Lifts may seem relatively safe, because they move fairly slow, but, believe it or not, there are actually very good reasons that OSHA safety procedures exist, especially wearing a harness on a lift.
In the video below, posted to Youtube by Jumalten001, you’ll see a man try to maneuver a boom lift past what appears to be about a two foot tall concrete ledge. After the front set of tires successfully hit the ground, you can see the man have to brace himself in the basket. After that happened, you would think that he would have given the back wheels a second thought, but he powered through. After the second set of wheels hit the ground below, the boom lift bounces and launches the man in the air about 10-15 feet high and he hits the basket awkwardly as he falls. There’s no doubt that this could have ended much poorly for the man, but the fall could have also been avoided if he had been properly tied off.
OSHA regulations 29 CFR 1926.451(g)(1) and 29 CFR 1926.451(g)(4) state the rules regarding personal fall arrest systems requirements on lifts and scaffolds.
On Tuesday morning, February 23, the Syracuse Fire Department responded to a call about a collapsed crane on a construction site near the university. Thankfully, no injuries were reported.