Aerial Manlift Dangers
Aerial man lifts are personnel lifts such as scissor lifts, boom lifts, and articulated booms lifts which use an articulated boom or a series of folding, linked supports. These equipment enables employees to get up high into previously inaccessible areas. In certain ways, these kinds of machines have made construction a lot safer and easier, although, the general safety that comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has applied a new list of hazards that could accidentally cause severe injury or even death to operators who are unaware.
Falls
Usually, falls could take place when workers are unable to wear a safety harness or are unable to correctly secure the lift platform. Falls could take place when somebody on the platform acts wrongly and participates in an activity like climbing the guard rails in order to gain extra height. Moreover, mishaps can be caused if the ground-based operator causes the machinery to move in an unexpected motion before the employee being correctly secured.
Many employees also fall because the base of their equipment is accidentally struck by some other heavy object. In this situation, the force of the blow below becomes amplified by the length of the lift, hence causing the worker to be abruptly catapulted off of the platform. Obviously this hazardous action has terrible results.
Tip-Overs
Boom lifts are susceptible to tipping over. Tip overs are more frequent in articulated boom lifts, but can occur in any kind of lift. Since boom lifts are able to move both vertically and horizontally, they are capable of changing the overall center of gravity of the equipment. Therefore, if the lift is parked on an incline of some kind or over loaded, extending the boom completely when it is in the wrong position can cause the machine to tip over.