Aerial Manlift Hazards
Aerial man lifts are personnel lifts like scissor lifts, boom lifts, and articulated booms lifts which utilize an articulated boom or a series of folding, linked supports. These machinery enables workers to get up high into previously inaccessible areas. In some ways, these machines have made construction much easier and safer, although, the general safety which comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has applied a new list of hazards that can inadvertently result in severe injury or even death to operators who are unaware.
Falls
Falls from a man lift usually occurs when workers cannot secure the harness to the lift or fail to or are unable to wear a safety harness. Falls can occur when somebody on the platform acts wrongly and takes part in an activity like for instance climbing the guard rails to gain additional height. Additionally, accidents could be caused if the ground-based operator causes the machine to move in an unexpected motion before the employee being correctly secured.
At times workers can fall when the base of the lift is struck accidentally by a heavy thing. In this situation, the force of the blow below becomes amplified by the length of the lift, thus causing the employee to be abruptly catapulted off of the platform. Clearly this hazardous action has catastrophic results.
Tip-Overs
Unfortunately, boom lifts are easily prone to tipping over. Tip-overs can take place in any kind of lift, but are more frequent 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, totally extending the boom when it is in the wrong position could result in a tip-over situation.