Aerial Manlift Hazards
Aerial man lifts are personnel lifts like scissor lifts, boom lifts, and articulated booms lifts which utilize an articulated boom or a series of folding, linked supports. These machinery allows workers to get up high into previously inaccessible areas. In certain ways, these kinds of machines have made construction much safer and easier, although, the general safety that comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has implemented a new list of hazards that could inadvertently cause severe injury or even death to unaware drivers.
Falls
Usually, falls can occur when workers are unable to wear a safety harness or are unable to correctly secure the lift platform. Falls can happen when somebody on the platform acts wrongly and participates in an activity such as climbing the guard rails to gain extra height. In addition, accidents could be caused if the operator on the ground causes the equipment to move in an unexpected motion prior to the worker being correctly secured.
Sometimes employees may fall when the lift's base is struck inadvertently by a heavy thing. During this situation, the force of the blow below becomes amplified by the length of the lift, thus causing the employee to be abruptly catapulted off of the platform. Clearly this dangerous action has terrible outcome.
Tip-Overs
Boom lifts are prone to tipping over. Tip overs are more common in articulated boom lifts, but could occur in any type of lift. Because boom lifts could move both vertically and horizontally, they could change the overall center of gravity of the machinery. Therefore, if the lift is parked on an incline of some type or over loaded, totally extending the boom when it is in the wrong position could result in a tip-over situation.