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Cherry picker hire in South Africa: choosing the machine, who may operate it and what the hire must include

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In short

For cherry picker hire in South Africa, size the machine by working height, outreach, floor or ground and wind rating. Under the Driven Machinery Regulations, the operator needs a training certificate for code C53 from an approved provider, and the machine needs an examination and performance test by a lifting machinery inspector within the last 12 months.

Which cherry picker or boom lift do I need?

The height of the work, how far the platform must reach sideways past obstacles, what the floor or ground can carry and, outdoors, the wind rating decide the machine; one South African hire company's FAQ then sorts the choice into electric or diesel, scissor or boom, straight or articulated.[11][12][10]

A scissor lift rises straight up; a boom lift, which one South African hire company calls a cherry picker, reaches up and out. IPAF treats the two differently for fall protection, because a boom that snags or is struck can catapult its occupants out of the platform.[14][9][8]

Working height is not platform height. One MEWP manufacturer defines working height as the platform height, measured to the platform floor, plus 1.82 m (6 ft) for the operator's overhead reach, so work at 12 m needs a platform that rises to about 10.2 m.[11]

Outreach matters as much as height: on one South African hire company's list of electric booms, a larger model gives 15.94 m of working height and 7.65 m of horizontal outreach, and a smaller one gives 12 m and 5.57 m.[13]

Check the floor before the machine arrives: compare the machine's ground bearing pressure with the floor load your slab can sustain. The larger boom above weighs 7,394 kg, which matters on a suspended slab or a mezzanine.[11][13]

Whether a machine may work outdoors is set by its wind rating. IPAF's wind guidance says the data plate must show the maximum wind rating, that an outdoor machine is typically rated at 12.5 m/s measured at the platform, and that an indoor-only machine is rated at 0 m/s and must not be used outdoors, even on a still day; warehouses and buildings under construction can still have wind inside.[10]

Who may operate a cherry picker in South Africa?

In South Africa, only an operator trained for that type of machine may run a cherry picker, and because the National Code of Practice for training providers lists the MEWP as code C53, regulation 18(11) of the Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015 applies in full.[1][3]

Regulation 18(11) says the user "shall not require or permit any person to operate such a lifting machine unless the operator is in possession of a certificate of training, issued by a training provider accredited by the Transport Seta approved for the purpose by the chief inspector". A familiarisation at delivery is not that certificate unless the hire company is such a provider.[1][12]

That duty sits with the hirer: the Occupational Health and Safety Act defines the user of machinery as the person who uses it for their own benefit or has the right to control its use, and excludes "a lessor of" that machinery (section 1).[6]

The chief inspector's notice that incorporated the 2024 Code into the regulations on 6 December 2024 exempts training providers on condition that they are accredited by the QCTO or the Transport SETA until the end of June 2027; from then, all must be accredited by the QCTO.[3]

Under the Code, the licence or carry card is valid for up to 24 months, a learner must be at least 18 with a declaration or certificate of medical fitness and an eye test, and a temporary licence of up to 6 months allows operating only under direct and constant supervision of a licensed operator (sections 10, 12 and 14).[3]

On construction work, the Construction Regulations, 2014 add that the operator of mobile plant must be trained, certified competent, authorised in writing and hold a medical certificate of fitness issued by an occupational health practitioner (regulation 23(1)(d)).[4]

What inspections and records must a hired cherry picker have?

In South Africa, the Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015 set the examinations, tests and records below, and SANS 18893, the standard for MEWP safety principles, inspection, maintenance and operation, is incorporated into those regulations.[1][2]

