A ‘local’ product making its mark on the world stage is JLG’s LiftPod. Designed and engineered in Australia, the LiftPod provides an alternative to the ladder and is in itself, quite an engineering feat. It allows users to work securely at heights of up to 4.5m.

Working safely at height has been a global concern for some time. Engineers and industrial designers successfully met the challenge at heights to 50m in the 1970s, but it has taken until now to develop a secure ladder alternative – that is portable – for heights up to 5m.

To work safely at heights up to 50m, engineers developed machines based on hydraulic power and created an array of elevating work platforms (EWPs). Using similar technology to create an EWP for heights up to 5m proved more elusive even though a million people fall off ladders worldwide every year. Many engineers believed the cost and weight of an EWP could not be overcome to compete with that of a ladder.

Geoff Campbell, managing director of JLG ProLift, and the engineer behind the LiftPod, believed otherwise. “I was convinced that by combining and altering different types of technologies, we could overcome the problems of portability, weight and high cost so that a powered lifting platform could compete directly with the ladder,” notes Campbell.

Between 2003 and 2005, Campbell and his team tackled the engineering and design challenges of the LiftPod. “That meant keeping the design to around 25 kg so that the LiftPod could be carried up and down stairs by one person and placed on the back of a vehicle. We also had to develop safety interlocks to avoid inadvertent operation, protect against overload and meet the safety criteria of EWPs,” explains Campbell.

These challenges were further compounded by the fact that traditional hydraulic and electronic components proved costly and added complexity to the product as well as weight. “To address these issues we custom-designed virtually every mechanism in the LiftPod. The gearbox was designed from scratch and is less than half the weight and bulk of a regular gearbox,” says Campbell.

“To power the lift mechanism we explored various possibilities but then settled on cordless drill technology because it provided unmatched convenience for users,” adds Campbell. The first pilot product was designed in 2005. It competes directly with a 10-foot (3m) stepladder and has since been refined and tooled. The LiftPod was launched in Australia and is now making its global debut.

“We have come a long way since my initial vision of the LiftPod. We have now proven in the field that LiftPod technology provides a robust, secure and price competitive alternative that can effectively serve users working at heights of up to 5m,” concludes Campbell.