Renting vs. Buying Scaffolds For Your Project

If you’re latest project requires scaffolds, you’re probably considering whether to rent or buy it. There are a few factors to consider when making the decision for anyone who might be managing a project. If you’re debating whether to rent or buy new scaffolds, then the following points can help you in making your decision.

 

How long is your project?

The primary thing to consider before buying new equipment, is how long you will need it and how much use you are likely to get out of it. If you’re job is short-term, for three months or  less, and you’re not likely to have longer-term work in the future, then buying probably isn’t going to be the most cost-effective choice. You simply will not get value for your investment. It makes more sense to rent equipment for short-term work, especially if you do not have a good forecast on future work.

On the other hand, if you’re project is expected to run beyond three months or you have future confirmed work on the books, then purchasing equipment might be the best solution. The cost of scaffolds can be a big investment in the beginning, but this cost is quickly off-set by your project work and removing the need for repeated equipment hires which can become very costly.

 

Volume of equipment needed

When considering whether to rent of buy scaffolds, you should think about the volume of equipment required.

Purchasing a huge volume of equipment can be expensive. Not only do you have to pay the cost of equipment but storage can be expensive, especially if you need to store it off-site once the project is finished and need to purchase real estate to do it. For large projects, it is worth considering renting at least some of the equipment to reduce the costs involved.

Owning a large amount of equipment also means further expense in the form of upkeep and inspection.

If you don’t need much or already have storage arranged and can see a future need for a large quantity of equipment, then it might be right decision for your business.

 

Staff experience

It is extremely important that the employees working on and around scaffolding are well-trained to use it safely. When purchasing it, you should know how to correctly erect, dismantle and maintain it. If you don’t have the skills and experience required to manage your purchased equipment then it makes more sense to outsource to a professional rental company experienced in scaffolds.

 

Budget

You should also consider your budget for the project. Whilst buying equipment can be a good investment, it can also be costly in the beginning. If you’re looking at it from a per project basis, then renting is going to make the most sense for you.

As mentioned before, if you’re project is short-term or requires high volume, renting is probably going to make financial sense but for longer-term projects you might consider buying the equipment outright as the rental costs will eventually outpace the initial cost of purchase.

When purchasing scaffolds, make sure you do a proper risk assessment and cost benefit analysis. If you are experienced in working with the equipment, have a training and safety program in place, have pre-existing storage facilities and know your project will be long term then buying is likely to be the best solution.

However, if you do not, the  professional rental equipment company is the better choice. You can be assured that equipment is properly inspected and maintained, and experienced professional will erect it and remove it, and there are no storage costs involved.