Aerial Lift Maintenance

When you need to work at higher elevations, you want aerial platforms that you can rely on, such as telescopic and articulated boom lifts, cherry picker lifts, spider lifts, and scissor lifts. These lifts are a crucial piece of machinery that has effectively replaced scaffolding and ladders on many job sites.

The equipment can help you perform various jobs like maintaining homes, servicing cables, harvesting fruits, and painting buildings. Regardless of the applications, you use with the equipment, having trained operators is crucial for safety. But, another factor that plays a key role in workplace safety is "equipment maintenance".

It is even more important to perform maintenance with aerial lifts as compared to other small machines as working at heights-meaning operations need the utmost safety.

Timely aerial lift maintenance improves productivity, reduces downtime, and repair costs by fixing minor issues before they demand major repair. Continue reading the five critical things when performing aerial lift maintenance:

Whether you are a rookie on this job or have inspected hundreds of lifts in a day, following a routine can help you figure off critical components in your inspection list. This will, in turn, help you stay safe while maneuvering at advanced heights.

  • Tire pressure: Daily inspection of wheel and tire pressure, especially when you are working outdoors in rough terrain is crucial. Over or under-inflated tires can't support the heavy-weight machinery and more prone to sudden flats. Also, do not forget to check the thread thickness for bubbles and blisters on the sidewalls of a tire that can compromise safety.

While the equipment maintenance is critical to the safety and productivity of your project, the operator certification like the aerial lift train the trainer also play a major role.

Fluid checks: Make sure that the equipment has proper fluid levels for smooth and efficient running. While checking the fluid levels, ensure there are no leaks.

Besides, if your lift is battery operated, check the charger and battery. Perform regular inspection of the air, hydraulic, pneumatic, fuel, and other electrical systems.

Visual checks of the lift interiors: Inspect your lower-level controls to ensure they operate correctly in the case of an emergency. Check the gauges, horns, backup alarms, and lights. Accelerate and decelerate slowly to test the brake system and steering. Also, make sure that your operational and emergency controls functioning properly.

Visual checks of the lift exteriors: Review all warnings, placards, instructional, operational, and control signs for legibility. Make sure all locking pins and mechanical fasteners are in working order, and there should be no loose or missing parts. Test all wiring harnesses and cables and ensure the guardrails are in place and stable. Check the stabilizers, outriggers, and other structures.

Inspecting the Work Environment

Once you are done with all the safety inspections, you must check out your work environment to identify potential hazards:
  • Inspect the floors for uneven surfaces, holes, drop-offs, and slanted floors.
  • Remove the cords, debris, and other obstruction from your path to avoid work hindrance.
  • Be careful of the overhead obstruction you might run into.
  • Clean the floors if there are spills, grease, and leakage to avoid slipping.
  • Keep detailed records of the lift maintenance, inspections, and repairs.

Have a written record of the lift maintenance operations and write down about the detail of parts that have been inspected, the reason for the inspection, and other essential details. Maintaining this record is crucial to show if the lift is involved in an accident as per OSHA standards and industry guidelines.

The above list of equipment maintenance checks should be performed on every shift that needs an aerial lift. Also, go through the operator’s manual to check if any other inspections need to be done that is specific to your aerial lift!