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Construction Companies: Are Your Aerial Lifts Mechanically Sound?

30 March 2020 by Dan Adams

If your construction company uses different aerial lifts to complete your jobs, you want to keep each piece of equipment as safe and mechanically sound as you can. You should properly maintain forklifts, scissor lifts, telehandlers, and even boom lifts before and after you use them. If you don't maintain your aerial lifts properly, it could be dangerous for your workers and business. Learn how you can keep your aerial lifts mechanically sound below.

Perform Daily Pre-Start Inspections

Your workers should always perform pre-start inspections on each aerial lift they plan to use during their shifts, including forklifts and telehandlers. Pre-start inspections allow your workers to check the equipment for electrical failure, physical damage, fluid leaks, and other potential problems prior to use. The inspections may also allow your staff to find problems with your lifts other workers may have missed earlier in the day.

Although you can establish your own pre-start inspection lists for your company, you want to follow the guidelines established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The guidelines contain things you might miss during your inspections, including what to look for in your lifts and how. 

In addition to regular pre-start inspections, you want to have each aerial lift in your company professionally inspected by a heavy construction company sometime during the year.

Invest in Aerial Lift Inspections

By investing in professional aerial lift inspections, you protect your construction workers, worksites, and equipment all year round. The inspections allow a heavy construction equipment company to find:

• broken or severely damaged mechanical parts in your lifts
• extensive fluid leaks in your lifts
• damaged, loose, or missing harnesses, cables, and wires in your lifts

A company may also look for problems in your equipment's pneumatic and hydraulic systems. These items are just a few critical components inspectors can find when they examine your aerial lifts. If any of your lifts have problems, you can replace the equipment or take the correct steps to repair them.

Before you contact a heavy construction equipment service for your aerial lift inspections, you may need to do a number of important things first. You may need to obtain the names and contact numbers of your equipment suppliers. In some cases, your suppliers may be able to replace or compensate you for the loss of your equipment. You'll need to contact your suppliers directly to find out if they cover your equipment.

If you need your aerial lifts inspected soon, contact a local aerial lift ANSI inspector for more details.

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