Aerial Manlift Dangers
Aerial manlifts are machinery which use either a series of folding, linked supports, such as a scissor lift or a boom lift or an articulated boom lift. These industrial pieces of equipment enable workers to access hard-to-reach places. In some ways, these machines have made construction much easier and safer, although, the overall safety which comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has implemented a new list of hazards which could inadvertently result in serious injury or even death to unaware operators.
Falls
Falls from a man lift usually happens when workers cannot secure the harness to the lift or fail to or are unable to wear a safety harness. Falls can occur when a worker on the platform acts wrongly and takes part in an activity like for instance climbing the guard rails to gain extra height. Furthermore, accidents could be caused if the operator on the ground causes the machinery to move in an unexpected motion before the worker being correctly secured.
Numerous employees also fall because the base of their machine is inadvertently struck by some other heavy thing. During this situation, the force of the blow below becomes amplified by the length of the lift, hence causing the worker to be abruptly catapulted off of the platform. Obviously this hazardous action has terrible results.
Tip-Overs
Unfortunately, boom lifts are easily susceptible to tipping over. Tip-overs could occur in any kind of lift, but are more common in articulated boom lifts. Since boom lifts could move both vertically and horizontally, they can change the overall center of gravity of the machine. Therefore, if the lift is parked on a slope of some sort or over loaded, totally extending the boom when it is in the wrong position could lead to a tip-over situation.