place along a maintenance line, guaranteeing perfect, repeated positioning.

2. Integrating with Immovable Machinery (Manufacturing & Industrial)

Modern manufacturing plants are defined by massive, complex machinery—conveyors, boilers, robotics, and industrial printers—that cannot be moved. Regular maintenance, cleaning, and inspections must happen around them.

The Problem:

Workers need consistent, safe access to service points high up on these complex machines. A MEWP might block crucial floor space or struggle to manoeuvre into the exact position without risking contact with the asset.

The Custom Solution:

Our bespoke work platform solutions transform complex layouts into safe access zones:

• Fixed Gantry Systems: Overhead walkways or gantries installed permanently above the machinery, providing full coverage without using any floor space below.

• Stair and Bridge Platforms: Custom staircases and bridging platforms designed to connect one permanent structure to another, allowing safe passage over conveyors or pipelines.

• Modular Platforms: Interlocking aluminium sections that can be quickly assembled or reconfigured around machinery, offering maximised flexibility with minimal downtime.

3. Optimising Fleet Maintenance (Logistics & Transport)

Maintaining large fleets of vehicles—from tanker lorries to refuse collection vehicles—requires workers to access high, awkward points like roofs, hatches, and engine compartments safely and frequently.

The Problem:

A mobile ladder is unstable, and a single MEWP is slow for high-volume maintenance. The challenge is creating a standardised, repeatable, and fast access process for dozens of different vehicles every day.

The Custom Solution:

We focus on engineering solutions that speed up workflow and standardise safety for every vehicle:

• Vehicle Access Bays: Integrated, fixed platforms built around a specific vehicle type, offering safe, non-slip access to all required maintenance points (e.g., fuel hatches, roof vents) simultaneously.

• Telescopic and Sliding Sections: Platforms featuring sections that can be smoothly slid out to meet the side of a parked vehicle, then retracted to clear the driving lane.

• Lightweight Aluminium Construction: Ensuring ease of movement for modular pieces while maintaining industrial strength and high load capacity.

Need to solve a unique access problem?

If your project involves complex machinery, irregular architecture, or non-standard maintenance requirements, stop wasting time with ill-fitting solutions.

Contact Global Platforms today to consult with our engineering team and begin the design process for your own custom access platform design.