5 Need-to-Know Tips for Scissor Lift Safety

According to an article published by the Laborer’s Health and Safety fund, scissor lifts and other aerial lifts are one of the most common reasons for workplace injuries.

Like any business owner or manager, you want to keep your workers safe and avoid taking huge financial hits from worker’s compensation payouts. That’s why, to keep everything functioning smoothly and safely within your manufacturing and industrial company, you need to understand scissor lift safety.

Read on to learn five invaluable tips.

1. Perform Routine Maintenance

We know it can be frustrating to have to break up your work or production flow in order to inspect your equipment. However, it’s one of the most important safety steps you can take. Make sure you routinely test your guardrails, inspect the workplace environment, and test your workers’ knowledge of safety regulations.

2. Focus On Positioning

There are countless horror stories out there about workers who have been crushed to death by machinery or who have been electrocuted. Don’t let your employees become the next newspaper headline.

Instead, make sure your employees know how to position their lifts correctly. This means the lift needs to be a minimum of twelve feet from any power lines. You should also eliminate any overhead wires. (To be safe, nothing should be hanging over the lift.) Also, make sure you put down ground guides so that everyone is aware of where the lift is in their work environment.

3. Ensure Your Lift Is Stable

If your lift falls over, you and your workers are in serious trouble. Keep it stable by keeping the lift a good distance away from other equipment. Make sure the ground you place your lift on is solid too. That means you’ll need to check for any holes in the floor.

Finally, familiarize yourself with the manufacturer instructions, and always obey the limits on both weight and height set by the manufacturer.

4. Get Serious About Fall Protection

Preventing worker falls is a huge part of scissor lift safety. This means you’ll need to install guardrails to protect the scissor lift operators. Although body harnesses aren’t required, they may be a good idea. Also, instruct your workers to stand on the platform only and to never balance on the guardrails.

5. Train Your Employees To Ensure Scissor Lift Safety

Of course, the most important thing you can do in order to prevent accidents is to properly train your employees. This means you’ll need to conduct ongoing training, and perhaps even unannounced spot checks to make sure everything is as it should be.

When you train your operators, make sure you discuss:

• The basics of handling the scissor lift
• How to spot hazards in the workplace
• How to identify when the lift needs repairs
• Weight limits

This will help you to avoid accidents.

Bonus Tip 6: Buy Quality Equipment

Of course, the first step in scissor lift safety is to invest in high-quality equipment. Buying inferior equipment can increase the likelihood of equipment-related accidents. As such, your lift should be manufactured by an experienced company that can customize your equipment to your specific needs.

That’s where we come in. For more on our line of high-quality scissor lift tables, click here. Also, spend some time on our website to learn more about how we can help you get the right equipment for the job.