06.01.2022
Scissor lift overturn
A man was injured on Tuesday when the scissor lift he was using overturned in Edmonds, to the north of Seattle in Washington state.
The man an employee of a contractor work at the town’s wastewater treatment plant was using a Genie 3232 at a height of about six to seven metres when somehow, it went over. The scissor stack landed on a temporary deck and floor mounted props preventing the platform from reaching the ground and breaking its fall. We understand that the man was thrown the last two metres to the ground.
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Photo courtesy South County Fire
Firefighters struggled to reach him because the stairs to the area where he had fallen were blocked by scaffolding. They therefore used rope and basket system to bring him up. The man was taken to hospital with moderate injuries.
What caused the overturn is unknown. However this sort of incident is usually the result of an overhead crane running into the side of the scissor lift. The treatment plant has been working on a carbon capture replacement for an aging incinerator which burns the solids extracted from the waste water.
Sherm
No doubt the investigation of the incident will show, in terms of cause and effect, if a scissor lift was the practical equipment choice for this job. A man lift with outriggers would have increased safety factors if other equipment was operating close by in the tight work zone. Another issue to explore is use of PPE by the worker. If he was thrown out of the basket it’s a wonder he lived through that.