Aerial Manlift Dangers
Aerial man lifts are personnel lifts such as scissor lifts, boom lifts, and articulated booms lifts that utilize an articulated boom or a series of folding, linked 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 easier and safer, however, the general safety that 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 operators who are unaware.
Falls
Normally, falls could happen when workers are unable to correctly secure the lift platform or are unable to wear a safety harness. Falls could occur when someone on the platform acts wrongly and takes part in an activity such as climbing the guard rails in order to gain extra height. Furthermore, accidents could be caused if the ground-based operator causes the machinery to move in an unexpected motion before the employee being correctly secured.
At times employees may fall when the base of the lift is struck inadvertently by a heavy thing. In this situation, the force of the blow below becomes amplified by the lift's length, hence causing the employee to be abruptly catapulted off of the platform. Obviously this hazardous action has terrible results.
Tip-Overs
Boom lifts are prone to tipping over. Tip overs are more frequent in articulated boom lifts, but could occur in any type of lift. Since boom lifts are able to move both vertically and horizontally, they can change the overall center of gravity of the machinery. Therefore, if the lift is parked on an incline of some sort or over loaded, extending the boom to full length when it is in the wrong position can cause the machinery to tip over.