18.11.2013

Death Wish painting

A photo sent in by a reader in Iceland shows a painting company using a homemade platform attachment on boom lift for a job in Reykjavik, last summer.

The painters constructed a wooden structure and platform extension clad in clear plastic sheeting and attached it the front of boom lift’s platform in order to prevent overspray damaging the surrounding cars and buildings.

The scenario is best described in the words of our reader: “Last summer I got a phone call from one of my customers that told me that there was a small oil leak in the Genie S65 machine he had rented from us earlier that week. When I arrived at the scene I saw the most terrifying addition I have ever seen on any man lift and of course grounded the machine immediately and gave the foreman an urgent and clearly needed preaching about work safety.”
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The 'lightweight invention' fitted to the Genie boom lift...

“They had been working the whole day with this monstrous tent and platform extension on a five storey house, and the workers where proud to show me their ‘lightweight and genius invention’ when I arrived. The ‘invention’ was made because the wind carried the white paint overspray away from the building threatening to damage nearby cars as they were working with high pressure paint sprayer, mounted inside the basket.”

“The worker had been standing on the extension outside of the basket ‘because the guardrail was limiting his movement’. I am sure that the small O-Ring that failed in the hydraulic manifold that day saved his life or at least his health, the wind was quite strong that day and unpredictable as the worksite was only about 250 metres from the open sea surrounding most parts of Reykjavik.”

“Some are just too lucky, and thankfully the machines are built with high safety standards to be able withstand the wind force that day with this gigantic and idiotic sail on it. I am sure that this qualifies for the Deathwish series.”

We are in complete agreement, definitely one for our Death Wish series.