Aerial Manlift Hazards
Aerial manlifts are machinery that utilize either a series of linked, folding supports, such as a scissor lift or a boom lift or an articulated boom lift. These industrial types of equipment allow employees to access hard-to-reach areas. In certain ways, these types of machines have made construction much safer and easier, although, the overall safety which comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has applied a new list of dangers that could inadvertently result in severe injury or even death to operators who are unaware.
Falls
Normally, falls can take place when workers are unable to correctly secure the lift platform or are unable to wear a safety harness. Falls can occur when somebody on the platform acts wrongly and takes part in an activity such as climbing the guard rails to be able to gain added height. Moreover, accidents could be caused if the operator on the ground causes the machine to move in an unexpected motion prior to the worker being properly secured.
At times employees could fall when the base of the lift is struck accidentally by a heavy object. In this situation, the force of the blow below becomes amplified by the lift's length, thus causing the worker to be abruptly catapulted off of the platform. Obviously this dangerous action has terrible outcome.
Tip-Overs
Unfortunately, boom lifts are easily susceptible to tipping over. Tip-overs can happen in any kind of lift, but are more frequent in articulated boom lifts. Since boom lifts could move both horizontally and vertically, they could change the overall center of gravity of the machinery. Hence, if the lift is parked on a slope of some sort or over loaded, completely extending the boom when it is in the wrong position can result in a tip-over situation.