Come the end of October the clocks go back, and from then until the spring the day is short. That matters more to lifting work than it does to most trades.
Why light is not optional
A driver has to see the load, see the hook, see the ground and see the people around him. On a lift, the last few feet of a set down are done on judgement, watching the load and the spot at the same time. Yard lighting helps and site lighting helps, but neither is the same as daylight, and neither reaches up to where the boom is working.
So when the light is limited, the working day is limited with it. A lift that finishes at half past three in June can finish comfortably. The same lift starting at half past three in December cannot.
That is the whole reason we open at six on weekdays. Starting at six in November means a long run of usable light after we arrive, rather than an hour of it before everything goes grey. We are open Monday to Friday from six until six, and Saturday mornings until half twelve.
What an early start looks like
If you have got an early slot, the lorry will be loaded and away from the yard before most sites open their gates. That has a second advantage in Manchester, which is that the roads are clearer, so the vehicle arrives when we said it would rather than when the traffic allows.
What we need from you is somebody there to meet it. The most common way to lose a morning in winter is for the lorry to get to a locked gate at half seven and wait for an hour, and that hour comes straight off the end of the day when the light runs out. If the site does not open until eight, tell us and we will plan around it rather than turning up to a padlock.
If you cannot do early, say so when you book. There is nothing wrong with a mid morning start, we just need to know so the job is not the fourth thing on that lorry's list.
Booking in autumn and winter
Two things change from now until spring. The first is that each lorry does less in a day, because the day is shorter, so the diary fills quicker than it does in July. The second is that weather moves work around. A wet Tuesday pushes jobs into Wednesday, and Wednesday was already busy.
The practical answer is to book earlier than you would in the summer, and to give us a week rather than a day if you can. If it has to be a fixed date, tell us that clearly and we will hold a slot for it.
Multi day work is worth planning around the light as well. Where a site needs several loads, we would rather agree at the start which loads go which day than get two thirds of the way through a day and have to leave a cabin hanging about. Our site moves page goes into how we sequence that sort of work.
If you have got something that needs doing before Christmas, now is the time to email us at info@manchesterhiabshire.co.uk and get it in the diary while there is still room.
Need a lorry? Ask for a quote or email us and tell us what needs moving.
