Aerial Manlift Hazards
Aerial manlifts are machinery that use either a series of linked, folding supports, such as a boom lift or an articulated boom lift or a scissor lift. These industrial kinds of machine allow employees to access hard-to-reach places. In certain ways, these machines have made construction much 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 accidentally lead to serious injury or even death to unaware operators.
Falls
Falls from a man lift normally occurs when workers fail to or are unable to wear a safety harness or cannot secure the harness to the lift. Falls could take place when a worker on the platform acts unsuitably and partakes in an activity such as climbing the guard rails to gain extra height. As well, accidents can be caused if the ground-based operator causes the equipment to move in an unexpected motion prior to the worker being properly secured.
A lot 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 length of the lift, thus causing the employee to be abruptly catapulted off of the platform. Clearly this hazardous action has terrible outcome.
Tip-Overs
Boom lifts are susceptible to tipping over. Tip overs are more frequent in articulated boom lifts, but could happen in any kind of lift. Since boom lifts could move both vertically and horizontally, they are capable of changing the overall center of gravity of the machine. Therefore, if the lift is over loaded or parked on an incline of some sort, totally extending the boom when it is in the wrong position can lead to a tip-over situation.