Aerial Manlift Hazards
Aerial man lifts are personnel lifts such as boom lifts, articulated boom lifts and scissor lifts that use an articulated boom or a series of folding, linked supports. These equipment enables employees to get up high into previously inaccessible places. In certain ways, these machinery have made construction much safer and easier, although, the general safety which comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has implemented a new list of dangers which could accidentally lead to serious injury or even death to operators who are unaware.
Falls
Typically, falls can happen when employees are unable to correctly secure the lift platform or are unable to wear a safety harness. Falls could happen when somebody on the platform acts unsuitably and participates in an activity such as climbing the guard rails to gain additional height. Also, accidents can be caused if the ground-based operator causes the equipment to move in an unexpected motion before the employee being properly secured.
Sometimes employees 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 lift's length, hence causing the employee to be abruptly catapulted off of the platform. Obviously this hazardous action has terrible outcome.
Tip-Overs
Unfortunately, boom lifts are easily prone to tipping over. Tip-overs can occur 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 machinery's overall center of gravity. Thus, if the lift is parked on a slope of some sort or over loaded, extending the boom to full length when it is in the wrong position can cause the machinery to tip over.