15.11.2012

That incident

Earlier this week we reported on a YouTube video of a van mounted lift and a bus incident we now have the full story. Click here to see the original report

The incident occurred in Bristol on Friday night – November 9th – the van mount belongs to PG Platforms of Kent and was out on a self-drive contract. The unit was being used to erect Christmas lights for the local council, the operator had parked the unit in a safe place and put out a good number of cones.

He also put on a full harness and short lanyard and unfortunately allowed the platform to stray out over the coned off area. The upper deck of a passing double decker bus clipped the platform with a strong enough force to twist the boom and bend the jib of the Versalift unit.
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The incident after the collision

However the operator was retained in the platform and managed to walk away from the incident completely unharmed. The incident was reported to all the relevant authorities and then was logged on the new IPAF accident database.

Vertikal Comment

This is an excellent example of how taking the right precautions can save your life. We have over the years published numerous incidents almost identical to this where the operator lost his life or was severely injured. And all because he did not wear a harness and lanyard.

This operator appears to have been very diligent in every way but the calculation of where the platform might end up in comparison to the street etc… and his coned off area. This is not unusual we are told that spatial awareness looking up from the ground can be tricky which is why spotters for booms working hear overhead power lines sometimes fail to provide the operator with a warning in time.