Many years back I installed a RJS beam into a roof space. The only problem was the scissor lift was an old knackered one which had no weight limiter on it and it was 2mtrs short of reaching where we needed to go. Our boss at the time was too tight to pay for the correct access and lifting equipment, I was 17 and naive. We strapped a couple of tall sets of step ladders inside the scissors lift carriage at each end, stood on the rungs with the very heavy beam rested on our shoulders as my boss operated the lift from below. It creaked and strained with the weight and only just went up, it was rocking really badly from the loose scissor joints. We then had to lift the beam over our heads into position off as we ascended the steps to the next to top rung, no harness no ropes just luck and good balance.
Crazy when I think back!