Aerial Manlift Hazards
Aerial manlifts are equipments 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 kinds of machinery enable employees to access hard-to-reach areas. In certain ways, these equipment have made construction much easier and safer, however, the general safety that comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has applied a new list of hazards that could accidentally cause serious injury or even death to unaware drivers.
Falls
Falls from a man lift normally happens when employees 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 partakes in an activity such as climbing the guard rails to be able to gain added height. As well, accidents could be caused if the operator on the ground causes the equipment to move in an unexpected motion prior to the employee being properly secured.
At times employees may fall when the base of the lift is struck inadvertently by a heavy object. During this situation, the force of the blow below becomes amplified by the length of the lift, thus causing the worker to be abruptly catapulted off of the platform. Obviously this dangerous action has terrible outcome.
Tip-Overs
Boom lifts are prone to tipping over. Tip overs are more frequent in articulated boom lifts, but could happen in any type of lift. Because boom lifts could move both horizontally and vertically, they can change the machinery's overall center of gravity. Therefore, if the lift is parked on a slope of some sort or over loaded, extending the boom to full length when it is in the wrong position can cause the equipment to tip over.