Aerial Manlift Hazards
Aerial man lifts are personnel lifts like boom lifts, articulated boom lifts and scissor lifts which utilize an articulated boom or a series of folding, linked supports. These machinery enables employees to get up high into previously inaccessible places. In some ways, these machinery have made construction a lot easier and safer, although, the general safety which comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has applied a new list of dangers which can accidentally cause severe injury or even death to unaware drivers.
Falls
Falls from a man lift normally happens when employees fail to or are unable to wear a safety harness or cannot secure the harness to the lift. Falls can take place when a worker on the platform acts inappropriately and partakes in an activity like climbing the guard rails to be able to gain extra height. Additionally, mishaps could be caused if the ground-based operator causes the machinery to move in an unexpected motion before the employee being properly secured.
Lots of workers also fall because the base of their equipment is inadvertently struck by some other heavy thing. In this situation, the force of the blow below becomes amplified by the length of the lift, therefore causing the worker to be suddenly catapulted off of the platform. Obviously this hazardous action has catastrophic results.
Tip-Overs
Sadly, boom lifts are easily prone to tipping over. Tip-overs can happen in any kind of lift, but are more common in articulated boom lifts. Because boom lifts could move both vertically and horizontally, they are capable of changing the overall center of gravity of the machine. Hence, if the lift is parked on a slope of some kind or over loaded, extending the boom to full length when it is in the wrong position could cause the machinery to tip over.