Aerial Manlift Hazards
Aerial manlifts are machines that utilize either a series of linked, folding supports, like a boom lift or an articulated boom lift or a scissor lift. These industrial pieces of machinery allow employees to get in touch with hard-to-reach areas. In certain ways, these kinds of machinery have made construction a lot easier and safer, although, the overall safety that comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has implemented a new list of hazards which could inadvertently result in severe injury or even death to unaware operators.
Falls
Falls from a man lift normally happens when workers fail to or are unable to wear a safety harness or cannot secure the harness to the lift. Falls can occur when someone on the platform acts wrongly and partakes in an activity such as climbing the guard rails to be able to gain extra height. As well, accidents can be caused if the operator on the ground causes the equipment to move in an unexpected motion before the worker being correctly secured.
Numerous workers also fall because the base of their machinery is inadvertently struck by some other heavy thing. In this situation, the force of the blow below becomes amplified by the lift's length, hence causing the employee to be suddenly 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 can occur in any kind of lift, but are more common in articulated boom lifts. As boom lifts can move both vertically and horizontally, they are capable of changing the machinery's overall center of gravity. Therefore, if the lift is parked on a slope of some kind or over loaded, totally extending the boom when it is in the wrong position can cause the machinery to tip over.