Aerial Manlift Hazards
Aerial man lifts are personnel lifts such as scissor lifts, boom lifts, and articulated booms lifts that use an articulated boom or a series of folding, linked supports. These equipment enables employees to get up high into previously inaccessible areas. In certain ways, these equipment have made construction a lot safer and easier, although, the general safety that comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has implemented a new list of hazards which can accidentally cause serious injury or even death to drivers who are unaware.
Falls
Falls from a man lift normally happens when workers fail to or are unable to wear a safety harness or cannot secure the harness to the lift. Falls could take place when somebody on the platform acts wrongly and partakes in an activity like for instance climbing the guard rails to gain extra height. In addition, mishaps can be caused if the ground-based operator causes the equipment to move in an unexpected motion before the employee being properly secured.
Numerous employees also fall because the base of their machinery is accidentally struck by some other heavy thing. In this situation, the force of the blow below becomes amplified by the lift's length, therefore causing the employee to be abruptly catapulted off of the platform. Clearly this hazardous action has catastrophic outcome.
Tip-Overs
Unfortunately, boom lifts are easily prone to tipping over. Tip-overs could take place in any kind of lift, but are more frequent in articulated boom lifts. As boom lifts could move both horizontally and vertically, they are capable of changing the overall center of gravity of the machine. Hence, if the lift is parked on an incline of some sort or over loaded, extending the boom completely when it is in the wrong position could result in a tip-over situation.