MA60 against a ladder, with the numbers on the table

This is the data sheet version of the case for replacing ladders with a 6 metre mast lift. If you read the longer comparison articles already and want the numbers consolidated for a procurement document or an internal pitch, this is the page to bookmark.

Equipment, side by side

Specification	5.5 m stepladder	Safelift MA60
Maximum working height	5.5 m (top step + reach)	6 m platform
Working surface area	Top step, ≈ 0.06 m²	0.4 m² guarded platform
Maximum load on platform	≈ 150 kg user + tools	150 kg user + tools
Hands free at height	One	Two
Tool staging at height	Belt or hand-up	0.4 m² platform deck
Stowed footprint	Folded against wall	0.53 m x 0.76 m platform
Through 800 mm doorway	Yes (collapsed)	Yes (rolled)
Goods elevator compatible	Yes	Yes
Power source	None	24 V DC, charged from 230 V outlet
Required certification	Inspection per EU directive	EN 280 certified, CE marked
Working life with care	5 to 7 years	10 to 15 years

Cycle time, observed

Reposition cycle is the time from finishing work at one point to being ready to work at the next.

Cycle phase	Stepladder	MA60
Descend or lower	6 to 9 s	2 to 3 s
Move to next position	8 to 14 s	6 to 12 s
Set / climb / raise	10 to 15 s	3 to 5 s
Re-stage tools	8 to 20 s	0 s (tools stay on platform)
Total per reposition	32 to 58 s, often 60 to 90 s in practice	11 to 20 s

Throughput across a real shift

For a typical 8-hour shift with 50 reposition cycles between fixtures (lighting installation, signage, sprinkler service, similar):

Variable	Stepladder	MA60
Reposition time per shift	50 to 75 min	9 to 17 min
Time spent at the work itself	≈ 5 hours	≈ 6.5 hours
Recovered productive hours per shift	baseline	+1 to +1.5
Recovered hours per 220-shift work year	baseline	+220 to +330

Safety, with citations

Variable	Stepladder	MA60
Share of fatal workplace falls (UK HSE)	≈ 40 percent of fatal falls from height attributed to ladders	Falls from MEWPs are tracked separately by IPAF; rate is markedly lower
Dominant accident modes	Overreach, base slip, rung failure	Tip-over (rare indoors on level surface), entanglement (controlled)
Harness anchor	Not standard	Built in
Emergency stop	Not applicable	Built in
Emergency lowering	Not applicable	Built in
Two-point contact required	Always	Not applicable, guarded platform

Team size

Task type	Stepladder team	MA60 team
Single-handed work above 3 m	1 plus spotter	1
Two-handed work above 3 m	2 (one footing, one working)	1
Tool transport	Tool belt or hand-up	On platform deck
Inspection of equipment before use	Visual + rung check	EN 280 daily check, ≤ 5 min

Cost over working life

For a single-location facility doing 80 hours per month of above-2-metre work:

Cost line, annualised	Stepladder fleet	MA60 + reduced ladder use
Equipment, amortised	≈ 350 EUR	per regional dealer quote
Service and maintenance	≈ 50 EUR	≈ 600 to 1,000 EUR
Battery replacement (year 4 to 6)	not applicable	amortised
Lost productive labour	7,500 to 12,000 EUR	baseline (recovered)
Two-person attendance for above-3-m work	12,500 to 20,000 EUR	baseline (recovered)
Probability-weighted accident exposure	800 to 1,700 EUR	≈ 100 EUR

The full ROI walkthrough with assumptions is in the ROI article.

Insurance and contracting

Two effects worth pricing into the comparison even when they are hard to quantify exactly:

• Insurance pricing. Workplace liability and public liability premiums for facility-management businesses with documented MEWP fleets typically price below those with ladder-default fleets, because the underwriters track the same accident-rate data this article cites.
• Contract eligibility. Larger facility-management tenders increasingly require EN 280 certified MEWP equipment as a precondition for above-2-metre work. A ladder-only fleet is increasingly disqualified at technical eligibility before pricing.

Where the ladder is still the right answer

Three scenarios where a stepladder remains the right tool:

1. Working height genuinely below 2 metres on a short task.
2. Routes too narrow even for a 530 mm platform pillar lift base.
3. Low-frequency use where the equipment would sit unused most of the year.

For everything else in the indoor 2 to 6 metre band, the numbers above support the substitution. The full comparison context is in pillar vs scissor vs ladder.