Aerial Manlift Dangers
Aerial manlifts are equipments that 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 places. In some ways, these machines have made construction much easier and safer, however, the overall safety which comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has implemented a new list of dangers which could accidentally result in serious injury or even death to unaware operators.
Falls
Falls from a man lift normally happens when workers cannot secure the harness to the lift or fail to or are unable to wear a safety harness. Falls can take place when somebody on the platform acts unsuitably and takes part in an activity like for example climbing the guard rails in order to gain extra height. Furthermore, accidents can be caused if the operator on the ground causes the machine to move in an unexpected motion before the employee being correctly secured.
Sometimes employees could fall when the lift's base is struck accidentally by a heavy object. 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. Obviously this dangerous action has catastrophic outcome.
Tip-Overs
Sadly, boom lifts are easily susceptible to tipping over. Tip-overs could take place in any type of lift, but are more frequent in articulated boom lifts. Since boom lifts are able to move both vertically and horizontally, they are capable of changing the overall center of gravity of the machinery. Therefore, if the lift is over loaded or parked on an incline of some kind, totally extending the boom when it is in the wrong position could lead to a tip-over situation.