Take It Up: How To Avoid Injuries Related To Your Scissor Lifts
Posted on: 19 August 2018
If your business utilizes scissor lifts, you need to take additional precautions to maintain the safety of your crew. Between 2011 and 2014, nearly 1,400 people were injured due to accidents involving aerial lifts and scissor lifts. To avoid injuries on your job site, it's crucial that you take the necessary steps to keep your crew safe. Here are four steps you can take to ensure the safety of all those who will be using scissor lifts at your place of business.
Train and Test Your Operators
When it comes to avoiding accidents related to the operation of scissor lifts, it's important that you provide proper training for all employees who will be using those lifts. Each new hire should be trained to operate the machinery. After that, it's essential that you provide annual refresher courses to ensure that your employees remain up-to-date on the proper operation of the lifts. In addition, it's important that you also conduct random testing of your scissor lift operators to ensure that they practice safe operating procedures.
Watch for Power Lines During Operation
If your employees will be operating scissors lifts outside, you'll need to know where the power lines are located around your commercial property, and that your lifts aren't operated anywhere near them. Operating a scissor lift near power lines can lead to serious injuries and even death. To avoid that risk, areas around active power lines should be blocked off and monitored whenever scissor lifts are being operated outside.
Avoid Using Lifts in Areas with Poor Ventilation
When it comes to operating your scissor lifts in enclosed areas, it's crucial that you ensure that the area has adequate ventilation. You might not realize this, but operating scissor lifts in areas with poor ventilation can be hazardous to the health of your operators. Before your operators elevate the lifts in enclosed areas, be sure you've provided adequate ventilation for them.
Conduct Routine Inspections on Your Lift Controls
If it's been a while since you inspected the controls on your scissor lifts, it's time to take care of that. Inspections of the lift controls should be part of the routine maintenance for all your lifts. The last thing you want is for the controls to malfunction while the lift is in the upright position. If you identify any problems during the inspection of your lift controls, repairs should be conducted before the lift is put back into use.
For more information, check out a website like mcsindustrial.com.
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