Aerial Manlift Dangers
Aerial manlifts are machinery which use either a series of folding, linked supports, such as an articulated boom lift or a scissor lift or a boom lift. These industrial kinds of machinery enable employees to get in touch with hard-to-reach places. In some ways, these types of equipment have made construction much easier and safer, however, the overall safety that comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has applied a new list of dangers which can accidentally lead to severe injury or even death to unaware operators.
Falls
Normally, falls can happen when employees are unable to correctly secure the lift platform or are unable to wear a safety harness. Falls could occur when somebody on the platform acts inappropriately and takes part in an activity such as climbing the guard rails in order to gain added height. Additionally, mishaps can be caused if the operator on the ground causes the machinery to move in an unexpected motion prior to the employee being properly secured.
Lots of workers also fall because the base of their machinery is inadvertently struck by some other heavy thing. During this situation, the force of the blow below becomes amplified by the lift's length, thus causing the employee to be suddenly catapulted off of the platform. Clearly this hazardous action has terrible 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 type of lift. Because boom lifts could move both horizontally and vertically, they could change the equipment's overall center of gravity. Therefore, if the lift is parked on an incline of some kind or over loaded, totally extending the boom when it is in the wrong position can cause the machine to tip over.