Today, there is a “surging” demand for man-lifts to replace scaffolds and ladders.
Fatal falls remain an unacceptably great danger for workers here in our part of the country, particularly in our construction industry. The threat of dying in a fall is high. Consider this: across all industries, falls are the cause of 20.7% of all worker fatalities warns the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics (“BLS”). Within the construction industry, things are even more perilous: the BLS confirms 37.9% of all construction worker deaths on the job are caused by a fall.
To try and help workers at risk for fatal falls while on the job, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) recently implemented its “National Emphasis Program” in May 2023. Read, Fighting Fatal Falls on the Job: OSHA’s First National Emphasis Program.
Within the private marketplace, things are being done to try and help keep workers safe from these preventable fall accidents. Among them is the increasing introduction of man-lifts or aerial lifts as replacements for scaffolds and ladders on the job site.
Booming Business: Workers Will See More and More Aerial Lifts on their Job Sites
This month, economic forecasters celebrated the “surging demand” within the construction industry, among other industries, for powerful industrial heavy equipment sold under a variety of product lines or models commonly referred to as a “man lift” or an “aerial lift.” In addition to construction sites, these lifts are being used more and more at warehouses, distribution centers, retail stores, airports, manufacturing plants, and factories.
In fact, the aerial lift market is booming. According to Future Market Insight (“FMI”), the “aerial works platform market” is expected to double in size within the next ten years. FMI explains that “aerial work platform” is a synonym for “aerial lift, ” and that:
Aerial lifts have become a popular replacement for scaffolding and ladders in many work environments due to their flexibility and mobility. Rapid technological advancements, mechanization, and urbanization worldwide have increased the demand for aerial lifts.
This platform has broad applications across diverse industries for maintenance and repair activities. Industries like manufacturing, utilities, oil and gas, and telecommunications require regular maintenance of equipment, structures, and facilities. These Platforms are pivotal in enabling workers to access elevated areas safely. They enhance productivity and help mitigate the risk of accidents….
The aerial work platforms (AWP) market receives a significant boost from the continuous growth of the construction industry. Construction projects are increasing worldwide. This is leading to a surge in demand for safe and efficient access to elevated areas like buildings, bridges, and highways. Aerial work platforms serve as indispensable solutions. These provide secure and convenient access for workers to perform tasks at considerable heights.
What is an Aerial Lift?
According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (“NIOSH”), “aerial lifts” are considered to be any “powered and mobile platforms that are used for elevating workers to various heights, which exposes workers to fall hazards.”
In other words, if (1) it can be moved; (2) it is powered (e.g., electricity, fuel); and (3) it is used to help workers rise to a higher level in order to perform a task, then it can be considered an “aerial lift.”
NIOSH recognizes this is an “overarching” definition. For purposes of safety standards, there are a great many different types of heavy equipment that meet this description. They will be governed not only by federal (OSHA) safety regulations but also by industrial (ANSI) safety standards.
OSHA explains that aerial lifts can be made out of metal, fiberglass-reinforced plastic, or other materials. Most are powered, but some can be manually operated.
Among the different types of lifts that workers may be required to use at their workplace are the following:
1. Scissor Lifts
Scissor lifts raise and lower workers and materials from one level to another, rising from the lift’s base in a direct, vertical rise. There are different kinds of scissor lifts, including slab lifts; single-man lifts; and platforms. They may be powered by different sources, with electricity being commonplace for indoor scissor lifts, and internal combustion scissor lifts powered by gasoline, diesel, or propane often being used outdoors.
2. Boom Lifts
Boom lifts may be recognized as “cherry pickers” or “basket cranes.” Like a scissor lift, they move workers and materials to a height. However, boom lifts can reach higher than a scissor lift. They may have “elbows” that allow them to be manipulated unlike the stationary scissor lift. They may be powered by fuel or electricity. Sometimes, they are attached to a movable motor vehicle (e.g., truck) so they can be moved from place to place. There are both Straight Booms, with an extension arm that does not bend, and Articulating Booms that are equipped with a hinge that let the boom fold while in transport as well as scooting around hindrances at a height.
3. Telehandlers
These are aerial lifts that work like a forklift but with the ability to lift the worker and materials to a height. They are also similar to cranes, because they can lift a great weight of materials or loads. They can be “telescopic,” with an arm that moves up, down, in, and out, or “rotating” with an arm that can move a full 360 degrees.