What inspections and records must a hired cherry picker have?
WhatWhoWhenRegulation
Thorough examination and performance test of the whole machineA lifting machinery inspector (LMI) of a lifting machinery entity (LME)Before first use, after it is dismantled and re-erected, then at intervals not exceeding 12 monthsDMR 18(5)(a)
Load test where no manufacturing or incorporated standard appliesThe LMIWith the performance test: 110% of the safe working load over the full lifting rangeDMR 18(5)(a)
Performance test after moving to another siteNot needed for a MEWPWithin the 12-month periodDMR 18(5)(c)
Examination of ropes, chains, hooks, sheaves, brakes and safety devicesA competent personAt intervals not exceeding 6 monthsDMR 18(6)
Register of the latest performance test and service records of a leased machineThe user (the hirer)Kept on your premises; records not older than 12 monthsDMR 18(7)(b)
Full service historyThe owner and the lessorKept for at least 10 yearsDMR 18(7)(c)
Pre-use inspection against a checklist, recorded in a register kept on the machineThe authorised operatorDaily, on construction workCR 2014, 23(1)(k)

Sources:[1][4]

Who may inspect a cherry picker, and how do you check the inspector?

Only a lifting machinery inspector (LMI) may do the 12-monthly examination and performance test, and the regulations define an LMI as a person employed by a lifting machinery entity (LME) and registered by the Engineering Council of South Africa (regulation 1).[1]

An LME is a legal entity approved and registered by the chief inspector, and it "shall on request produce a certificate of registration to an inspector or to any person to whom it intends to render an examination or performance test" (regulation 19(4)), so ask the hire company for that certificate with the test report.[1]

The LMI must know that type of machine (regulation 18(5)(b)), and the test follows the standard the machine was built to, which its manufacturer's plate must name (regulation 18(1)(c)).[1]

A 2008 Government Gazette notice announced the issue of the South African editions of the ISO standards for these machines: SANS 16368:2007 (design and test methods), SANS 18878:2007 (operator training) and SANS 18893:2007 (inspection, maintenance and operation).[7]

Failing to comply with regulation 18 is an offence carrying a fine or imprisonment of up to 12 months and, for a continuing offence, a further fine of up to R200 or a further day's imprisonment for each day it continues (regulation 22).[1]

Do you need a fall protection plan and a harness in a cherry picker?

On construction work, yes: the contractor must designate a competent person to prepare a fall protection plan and keep it implemented (Construction Regulations, 2014, regulation 10(1)), and construction work includes the repair, renovation and alteration of a building (regulation 1).[4]

The fall protection plan covers a risk assessment of work from a fall risk position, workers' medical fitness, a training programme, the inspection and maintenance of fall protection equipment, and a rescue plan (regulation 10(2)).[4]

In practice, the guardrails are the first protection, and IPAF strongly recommends that everyone in a boom lift wears a full-body harness with a lanyard short enough to keep them inside the platform; on scissor and vertical mast lifts a harness is normally needed only where the risk assessment calls for one. Harnesses are not always part of the hire: one South African hire company states that it does not supply them.[8][9][12]

Near overhead power lines, the Electrical Machinery Regulations, 2011 forbid anyone to encroach "in person or with objects" on the minimum safety clearances "except by permission of the supplier, employer or user operating the power line" (regulation 19(5)).[5]

How is cherry picker hire priced, and what should the quote include?

One South African hire company's FAQ quotes cherry picker hire per day, week or month and charges delivery and collection by the distance from its branches; it adds that all but the smallest push-around units are too heavy for a bakkie.[12]

Machine-only hire leaves the operator duties with you as the user: your operator needs the C53 certificate and, on construction work, your written authorisation and a medical certificate of fitness.[6][1][4]

When the hire company supplies the operator, it does work for you as a contractor, and the OHS Act counts a contractor for work as a mandatary (section 1). Under section 37(2) you are then presumed to have done any act or omission of the mandatary that is an offence under the Act, unless "the parties have agreed in writing to the arrangements and procedures between them to ensure compliance by the mandatary".[6]

Ask each hire company to itemise the same lines (machine, rate and period, delivery and collection, operator, insurance terms, harnesses) and to attach the latest LMI test report, so the quotes compare.[12][1]

