MEWP
Also called Mobile elevating work platform, Cherry picker, Scissor lift
A powered platform, such as a scissor lift or boom lift, that raises people to work at height. Like cranes, MEWPs transmit concentrated loads through wheels or outriggers and can require ground protection matting on soft, uneven or made ground to prevent sinking or instability.
In practice
A MEWP carries people, which changes the consequence of a ground failure rather than the arithmetic of it. A boom lift at full outreach concentrates its load onto the wheels or feet on one side, and ground that held the machine while it was stowed can fail as the boom goes out — with an occupied platform at the top of it.
Where this comes from: Powered access practice; the ground-bearing requirement is set by the machine’s published wheel or outrigger loadings.
Where it matters on site
Powered access is often the plant nobody plans matting for, because it arrives late, moves frequently and looks light. It is also the plant most likely to be repositioned onto ground that was never assessed — across a soft verge, over a service trench, onto backfill. Pads under the outriggers of a boom lift are routine, not exceptional.