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Safety Focus of the Week: Aerial Platform Lifts (Revisited)
Aerial Platform Lifts can be a very dangerous piece of equipment for a variety of reasons. All users must be trained on the machine prior to use and need to apply all of the safety protocol required by the manufacturer.
One safety consideration that is not always evenly applied between different types of lifts is the requirement that the worker be tied off with lanyard and safety harness for fall protection.
- Boom-lifts always require that the worker be tied-off to the equipment and will always have lanyard attachment points.
- Scissor lifts only require being tied off if the manufacturer instructions require so and lanyard attachment will be provided in these cases. Furthermore, no worker should be tied-off on a scissor lift unless the manufacturer provides a lanyard attachment point.
This seemingly inconsistent logic is due the greater risk of the worker being ejected from the boom lift as it travels across an uneven surface. Obviously a 3-inch-high bump on your travel surface can amount to a 3 ft (or more) bounce at the end of the extended boom. A sudden movement of the carrier base can also result in very extreme movements when the boom is extended.