Solve Lift Problems During Plant Maintenance

Is your ground man stuck at the top of a nonfunctioning scissor lift? There are safety protocols to get him back to earth and some common maintenance practices to prevent scissor lift failure.

This is the time of year when ground personnel, mechanics and other plant workers are busy gearing up for spring start-up. Not all workers are familiar with fall-arrest protection protocol or proper safety procedures for working on lift equipment. In the event a scissor lift (or other lift equipment) has stalled with a worker on the raised platform, there are safety precautions to be aware of.

The worker performing plant maintenance from the scissor lift platform should not attempt to disembark while the lift is stuck in the raised position. A member of the ground team will assist him.

The point: do not attempt to get off the platform if it is stuck in the raised position.

Ground personnel will first make sure the worker on the platform above is safe, and won’t be harmed by the lowering of the platform. The ground man will also look to make sure there are no wires, no pieces of equipment, no tools or handles of tools, etc., in the scissor pack.

For many lifts, the first step will be to turn the key switch to the “base” position, and then pull out (or twist, or press) the red emergency “stop” button.

Then the ground man can operate a switch that lowers the platform. In the event the platform doesn’t respond to the lowering switch, he may need to pull the red emergency lowering handle. In most machines, you will hear a hissing noise as the hydraulic oil flows through the system.

Notice that this emergency help requires the machine to be positioned/parked with the ground controls facing away from a wall; the emergency lowering handle should never be blocked by equipment or by the legs of the baghouse, loadout structure, etc.

A free downloadable resource from Nationwide Platforms that you may consider offers emergency lowering guidance for a number of different makes and models of lifting equipment. Visit here.

To keep your scissor lift’s battery in top condition, a number of resources suggested starting up the machine and letting it run and recharge at least once a month, whether you need to reach high places around the plant or not.

Additional preventive maintenance includes proper greasing and following the OEM’s recommended best practices to the letter.