Cherry Picker Safety – Better Safe than Sorry
You will have hired one of our raised platform machines because you need to work at height. We have chosen our cherry pickers for their stability, simplicity and safety, but there are always dangers inherent in working at height, so we ask you to take a few simple precautions when it comes to cherry picker safety.
Ground Work
Please ensure that the surface on which you will be standing the machine is level and stable. An uneven or sloping surface can be dangerous, particularly if it is slippery.
Do not try to use a cherry picker in high winds.
Familiarise yourself with the controls. They are not complicated, and you will work more safely if you are competent and confident.
If you are using the cherry picker to lift materials, be doubly careful that you do not over-extend the reach of the platform. Make sure the load is not too heavy to be carried safely.
Look Up
It is very easy to mistake the distance between the ground level and, for example, overhead cables, tree branches, projections from roofs, or other dangers. Check carefully, and then check again.
Do Not Over-Reach
Leaning out from the platform in order to reach just one more branch that needs cutting back, or that last little bit that needs painting, is dangerous. It is all too easy to overbalance, and fall. Use a safety harness if that seems sensible, but do not allow that to lull you into a false sense of security. The main danger in working at a height is falling, and there is only so much that a safety rail and harness can do to keep you safe. Please be sensible, and careful, and, if the task is not within easy reach, move the vehicle closer.
Concentrate!
Do not allow yourself to be distracted when you are on the platform, particularly when it is being raised or lowered. You need to be looking at the job in hand, making sure you are not in danger of colliding with an overhead obstacle, and checking that you are close enough to your task to do it safely. Talking to friends or colleagues should wait until you are back on the ground.
Risk Assessment
A simple risk assessment is always a good idea. Ask yourself what could go wrong and then make sensible plans to eliminate, or at least minimise, the dangers. Write them down, check them, and ask others for their opinions. Risk assessments are never a waste of time when you plan to work at height.
If in Doubt, Ask
If there is any aspect of using our cherry pickers safely that worries you, please ask us. We never mind telephone calls requesting advice; we would hate to receive one telling us that somebody had been hurt.
Be Careful, Be Sensible, Be Safe!