Seven Statistics on Aerial Lift Equipment

Aerial lifts are useful tools for moving workers close to elevated work spaces that would otherwise be tricky to access. But this equipment can also be dangerous, as the following statistics show.

1. Four causes of injuries and deaths involving aerial lifts are falls from lifts, collapses, tip-overs and electrocutions.
2. Boom lifts account for nearly 70 percent of aerial lift worker fatalities. (eLCOSH)
3. 50 percent of the falls from boom lifts involve workers being thrown from buckets struck by vehicles, crane loads or falling objects, or as the result of jerky movements. (eLCOSH)
4. 1 type of aerial lift incident resulting in injuries or fatalities involves a worker being caught between a bucket edge and an object such as a beam, while repositioning a bucket.
5. 3 contributing causes of aerial lift deaths are a lack of training, misuse of equipment or not following the manufacturer’s instructions.
6. A Canadian automotive and industrial parts manufacturer, Martineau International Inc., was fined $250,000 after a worker died in a scissor lift tip-over caused by wind gusts.
7. 8 conditions that can result in injuries or deaths during aerial lift operations are: exceeding a lift’s load capacity, falls from elevated levels, objects or items falling from lifts, electrical hazards, contact with objects such as walls, ceilings or pipes, high winds and uneven terrain. (University of Central Oklahoma)

Aerial work platforms are useful tools for moving workers close to elevated work spaces that would otherwise be tricky to access. But if they are not operated by trained and qualified workers, these machines can easily cause deaths or serious injuries. Here are seven statistics relating to aerial lifts: