Aerial Manlift Dangers
Aerial manlifts are equipments which use either a series of folding, linked supports, such as an articulated boom lift or a scissor lift or a boom lift. These industrial types of equipment enable workers to access hard-to-reach places. In certain ways, these types of machinery have made construction much safer and easier, however, the overall safety that comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has applied a new list of dangers that could inadvertently lead to serious injury or even death to unaware operators.
Falls
Typically, falls could take place when employees are unable to correctly secure the lift platform or are unable to wear a safety harness. Falls can take place when somebody on the platform acts wrongly and takes part in an activity like for example climbing the guard rails to gain additional height. Furthermore, mishaps can be caused if the operator on the ground causes the machine to move in an unexpected motion prior to the employee being correctly secured.
At times workers can fall when the lift's base is struck accidentally 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 hazardous action has terrible outcome.
Tip-Overs
Sadly, boom lifts are easily prone to tipping over. Tip-overs could take place in any type of lift, but are more frequent in articulated boom lifts. Because boom lifts can move both horizontally and vertically, they can change the equipment's overall center of gravity. Therefore, if the lift is parked on an incline of some sort or over loaded, totally extending the boom when it is in the wrong position could result in a tip-over situation.