4. Personnel Lifts
Often seen in warehouses, these aerial lifts are smaller than some of the lifts used on construction sites, usually holding a single worker and having a relatively low weight capacity (e.g., under 500 pounds). They are used to stock or remove materials or goods on warehouse shelves. Personnel lifts move up or down from a single spot.
Worker Protection: Laws and Industrial Standards
Workers must rely upon their employers and others in possession, custody, or control of aspects of the workplace to keep them safe from falls or other injuries involving aerial lifts. It is true that scaffolds and ladders are very dangerous and often the reason for a fatal fall on the jobsite. See, Scaffolding Accidents in Indiana and Illinois and Ladders: The Most Dangerous Tool on the Construction Site.
Trying to make things safer for workers with aerial lifts is a good thing. Nevertheless, aerial lifts come with their own set of risks. As OSHA makes clear: “[m]any workers are injured or killed on aerial lifts each year.”
1. OSHA Regulations and ANSI Standards
Employers can seek guidance on how to meet their duties of care and keep workers safe from aerial lift injuries by looking not only to federal regulations but to established industry standards.
Federal regulations regarding aerial lift safety can be found in 29 C.F.R. 1926.453. Industrial safety standards are established by American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standards.
Employers should take note that federal regulations have incorporated some of the ANSI standards (see, e.g. the incorporation of ANSI A92.2-1969 within 1926.453(a)(1).)
2. Workers Protections: Training, PPE
Workers should be alerted to failures in an employer’s safety duties of care if they have not been given proper training on the use of aerial lifts as well as the dangers and risks associated with them.
There are both OSHA and ANSI aerial lift training requirements (see, e.g., ANSI A92.22, A92.24). No worker should be permitted to operate a lift without completing and passing these evaluations. Operator cards should be provided to all those who have passed the tests and achieved their lift licenses.
Training is important. Workers learn not only how to operate the lift safely, but how to deal with hazards that arise; how to confirm load weights do not exceed weight limits; and how to inspect the lift prior to operation to make sure it is not in need of repair, maintenance, or replacement.
Workers should also be provided with the proper Personal Protective Equipment (“PPE”) when working on or near any form of aerial lift. This includes the wearing of hard hats and harnesses. For more, read Personal Protective Equipment and Serious Industrial Accidents and Hard Hats and Worker Injuries on the Job in Illinois and Indiana.
Lift Dangers: Risk of Catastrophic Injury or Death in an Aerial Lift Accident
Aerial lifts come with their own risks of severe bodily injury for one or more workers on the site. These lifts are dangerous in their own right, even though they are marketed as safety replacements for things like scaffolds and ladders.
OSHA warns that the most common aerial lift accidents involve falls, electrocutions and collapses or tip-overs. Other risks that may involve the lift operator as well as fellow workers include failure of the lift due to improper repair or maintenance; defects in the lift itself; and falling objects.
Employers know of these dangers. Workers should see safeguards in place to protect against them, such as guardrails; clearances; chocks; and cones. LOTO policies should be in place for all lifts on the site that include turning off the power before any type of maintenance or repair. No worker should be allowed to operate a lift until the equipment has been inspected to make sure it is free of defect. No worker should be allowed to operate a lift without a current and proper lift license.
For more on LOTO, read Lockout and Tagout (LOTO) Injuries on the Job: a Top Ten OSHA Safety Violation.
Justice for Workers Hurt or Killed in a Lift Accident
Employers have a duty to keep workers safe. That duty has been widely disregarded or disrespected over the years, as tragic deaths continue to happen each year involving fatal falls on the job. While replacing scaffolds and ladders with aerial lifts can be seen as making the workplace safer, these lifts come with their own set of dangers.
Aerial lifts can cause serious bodily injuries or death. Workers who are injured or killed in a lift accident may have legal claims for relief based upon workers’ compensation as well as negligence, product defect, premises liability, and wrongful death. More than one company may have legal liability for the accident and its consequences.
For more, read:
- Industrial Housekeeping and Construction Site Accidents
- Rescue and Construction Fall Deaths: Employer’s Duty of Safety
- Multiple Employers on the Construction Site: Who Is Liable For Construction Worker Accidents?
- Workers’ Compensation and Third-Party Claims for On-the-Job Accidents
- Premises Liability and Workplace Accidents: Third Party Injury Claims.
Workers in Illinois and Indiana deserve to be safe on the job. Aerial lifts are dangerous, and workers should be alert to any failures in the duties of care regarding these types of heavy equipment because their lives may be endangered and lost in a lift accident. Please be careful out there!
