Three Reasons to Include Access Equipment in Your BIM Planning
Incorporating Niftylift MEWPs into your BIM workflow helps reduce risk, improve planning accuracy, and streamline site operations from day one.
Friday 27 June 2025
Why BIM Planning Should Include Powered Access Platforms
When working with BIM (Building Information Modelling), most teams focus on key materials like cladding, roofing, or glazing. But overlooking powered access equipment can create costly gaps in your planning. From missed clearances to safety oversights, the absence of detailed access modelling can cause problems before your project ever breaks ground.
That’s why Niftylift has made its full product range available via our dedicated BIM Library - ensuring our MEWPs (Mobile Elevating Work Platforms) can be easily integrated into your digital project environment.
Here are three smart reasons to factor Niftylift into your BIM plans:
Niftylift BIM Object Showing Reach Capability
1. Access That’s Accounted For
Physical reach and spatial clearance are make-or-break factors on a live construction site. If your MEWP can’t fit through a doorway, reach over an obstacle, or navigate around obstructions, delays are inevitable.
With Niftylift’s BIM-ready models, project teams can simulate real-world access in the digital environment—checking clearance, testing movement paths, and verifying reach for tasks like façade installation or high-level M&E work, long before machines arrive on site.
Niftylift MEWP clearing a narrow indoor access route
2. Safety Starts at the Design Stage
Safety on site isn’t just about the right PPE or training—it begins at the planning stage. According to The Telegraph, nearly one person a week is killed on UK construction sites, many during work at height. That’s why early planning of safe access is critical.
Niftylift ClipOn - Harness Attachment Detection
Niftylift SiOPS® - Anti-Entrapment Protection
At Niftylift, operator safety is at the heart of our innovations. Systems like SiOPS® (which halts machine movement when unintentional control is detected) and ClipOn (a visual and audible harness reminder system) are industry-leading.
BIM allows project teams to design in safety features from the outset—mapping risk-reduced access routes, defining safe zones, and identifying potential entrapment or collision hazards before they occur.
3. Better Site Sequencing
Modern construction sites are logistical puzzles. Coordinating cranes, scaffolding, and powered access takes careful sequencing—mistiming just one element can disrupt entire phases of work.
With BIM, MEWPs can be scheduled alongside other equipment, helping stakeholders visualise where machines will be, when they'll be needed, and how they’ll interact with the space and each other. This clarity reduces admin, limits site visits, and fosters clearer communication among contractors and subcontractors.
BIM model sequencing for MEWP positioning
Smarter Construction Through BIM Integration
Niftylift’s BIM-integrated fleet empowers project teams to anticipate and resolve issues early—streamlining planning, reducing risk, and improving site performance.
Whether you're bidding for new work or coordinating with stakeholders, being able to demonstrate access planning with Niftylift models gives you a competitive edge and confidence in your delivery.
To start using Niftylift MEWPs in your BIM workflow, visit our BIM Library today.
