Falls from Lifts

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jmellc

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Facility Maintenance Tech. Licensed Electrician
How many of you have seen falls from scissor or boom lifts of any type? I have never seen one. I have seen a few falls from ladders, maybe a dozen in my 25 years.
Just curious.
 
I have never run across a fall from a lift of any kind. But most people who use them are pretty good at tying themselves in.

Some people are really scary with ladders though. I am surprised there are not more accidents with them.
 
Boom lifts require the use of a harness and lanyard scissor lifts do not. I've never seen anyone fall from either of them but there have been deaths associated with boom lifts being struck and the workers have been thrown from the lift. I feel perfectly safe on a scissor lift without any PPE.
 
The “Z” platform lifts are dangerous, I know of one case where it broke slinging out the person, who landed head first on the floor. He was deceased shortly there after.
 
"Successful" fall, or one in which the lanyard saved them? I was working at Boeing on installing the overhead cranes, and one of my workers was in a JLG that was hit by a crane driver who was horsing around. The JLG didn't go all the way over thank God, but he did fall out and was saved by his lanyard and harness. Dangled there for about 10 minutes before the Fire Dept. could get to him (they would not let us get to him in another JLG). I was surprised that he didn't crap his pants... I might have.

Crane driver was fired by the way...
 
Jraef said:
"Successful" fall, or one in which the lanyard saved them? I was working at Boeing on installing the overhead cranes, and one of my workers was in a JLG that was hit by a crane driver who was horsing around. The JLG didn't go all the way over thank God, but he did fall out and was saved by his lanyard and harness. Dangled there for about 10 minutes before the Fire Dept. could get to him (they would not let us get to him in another JLG). I was surprised that he didn't crap his pants... I might have.

Crane driver was fired by the way...
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For his own safety, I imagine, and immediately escorted off the premises, before your worker got back on the ground and found a heavy blunt object.
 
In our line (industrial) pretty much all construction is scaffolding. No ladders.
 
We had a JLG style where the basket tilt cylinder valve stuck open and dumped tools in the basket. There is still a hard stop...not a carnival ride.

I’ve read several cases from OSHA where guys fell from both man lifts and ladders from an “arc flash” where the fall is what killed them.

If I had to guess I’d say almost every case would involve working off or outside the hand rails or getting knocked off or the unit getting knocked around.

A boom lift is one stick. Riding in one feels like it could go over easily where a scissor lift has 4 point contact so it’s more of a stable ride. But with all the counter weight in a boom lift if it gets hit or hits a hole, you are in for a wild ride like a weeble wobble but there are videos showing those things on a 45 incline and they don’t go over. Plus the stick is designed to be very flexible but very strong. It’s still a stomach churner but you get used to it. Once the “back” legs cross the front “legs” of a scissor lift, you’re going down. All that stability is gone instantly. I can’t say one is “safer” than the other, only that man lifts just feel like they’re going over any minute even on a flat floor until you get used to it. Just look at the wheels and not what your stomach says.
 
paulengr said:
We had a JLG style where the basket tilt cylinder valve stuck open and dumped tools in the basket. There is still a hard stop...not a carnival ride.

I’ve read several cases from OSHA where guys fell from both man lifts and ladders from an “arc flash” where the fall is what killed them.

If I had to guess I’d say almost every case would involve working off or outside the hand rails or getting knocked off or the unit getting knocked around.

A boom lift is one stick. Riding in one feels like it could go over easily where a scissor lift has 4 point contact so it’s more of a stable ride. But with all the counter weight in a boom lift if it gets hit or hits a hole, you are in for a wild ride like a weeble wobble but there are videos showing those things on a 45 incline and they don’t go over. Plus the stick is designed to be very flexible but very strong. It’s still a stomach churner but you get used to it. Once the “back” legs cross the front “legs” of a scissor lift, you’re going down. All that stability is gone instantly. I can’t say one is “safer” than the other, only that man lifts just feel like they’re going over any minute even on a flat floor until you get used to it. Just look at the wheels and not what your stomach says.
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I've seen at least one YouTube video where a fella was maneuvering a boom lift in an industrial yard. He went over a small elevation change. He wasn't belted into the basket and was catapulted about 20 into the air.
 
gadfly56 said:
For his own safety, I imagine, and immediately escorted off the premises, before your worker got back on the ground and found a heavy blunt object.
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When he came down, he was only focused on having survived; calling his wife and kids, etc. and going home early. The next day though, he was absolutely looking for that guy and when we told him that he had been fired, he wanted his name and address. Boeing refused as you might imagine.
 
One of my guys was working on a one man lift in a big box home improvement store when one of their employees came flying by on a forklift and hooked one of his outriggers dragging it about 10’ while he was 20’ up in the air! He wasn’t happy! Before we started using lifts in them, I was on an extension ladder in an aisle when a customer rammed me with a lumber cart. He said “Oh! I didn’t see you there! As he untangled the barrier tape from his cart!
 
Jraef said:
"Successful" fall, or one in which the lanyard saved them? I was working at Boeing on installing the overhead cranes, and one of my workers was in a JLG that was hit by a crane driver who was horsing around. The JLG didn't go all the way over thank God, but he did fall out and was saved by his lanyard and harness. Dangled there for about 10 minutes before the Fire Dept. could get to him (they would not let us get to him in another JLG). I was surprised that he didn't crap his pants... I might have.

Crane driver was fired by the way...
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I'm surprised that they didn't use any safe means to get him down right away. Our safety training tells us not to wait for the fire department if a safe means exists to extricate the person from their harness as quickly as possible. In as little as a few minutes one can suffer permanent damage just from hanging in a harness.
 
infinity said:
I'm surprised that they didn't use any safe means to get him down right away. Our safety training tells us not to wait for the fire department if a safe means exists to extricate the person from their harness as quickly as possible. In as little as a few minutes one can suffer permanent damage just from hanging in a harness.
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IIRC you want to be hanging for less than 15(?) minutes. I would bet that the Fire Department was the on site fire response team, not a local agency.
 
gadfly56 said:
IIRC you want to be hanging for less than 15(?) minutes. I would bet that the Fire Department was the on site fire response team, not a local agency.
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Yes 15 minutes is considered the maximum safe hang time but physical damage can occur in less time than that. If I'm hanging there and there's another lift nearby someone better get up there and get me down as fast as possible. :)
 
Back when I was a dumb (but not young) apprentice, I was driving a boom lift through a parking lot at an industrial site and hit a speed bump. I was nearly slingshotted out of the basket. Luckily I grabbed the rail before I shot out. I was probably wearing a harness, but I don't remember for sure.

I've never seen anybody fall out of a lift.
 
gadfly56 said:
IIRC you want to be hanging for less than 15(?) minutes. I would bet that the Fire Department was the on site fire response team, not a local agency.
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Aside from comfort, the place where the leg straps squeeze is the spot that cuts off blood flow to a major artery. When they get you out, you can have a blood clot for there and you stroke out, instant death.

Older harnesses are one thing but newer ones have a trauma strap. If you end up hanging the idea is to unfurl the trauma strap and hook your feet on it so that you can sit or stand in the harness comfortably and let the pressure off.
 
gadfly56 said:
IIRC you want to be hanging for less than 15(?) minutes. I would bet that the Fire Department was the on site fire response team, not a local agency.
Click to expand...
Yes it was. Boeing has their own FD on site at every factory. They were right on the other side of the parking lot from this part of the plant (albeit a parking lot for 747s...). 10 minutes may be my perception of what seemed like an eternity watching him dangle like that... It might have been less.
 
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