Key Takeaways
- Platform height and working height are two different numbers. Platform height is how high the floor of the basket sits above the ground; working height is how far an operator can actually reach, which is roughly 2 metres higher because it allows for an average person standing on the deck with their arms raised. Always size a cherry picker off the working height the task demands.
- Manufacturers and hire listings usually quote the larger working-height figure, and many specs are still written in feet, so an advertised “46ft cherry picker” is about 14m of working height and only around 12m of platform height. If you need a cherry picker over 11 metres, confirm which measurement the number refers to before you book.
This guide explains what working height and platform height actually mean on a cherry picker, why the difference matters more here than on any other elevating work platform (EWP), and how to read the numbers when you are hiring a cherry picker over 11m.
This advice is for site managers, foremen, riggers, and tradies who book access equipment and want the right machine to turn up first time. If you would rather talk it through, our experienced team is only a phone call away.
Platform Height vs Working Height: The Two-Metre Gap
Platform height is the vertical distance from the ground to the floor of the basket at full elevation. It is the height your feet reach. Working height is that platform height plus the reach of an average operator standing on the deck with their arms raised, taken by convention as about 2 metres. It is the height your hands reach. Overseas suppliers describe the same idea as the “six-foot rule,” and it lands in the same place.
So, a cherry picker with a 12m platform height gives you roughly 14m of working height. The catch is that manufacturers almost always advertise the larger working-height figure, because it is the bigger and more impressive number.
If a task needs you to physically stand at 12m to bolt a bracket or run a cable, you need 12m of platform height, not 12m of working height, which would leave your feet at only about 10m. The reliable habit is to work backwards from where your feet need to be, then confirm the platform height on the spec sheet rather than trusting the headline reach.
Why the Difference Matters More on a Cherry Picker
A scissor lift travels straight up over its own footprint, so height is almost the whole story. A cherry picker, or boom lift, raises a basket on a boom that can extend outward, slew around, and on articulating models fold up and over an obstacle. That flexibility is the reason people hire them, but it also means the height figures are a best case rather than a fixed promise.
As a telescopic boom reaches further out, the height it can safely hold comes down, and the two figures trade against each other along the machine’s reach envelope. A cherry picker rated at, say, 20m of working height straight up will not hold that same height once the boom is stretched out to its maximum outreach. So when you read a cherry picker’s platform and working heights, treat them as the numbers for a straight lift over the base, and check the machine’s reach diagram or load chart for the height you can actually hold at the outreach your job needs.
What “a Cherry Picker Over 11m” Actually Means
“Over 11m” is one of the most common ways people describe the machine they need, and it is worth being precise about, because 11m of working height and 11m of platform height are two very different cherry pickers.
- A cherry picker with 11m of working height has a platform height of roughly 9m: your feet reach 9m and your hands reach 11m.
- A cherry picker with 11m of platform height puts your feet at 11m and your hands nearer 13m.
- If your job is defined by where you stand, such as working on a first-floor awning, a second-storey facade, or high-bay racking, specify the platform height.
- If it is defined by the highest point you need to touch, such as a light fitting, a gutter, or a cable run, the working height is the figure that counts.
In feet, a cherry picker over 11m of working height starts at around 36ft, while 11m of platform height is closer to 43ft. Because so many cherry picker specs are still listed in feet, that conversion is worth keeping handy when you are comparing one over 11 metres against the reach your site actually needs.
When you tell our team you need a cherry picker over 11m, the first thing we confirm is whether that 11m is where your feet go or where your hands go, because it changes which machine leaves the yard.
Key Metrics – Height, Outreach, and Up-and-Over
Once you are clear on the height, a cherry picker asks two more questions a scissor lift never does.
- Horizontal outreach is how far the basket can move away from the base. If the work sits back over a roof edge, a garden bed, or parked plant, outreach can matter as much as height. Telescopic booms give the greatest straight-line outreach, and a machine rated over 11m of height may offer several metres of usable reach, but usually only at a reduced height.
- Up-and-over clearance applies to articulating booms, otherwise known as knuckle boom lifts. It is the maximum height the basket can clear an obstacle while the boom is folded up and over it, and it is a different figure again from both platform and working height. If you are lifting over a parapet or a plant room to reach a rooftop, this is the number to ask about.
- Machine type then sets the range. Compact electric spider lifts cover the lower and mid heights for indoor and sensitive-ground work, articulating boom lifts reach up and over on congested sites, and diesel telescopic boom lifts deliver the tallest reach for open outdoor work.
Uphire’s cherry picker range runs from compact tracked units up to large telescopic boom lifts well beyond 11m, so the height band is rarely the constraint. Access and outreach usually decide the pick.
The 11-Metre Rule: When a Cherry Picker Needs a High Risk Work Licence
In Australia, 11 metres is the licensing threshold for boom-type elevating work platforms. To operate a boom-type EWP with a boom length of 11 metres or more, the operator must hold a WP high risk work licence, the national unit TLILIC0005, a licence to operate an over 11 metre boom-type elevating work platform.
Below 11 metres, no high risk work licence is required, and operators work under an EWP operator verification of competency, commonly known as the industry Yellow Card.
The subtlety is in how boom length is measured, because it is not simply the platform height. Boom length is taken as the greater of two figures: the vertical distance from the supporting surface to the platform floor at full height, or the horizontal distance from the centre of the boom’s rotation to the outer edge of the platform at full outreach.
