Aerial Manlift Hazards
Aerial manlifts are machines which utilize either a series of folding, linked supports, such as a boom lift or an articulated boom lift or a scissor lift. These industrial kinds of machinery allow employees to access hard-to-reach places. In certain ways, these machinery have made construction much safer and easier, however, the general safety that comes with the unparalleled mobility of aerial manlifts has applied a new list of dangers which can accidentally lead to serious injury or even death to unaware operators.
Falls
Normally, falls can occur when employees are unable to correctly secure the lift platform or are unable to wear a safety harness. Falls could take place when someone on the platform acts unsuitably and participates in an activity like for example climbing the guard rails to be able to gain extra height. What's more, accidents could be caused if the ground-based operator causes the equipment to move in an unexpected motion before the worker being properly secured.
A lot of workers also fall because the base of their machine is accidentally struck by some other heavy thing. During this situation, the force of the blow below becomes amplified by the lift's length, therefore causing the employee to be suddenly catapulted off of the platform. Clearly this hazardous action has terrible results.
Tip-Overs
Boom lifts are susceptible to tipping over. Tip overs are more frequent in articulated boom lifts, but can occur in any kind of lift. As boom lifts could move both vertically and horizontally, they could change the overall center of gravity of the machinery. Hence, if the lift is parked on an incline of some type or over loaded, extending the boom completely when it is in the wrong position could lead to a tip-over situation.