Aerial Manlift Dangers
Aerial manlifts are machinery that use either a series of linked, folding supports, such as an articulated boom lift or a scissor lift or a boom lift. These industrial pieces of machinery enable workers to get in touch with hard-to-reach areas. In some ways, these equipment have made construction a lot safer and easier, although, the general safety which comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has applied a new list of dangers that could inadvertently cause severe injury or even death to unaware operators.
Falls
Typically, falls can take place when employees are unable to correctly secure the lift platform or are unable to wear a safety harness. Falls can occur when a worker on the platform acts inappropriately and takes part in an activity like for instance climbing the guard rails in order to gain additional height. As well, mishaps could be caused if the ground-based operator causes the machinery to move in an unexpected motion prior to the worker being correctly secured.
A lot of employees 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, thus causing the worker to be abruptly catapulted off of the platform. Clearly this dangerous action has terrible outcome.
Tip-Overs
Unfortunately, boom lifts are easily susceptible to tipping over. Tip-overs can take place in any kind of lift, but are more common in articulated boom lifts. As boom lifts are able to move both vertically and horizontally, they can change the machine's overall center of gravity. Therefore, if the lift is parked on a slope of some sort or over loaded, extending the boom completely when it is in the wrong position could result in a tip-over situation.