Scissor lifts come in handy when you need to work on high-rise sections of a building. Scissor lifts are a better alternative to elevated work platforms because they have wheels. This makes it easy to manoeuvre within the site and work along the cross section of a large wall. However, scissor lifts pose many safety hazards to your workers, meaning that you should be on the lookout for safety devices and measures to minimise the possibility of injuries to your workers. Here are some of the precautions that you can use to guarantee safety for your workers:

Weight Limitation

When hiring the scissor lift, make sure that you are aware of the weight limit that the work platform can safely accommodate. Preferably, go for work platforms that have an electronic weight measurement mechanism, which will alert you anytime the weight in the work platform exceeds the weight recommended by the manufacturer. Do not ignore the weight limit alerts as that could lead to navigation problems or worse, break the joints on the lifting mechanism. This will lead to costly repairs or lead to injuries for the personnel using the work platform.

Stabilising the Work Platform

The work platform should be stable before workers can start to use the scissor. Preferably, you should test the scissor lift by elevating the work platform to the desired height, examining it for any shaking and instability. To add on that, you should also refrain from moving the scissor lifts when the work platform is in an elevated position. This will help you prevent unwanted tip-overs that can make workers and equipment to fall off from the work platform.

Besides that, you need to ensure that the work location has a firm and level surface that can support the weight of the scissor lift. Therefore, you should prepare work locations adequately by reinforcing them with concrete slabs, wood panels or applicable ground obstructions.

Maintain the Scissor Lifts

Keeping the scissor lifts in operable condition will go a long way in ensuring the safety of your workers. Workers should inspect and test the lift's controls before any work session that they want to use them. You should also assess the condition of the guardrails to guarantee that they are sturdy enough to support the weight of workers and equipment leaning on them. Lastly, you should test the braking system to make sure that it can stop and hold the scissor lift in position when need be.