A cherry picker can therefore cross the 11-metre line on its outreach alone, even when it does not lift especially high. So when you hire a cherry picker over 11m, confirm the boom length alongside the working height, because it decides whether your operator needs a WP high risk work licence or a Yellow Card.
Scissor lifts sit outside this rule. Because they are not boom-type, they are not covered by the WP licence at any height and operate under EWP operator training instead. If your crew is not yet licensed for a boom-type machine over 11 metres, Uphire can point you to accredited training providers to arrange the WP high risk work licence before your hire begins.
Do Not Forget Capacity at Height and Reach
Reaching the work is only part of the job; the basket also has to carry the people, tools, and materials that go up with it. Every cherry picker has a rated capacity, the safe working load of the platform, and on boom-type machines that figure often changes along the boom’s travel. Many telescopic and articulating booms carry a dual-capacity rating: a higher limit when the boom is retracted or close in, and a lower limit once it is extended past a set point or above a set height, because outreach and load pull on the same structure.
That matters directly to anyone hiring a taller cherry picker, because the height you are chasing and the load you are lifting can be competing for the same envelope. Two workers in harnesses plus a length of ducting or a sheet of glazing add up quickly. Always check the load chart for the capacity at the height and outreach you actually need, not just the headline figure on the decal.
How to Size a Cherry Picker the Right Way
Getting the numbers right comes down to a short, ordered set of checks.
- Start with where your feet need to be. Take the height at which you will physically stand to do the work and treat that as the platform height you need, then leave a small buffer so you are not working at the very top of the deck. Add the working-height check next, confirming the highest point you need to reach with your hands sits comfortably within platform height plus about 2 metres.
- Then measure the outreach. Work out how far the basket must sit from the machine’s base once obstacles, edges, and set-down positions are accounted for, and confirm the machine holds your height at that outreach. Confirm the capacity by adding up operators, tools, and materials and checking the load chart at your height and reach.
- Finally, check access and ground: measure the narrowest entry point and assess whether the surface suits a tracked, electric, or diesel machine.
Give those figures to your hire supplier and the matching is straightforward. Get one wrong and it usually shows up on day one, when the machine that looked right on paper cannot reach, cannot hold the load, or cannot get to the work area at all.
Why Hire Your Cherry Picker From Uphire
Uphire runs a modern, versatile fleet of cherry pickers and boom lifts, from compact scissor lifts for tight indoor and sensitive-ground access through to diesel telescopic boom lifts for tall outdoor work, from trusted brands including JLG, Genie, Sinoboom, with branches in Sydney (St Marys HQ) and Brisbane (Pinkenba). Whatever height, outreach, and access your job calls for, there is a machine in the range that fits, and every hire comes with the manufacturer’s logbook, service history, and a current pre-hire safety inspection so your site audits stay straightforward.
If you are not certain whether your job needs a cherry picker over 11m of platform height or working height, tell us where your feet need to be, how far the work sits from the base, and what you are lifting, and our experienced team will match the machine before you commit. For cherry picker hire across Sydney and Brisbane, give us a call on 1300 874 473.
Cherry Picker FAQs
Cherry picker heights are often listed in feet. How do I convert them to check a machine clears 11 metres?
The exact conversion is simple: multiply the feet figure by 0.3048 to get metres. For a quick check in the field, divide the feet figure by three and knock a little off. Either way, a 34ft cherry picker works out to about 10.4m, a 40ft machine to around 12.2m, and a 46ft unit to close to 14m.
What is “up and over” clearance, and is it the same as working height?
Up-and-over clearance is the maximum height the basket can clear an obstacle while the boom is folded over it, which lets the machine lift up, reach across, and drop down the far side of a parapet, awning, or plant room. It is a separate measurement that applies only to articulating, or knuckle, boom cherry pickers.
Working height assumes a straight lift over the base, so a machine’s up-and-over figure is usually lower than its maximum working height. If your task involves getting over an edge rather than straight up a wall, ask for the up-and-over dimension specifically rather than relying on the headline reach.
Does a cherry picker’s height change how much wind affects it?
The higher the platform, the more exposed the operator and basket are, and the greater the leverage a gust exerts on an extended boom. Every cherry picker has a manufacturer’s maximum wind rating, commonly around 12.5 metres per second, or roughly 45 km/h, and that limit applies to the machine at full extension.
A tall, fully extended boom reaches that threshold in conditions that would not trouble a lower lift, so wind is worth watching closely on any tall outdoor hire. When the forecast approaches the rated limit, the platform must be brought down and work paused until conditions ease.
Is platform height measured from the ground or from the machine when it is set up on a slope or outriggers?
Platform height is quoted from the supporting ground surface to the platform floor, with the machine set up level as the manufacturer intends it to operate. On truck-mounted and spider cherry pickers that level themselves on outriggers, the reference point is the ground the outriggers sit on, not the chassis. On uneven or stepped ground the usable reach can shift slightly once the machine is levelled, which is one more reason to confirm the surface and set-down area before delivery rather than assuming the spec figure applies exactly on a sloping site.
Do taller cherry pickers need a bigger set-up footprint on site?
Larger telescopic and truck-mounted cherry pickers deploy outriggers that extend well beyond the machine’s travelling width, and the taller the reach, the wider and firmer that outrigger base generally needs to be to stay stable. Self-propelled booms do not use outriggers, but they carry a counterweight and have a tail swing that sweeps a set radius as the machine slews.
Either way, the ground space a cherry picker needs grows with its height, so when you are planning for a cherry picker over 11m, allow room for the set-up footprint and the swing of the machine, not just a parking spot for its wheels or tracks.