Aerial Manlift Dangers
Aerial man lifts are personnel lifts such as boom lifts, articulated boom lifts and scissor lifts which utilize an articulated boom or a series of folding, linked supports. These machines allows workers to get up high into previously inaccessible places. In certain ways, these equipment have made construction much easier and safer, however, the general safety that comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has implemented a new list of hazards which could inadvertently lead to severe injury or even death to drivers who are unaware.
Falls
Typically, falls could occur when employees are unable to wear a safety harness or are unable to correctly secure the lift platform. Falls could occur when a worker on the platform acts wrongly and participates in an activity such as climbing the guard rails to gain additional height. Moreover, accidents could be caused if the ground-based operator causes the machine to move in an unexpected motion prior to the employee being properly secured.
Lots of workers also fall because the base of their machinery is accidentally struck by some other heavy object. During this situation, the force of the blow below becomes amplified by the lift's length, hence causing the worker to be suddenly catapulted off of the platform. Obviously this hazardous action has terrible outcome.
Tip-Overs
Sadly, boom lifts are easily prone to tipping over. Tip-overs could happen in any kind of lift, but are more common in articulated boom lifts. Because boom lifts could move both horizontally and vertically, they could change the overall center of gravity of the equipment. Therefore, if the lift is parked on a slope of some sort or over loaded, extending the boom to full length when it is in the wrong position could cause the machine to tip over.