Aerial Manlift Hazards
Aerial man lifts are personnel lifts such as boom lifts, articulated boom lifts and scissor lifts that utilize an articulated boom or a series of folding, linked supports. These machinery enables employees to get up high into previously inaccessible areas. In some ways, these kinds of machines have made construction much safer and easier, although, the general safety that comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has applied a new list of hazards that could 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 happen when someone on the platform acts unsuitably and partakes in an activity such as climbing the guard rails to be able to gain added height. Additionally, accidents can be caused if the ground-based operator causes the equipment to move in an unexpected motion prior to the employee being properly secured.
Lots of employees also fall because the base of their machinery is inadvertently struck by some other heavy object. 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. Obviously this dangerous action has catastrophic results.
Tip-Overs
Sadly, boom lifts are easily susceptible to tipping over. Tip-overs could happen in any kind of lift, but are more common in articulated boom lifts. Because boom lifts could move both horizontally and vertically, they could change the overall center of gravity of the machine. Hence, if the lift is over loaded or parked on a slope of some sort, completely extending the boom when it is in the wrong position can lead to a tip-over situation.