Aerial Manlift Dangers
Aerial man lifts are personnel lifts such as scissor lifts, boom lifts, and articulated booms lifts that use an articulated boom or a series of linked, folding supports. These machinery allows employees to get up high into previously inaccessible areas. In certain ways, these types of machines have made construction a lot safer and easier, although, the overall safety which comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has implemented a new list of hazards which could accidentally cause serious injury or even death to unaware drivers.
Falls
Falls from a man lift usually happens when employees fail to or are unable to wear a safety harness or cannot secure the harness to the lift. Falls could happen when someone on the platform acts unsuitably and takes part in an activity such as climbing the guard rails to gain additional height. Also, mishaps could be caused if the operator on the ground causes the machinery to move in an unexpected motion before the worker being properly secured.
Numerous workers also fall because the base of their machine is inadvertently struck by some other heavy thing. During this situation, the force of the blow below becomes amplified by the lift's length, thus causing the employee to be suddenly catapulted off of the platform. Clearly this hazardous action has terrible outcome.
Tip-Overs
Unfortunately, boom lifts are easily prone to tipping over. Tip-overs could happen in any type of lift, but are more frequent in articulated boom lifts. Since boom lifts could move both vertically and horizontally, they are capable of changing the overall center of gravity of the equipment. Thus, if the lift is parked on an incline of some kind or over loaded, completely extending the boom when it is in the wrong position could lead to a tip-over situation.