Tipping the Scales

Rick Raef is a heavy construction safety consultant for Willis Group Holdings, San Francisco, Calif., a global insurance broker. Raef has been with Willis since 1996, during which time he developed a crisis management program called, "Character Based Crisis Management: A Contractor's Survival Guide." He is currently the editor of WCSN-The Willis Construction Safety Network, an electronic safety bulletin distributed to contractors in the United States and Australia . You can contact Rick Raef at raef_ri@willis.com.

August 4, 2004 - While this safety bulletin isn't about counting carbs, it is a reminder that too much weight in the platform can cause aerial lifts to tip. Two ironworkers were injured recently when the boom lift they were in tipped over. While the details of the accident are a bit vague, this scenario is a good lesson to remind crews that boom lifts have a platform load limit and must be leveled properly. Attention needs to be paid to both.

Needless to say, it pays to be knowledgeable about the manufacturer's recommendations regarding platform load limits and the number of degrees a machine can be off level. Many boom lift platforms are rated at 500 pounds capacity. It's easy to reach that limit with two workers in the platform plus tools and supplies. While some boom lifts feature interlocks that prevent the machine from raising when you are off-level, not all models do.

Remember, it's best not to push the limits when it comes to platform capacity and machine set-up or gravity might win yet another round. To read about the boom lift tipover as it was reported in The Journal News, go to:

http://www.nyjournalnews.com/newsroom/072104/b0121cranewreck.html