Aerial Manlift Hazards
Aerial manlifts are equipments which use either a series of folding, linked supports, like a scissor lift or a boom lift or an articulated boom lift. These industrial types of machinery enable employees to access hard-to-reach places. In certain ways, these kinds of equipment have made construction much safer and easier, however, the overall safety that comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has implemented a new list of hazards that can inadvertently result in serious injury or even death to drivers who are unaware.
Falls
Normally, falls could occur when workers are unable to wear a safety harness or are unable to correctly secure the lift platform. Falls can occur when a worker on the platform acts wrongly and takes part in an activity like climbing the guard rails in order to gain extra height. In addition, mishaps could be caused if the operator on the ground causes the equipment to move in an unexpected motion prior to the employee being correctly secured.
Many workers also fall because the base of their machinery is accidentally struck by some other heavy thing. During this situation, the force of the blow below becomes amplified by the lift's length, hence causing the worker to be abruptly catapulted off of the platform. Obviously this dangerous action has catastrophic results.
Tip-Overs
Boom lifts are prone to tipping over. Tip overs are more frequent in articulated boom lifts, but can take place in any kind of lift. Since boom lifts could move both horizontally and vertically, they are capable of changing the overall center of gravity of the machinery. Hence, if the lift is over loaded or parked on a slope of some sort, completely extending the boom when it is in the wrong position can lead to a tip-over situation.