A Guide To Common Scissor Lift Hazards

A Guide To Common Scissor Lift Hazards

Meta Description: Learn about crucial scissor lift hazards, such as falls, tip-overs, and electrocutions, and how to mitigate risks for safer operations.

This article examines common hazards associated with scissor lift operation and use. It identifies typical risks like falls, tip-overs, electrocutions, and collisions that workers face. Understanding potential lift hazards can help protect operators and other personnel.

Key Takeaways

• Falls from heights, tip-overs on uneven surfaces, and electrocutions near power lines are serious scissor lift hazards.
• Following proper safety practices like fall protection, traffic control, electrical grounding, and weight limits is vital.
• Hazards vary between indoor and outdoor lifts depending on design and work environment.
• Operator scissor lift safety training, pre-use inspections, and required personal protective equipment can help reduce risks.

Understanding Common Scissor Lift Hazards

Common scissor lift hazards include falls, tip-overs, entanglements, electrocutions, overloading, and collisions. Falls remain one of the most severe risks, so operators must wear proper fall protection like harnesses and use safety systems like guardrails.

Following safety procedures, inspecting lifts, using required PPE, and implementing traffic control measures can help reduce risks when operating aerial lifts or scissor lifts near power lines or other overhead hazards.

With the proper training, safe practices, and preventative measures, workers can use scissor lifts safely on construction sites and other job sites.

Common Hazards of Scissor Lifts

Common hazards when operating scissor lifts include falls, tip-overs, entanglements, electrocutions, and collisions. Falls from the elevated platform remain among the most severe risks, especially in construction environments where scissor lifts are often used near overhead power lines or other hazards.

1. Falls from Heights

Falls from heights are among the most significant dangers of scissor lift use. Operators can fall due to equipment malfunctions, reckless operation on uneven or unstable ground, or not wearing proper fall protection gear, such as harnesses attached to guardrails or other safety systems.

Using scissor lifts near energized power lines or other ground obstructions increases the risk of falls.

Workers must receive training in scissor lift safety, follow safe work practices, conduct pre-use inspections, and address fall protection by using required personal protective equipment (PPE) and fall arrest systems to work in elevated positions safely.

2. Tip-overs

Tip-overs are another significant hazard, as scissor lifts can become unstable and fall over if not properly stabilized, mainly when operating on uneven, sloped, or unstable terrain that is common at construction sites.

The risk of tipping over increases when lifts are used on unrated surfaces like soft ground, near ground obstructions, or not in their intended elevated position. Safe work practices, such as inspecting the work area for hazards, implementing traffic control measures to prevent collisions with other mobile equipment, and maintaining a scissor lift properly, can help avoid tip-overs.

Using only appropriate equipment designed and rated for the job task and training workers to stabilize lifts can reduce risks.

3. Entanglement and Crushing

Entanglement and crushing hazards occur during operation when workers are positioned between the lift platform and other objects, like buildings or overhead power lines. These risks are heightened for scissor lift operators working in confined indoor spaces or near other mobile equipment on busy job sites.

Implementing proper traffic control measures and safety barriers can help prevent collisions and crush injuries. Training is also needed to ensure workers know minimum clearance distances and understand the lift’s limitations when operating near other structures.

Safe work practices, like keeping the platform and rails free of obstructions, can help protect operators and other nearby workers from these scissor lift accidents.

4. Electrocution

Working near energized power lines poses a significant electrocution risk for scissor lift operators. If lifts become electrically charged during operation or maintenance near overhead power lines, it can prove fatal for workers. It’s crucial that only trained workers with required electrical training use scissor lifts around power lines or other electrical power sources.

Following safe work practices, like maintaining adequate clearance distances and using non-conductive platforms, can help prevent electrocutions. Safety training and strict work site policies are also needed to ensure workers do not expose themselves or others to live power lines.

Implementing effective traffic and job site controls can reduce electrocution risks for scissor lift operators and other workers.

5. Overloading

Overloading scissor lifts beyond their rated weight capacity can lead to serious safety issues. If too many workers and heavy equipment are positioned on the platform, structural failures in the lifting mechanism or crossed beams that keep the platform stable can occur.

Too much weight can prevent proper positioning and stabilization of lifts used at heights. It is crucial to follow the equipment’s specifications and only lift the amount of material and workers needed to perform the job task safely.

Proper safety training and clear signage showing maximum load limits help ensure operators and employers understand and do not exceed a scissor lift’s rated weight capabilities, which, if ignored, exposes workers to risks from possible hazards like collapse.

6. Collisions

Accidental collisions are a common hazard when operating scissor lifts in busy work environments with many mobile equipment and workers. Implementing proper traffic control measures, like barricades and signage, around lifts can help prevent collisions from moving scissor lifts, powered industrial trucks, or other mobile equipment moving on job sites.

Training workers on required hand signals and effective communication practices is essential when lifts are in motion near other workers. Safe practices like yielding to other equipment and inspecting work areas for hazards can help avoid collisions that threaten scissor lift operators and nearby personnel.

Maintaining full awareness of surroundings and controlling scissor lift movement assists in reducing risks of aerial lift accidents involving scissor lifts and other equipment.

Hazards Based on Scissor Lift Design

The specific design of scissor lifts can influence the potential hazards. Features like platform size and guardrail design impact safety.

Indoor vs Outdoor Lifts

Using scissor lifts indoors versus outdoors presents different risks. Indoor lifts operating in confined work spaces must avoid entanglement, crushing, and overhead hazards. Outdoor lifts require fall protection systems when working at elevated heights, and proper protection, stabilization, and positioning are critical when used on uneven or sloped terrain, which is expected at construction sites.

Lifts designed for outdoor use may have heavier-duty components to withstand weather hazards like wind and snow.

Following equipment capabilities and only using lifts appropriate for the job task and environment can help protect workers from design-related hazards. Maintaining lifts per manufacturer guidelines also helps ensure safe operation.

Platform Size and Shape

• Platform size and shape can influence safety. Larger, wider platforms provide more stable surfaces but risk tipping over if loaded improperly.
• Narrower platforms require careful load balancing and protection from fall hazards.
• Platform shape also impacts mobility in confined spaces and overhead clearances. Circular platforms allow 360° visibility but less workspace.
• Rectangular platforms provide better ergonomics but risk exposing operators to entanglement or crushing hazards in tighter spaces.
• Following equipment capabilities and using scissor lifts appropriate for the job task helps ensure the correct platform accommodates workload needs while avoiding design-related risks for workers.
• Proper training on load limits and safe operation specific to each aerial lift model’s rated capacity and stabilization assists operators in safely addressing fall protection requirements.

Railing and Guardrail Design

The design of railings and guardrails on scissor lifts impacts safety by providing fall protection. Taller guardrails with mid-rails and toe boards help address fall hazards and ensure that required personal fall arrest systems like safety harnesses can adequately protect workers in elevated positions.

Railings must withstand forces like impact or entanglement if they contact other structures. Following safety systems designed for lifts and rated for expected loads helps prevent falls and protects scissor lift operators and other workers near mobile equipment.