Aerial Manlift Hazards
Aerial man lifts are personnel lifts like boom lifts, articulated boom lifts and scissor lifts that use an articulated boom or a series of linked, folding supports. These machinery allows workers to get up high into previously inaccessible places. In certain ways, these machines have made construction much safer and easier, although, the general safety which comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has applied a new list of dangers which could inadvertently cause severe injury or even death to drivers who are unaware.
Falls
Falls from a man lift normally happens when workers cannot secure the harness to the lift or fail to or are unable to wear a safety harness. Falls could happen when someone on the platform acts wrongly and participates in an activity like climbing the guard rails in order to gain added height. Moreover, accidents can be caused if the ground-based operator causes the equipment to move in an unexpected motion before the worker being correctly secured.
Numerous employees also fall because the base of their machinery is accidentally struck by some other heavy thing. During this situation, the force of the blow below becomes amplified by the lift's length, hence causing the worker to be abruptly catapulted off of the platform. Obviously this hazardous action has terrible results.
Tip-Overs
Sadly, boom lifts are easily prone to tipping over. Tip-overs can occur in any type of lift, but are more common in articulated boom lifts. Because boom lifts are able to move both vertically and horizontally, they can change the machinery's overall center of gravity. Therefore, if the lift is over loaded or parked on an incline of some kind, totally extending the boom when it is in the wrong position could lead to a tip-over situation.