Aerial Lifts
Aerial lifts are vehicle-mounted, boom-supported aerial platforms, such as cherry pickers or bucket trucks, used to access utility lines and other above ground job sites.
The major causes of fatalities are falls, electrocutions, and collapses or tip overs.
According to the Center for Construction Research and Training (CPWR), about 26 construction workers die each year from using aerial lifts.
- More than half of the deaths involve boom-supported lifts, such as bucket trucks and cherry pickers; most of the other deaths involve scissor lifts.
- Electrocutions, falls, and tipovers cause most of the deaths. Other causes include being caught between the lift bucket or guardrail and object (such as steel beams or joists) and being struck by falling objects.
- Most of the workers killed are electrical workers, laborers, painters, ironworkers, or carpenters.
Aerial lifts have replaced ladders and scaffolding on many job sites due to their mobility and flexibility. They may be made of metal, fiberglass-reinforced plastic, or other materials. They may be powered or manually operated, and are considered to be aerial lifts whether or not they can rotate around a primarily vertical axis.
Employers must take measures to ensure the safe use of aerial lifts by their workers if they are required to use this equipment in the course of their employment.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
1-6. Cherry pickers or bucket trucks used to access utility lines and other above ground job sites are examples of _____.
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