What to put in your request

  1. The working height at the highest point of the job, in metres, and the sideways reach past obstacles such as eaves or pipe racks.[11]
  2. Indoors or outdoors, and what the machine stands on (slab, mezzanine, paving, gravel, slope) with the floor's load limit if known.[11][10]
  3. Access: gate and door widths, headroom and the route from the delivery truck.[12][11]
  4. Any overhead power lines near the work and who operates them.[5]
  5. Machine only or with an operator; for your own operator, their C53 licence and, on construction work, their medical certificate and your written authorisation.[1][3][4]
  6. The hire dates and period (days, weeks or months) and the delivery and collection address.[12]
  7. The machine's latest LMI examination and performance test (not older than 12 months), the LME's registration certificate and the service record.[1]
  8. Who supplies full-body harnesses and short lanyards for a boom lift.[8][12]
  9. For an operated hire: who signs the written section 37(2) agreement.[6]

Questions buyers ask

How long is a cherry picker operator's licence valid?

Up to 24 months: that is the limit the 2024 National Code of Practice sets for the licence or carry card, which shows its expiry date. Re-licensing takes at least 4 hours of theory, focused on safety, and at least 1 hour of practical training, and an operator without a valid licence or temporary licence may not operate the machine at work.[3]

Does a cherry picker need a new load test every time it moves site?

No. Regulation 18(5)(c) of the Driven Machinery Regulations says that "mobile cranes, self-erecting cranes and mobile elevated work platforms shall be excluded from the performance test after each re-deployment within the 12-month period". The 12-monthly examination and performance test by a lifting machinery inspector still applies, and so does the 6-monthly examination of ropes, chains, brakes and safety devices.[1]

Can a forklift or crane with a man-cage do the job instead?

Only under strict conditions. Regulation 18(8) bars moving or supporting a person with a lifting machine unless it has a man-cage made to an approved SANS standard, approved for that purpose by an inspector, and a risk assessment has been done. The 2024 Code lists the man-cage as a separate attachment endorsement on forklift and crane certificates.[1][3]

Is a cherry picker cheaper than scaffolding?

It depends on the job, so price both over the same period: one South African hire company rents cherry pickers by the day, week or month, plus delivery and collection. On construction work, all scaffolding work must run under a competent person appointed in writing (Construction Regulations, regulation 16).[4][12]

Describe the job.

Post a request and the suppliers who do this work can respond.

Post a request

Sources

  1. Department of Labour (Government Gazette 38905), Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015 (GN R. 540), 24 June 2015.
  2. Department of Labour (Government Gazette 38905), Incorporation of safety standards into the Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015 (GN R.542), 24 June 2015.
  3. Department of Employment and Labour (Government Gazette 51711), Incorporation of the National Code of Practice for the Training Providers of Lifting Machine Operators, 2024, into the Driven Machinery Regulations, 2015, 6 December 2024.
  4. Department of Labour (Government Gazette 37305), Construction Regulations, 2014 (GN R.84), 7 February 2014.
  5. Department of Labour (Government Gazette 34154), Electrical Machinery Regulations, 2011 (GN R.250), 25 March 2011.
  6. Government Gazette 14918, Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993, 2 July 1993.
  7. Department of Trade and Industry (Government Gazette 30874), Standards Act, 1993: standards matters (GN 304), issue of SANS 16368:2007, SANS 18878:2007 and SANS 18893:2007, 20 March 2008.
  8. International Powered Access Federation (IPAF), H1: Fall protection in MEWPs, technical guidance (H1-TE-019-0717-2), September 2017.
  9. International Powered Access Federation (IPAF), Toolbox talk A1: use personal fall protection equipment to prevent falls from a MEWP (TE-1076-0421-1), 2021.
  10. International Powered Access Federation (IPAF), Wind rating: using MEWPs in wind (TE-1092-0620-1), June 2020 by its document code; file posted December 2021.
  11. JLG Industries, Learn the lingo: common MEWP terms, 12 May 2021.
  12. Concord Access Solutions, Frequently asked questions, 25 January 2024.
  13. Concord Access Solutions, Electric boom lifts and cherry pickers for hire, 13 May 2026.
  14. Sterling Access, Hiring a cherry picker, 7 June 2021, updated 20 February 2025.