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1 killed in man-lift accident in KC

willie59

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My condolences to the family of the fataly injured worker, and hope the other worker will recover.

I sure would be interested to know how this happened. I can't say for sure, but that looks like a JLG 1250AJP, 125' reach, articulated boom. And, looking at the pics, it fell over backwards, which is the least likely direction a manlift would tip over if it were on firm/level surface and in proper working order. I hope someone catches the follow up report on what happened.

Here's another pic I found on the web.




JLG accident.jpg
 

willie59

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Yep, that's a 1250AJP. I'll guarantee you there's someone from JLG on site over this accident. These are very sophisticated machines. Numerous auto controls that prevent even an inexperienced operator getting the machine outside of it's operating envelope. But just because there's a lot of "gizmo's" on these machines does not mean they malfunction easily. They are very reliable (as can be made by man) and often systems that have redundant backup controls in case of primary control failure. Anything that reads "weird" to the controls of these machines will either sound warnings, prevent certain operations, or shut it down. After all, manlifts are designed to "raise a man" in the air, not raise him then fall over. You don't often hear of manlifts falling over. That's why I'm curious as to what happened in this case.
 

OFF

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I wouldn't have believed it was possible to tip a JLG on solid ground :(

Is that chain falls I see in the basket? Wonder if they were pulling on something and it broke and "sling-shot" the opposite direction.....or were the chain falls holding a beam to the basket while being lifted into place?
 

53cummins

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nw pa
i dont know if the controls one that machine would prevent it from traveling once you get above a certain height but is it possible that they traveled backwards and dropped a tire into a hole?
 

fliffy42

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Fitchburg MA
My heart goes out for the family! Where most jobsite accidents are preventable, it is particularly hard one the family. The "needless" loss is devastating. We lost my son-in-law to a night time, backup accident on the job site, a year ago last June. His folks, especially his mom are still a mess. My daughter was left to raise 3 young children without their dad. A house that was full of happiness before, now has subdued laughter and a lot fewer smiles. My daughter still cries everyday. The kids still looking for Daddy. Life goes on, soccer, dance, birthdays etc, but the full joy of living is not there. So again my heart goes out to the families that suffer when a needless and most often preventable accident occurs at the job site.
 

95zIV

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Three of the wheels are pointed straight, but one of the ones on the ground is pointed off to the right. I wonder if that had something to do with it?
 

N.CarolinaDozer

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I don't know if it would have helped, but I wonder if they had there harnesses on and hooked to the basket. They require it on the job I'm working at. The general contractor warned all the lift operator to have a harness on and be hooked to the basket or they would be escorted off the site and not allowed back.
 

stock

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We have moved on and now were lost....
sad day for all concerned.reaffirms my reason to keep my boots on the ground.
 

willie59

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My heart goes out for the family! Where most jobsite accidents are preventable, it is particularly hard one the family. The "needless" loss is devastating. We lost my son-in-law to a night time, backup accident on the job site, a year ago last June. His folks, especially his mom are still a mess. My daughter was left to raise 3 young children without their dad. A house that was full of happiness before, now has subdued laughter and a lot fewer smiles. My daughter still cries everyday. The kids still looking for Daddy. Life goes on, soccer, dance, birthdays etc, but the full joy of living is not there. So again my heart goes out to the families that suffer when a needless and most often preventable accident occurs at the job site.


Well said fliffy42. ;)

I've said it before at this forum and I'll say it again; Everyone...work safe. It doesn't matter if your working a 125' manlift or a shovel. Any day you get to go home from work and eat supper is a good day. Sadly, this is one more hand that didn't get to, for whatever the reason.
 

John C.

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The story of this incident just does not add up. I've had to load test manlifts by extending the booms straight out level with a rated load in the basket and they did not tip. Raising the boom just makes them more stable.

N.CarolinaDozer points to a clue when asking about safety harnesses. If they did not have then on, they were not qualified to operate that machine.

We probably won't hear it but it should be made public. We need "The Rest of the Story".
 

willie59

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The story of this incident just does not add up. I've had to load test manlifts by extending the booms straight out level with a rated load in the basket and they did not tip.


Hi John, I really don't want to disagree with you, but on this I'm compelled to. On these long boom machines, they do have a tipping point. For example, take a JLG 110HX, a very simple long boom machine. If you have the boom horizontal, and were to disable the boom length sensor, and telescope boom with no load in the basket (platform); long before you were to reach full boom extension the machine will tip forward from the weight of the boom. All of these long boom machines operate within what's know as an "operating envelope". Any boom position outside of this "envelope" is a tipping hazard. That's why they have systems/sensors that prevent an operator from positioning boom outside/beyond the operation envelope. One would think they should design these long boom machines to be more stable. But here's the problem; to make a long boom manlift stable in all boom positions would require 1) the machine would have to be very heavy for counterweight, or 2) it would require a large footprint like extended outriggers on a crane. Either of these would be a hinderence on a dirt construction jobsite. The compromise is to make a machine heavy enough (a 110HX is a little over 40,000 lbs) and wide enough to be manuverable on the site. But this compromise will restrict the machine to a working envelope of boom position. If the machine gets outside of this envelope, it can tip over. I am very curious as to the "rest of the story" on how this happened on this occasion.
 
Last edited:

JDOFMEMI

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That is very sad to hear.

At the risk of stirring up a controversy, it looks to me like they were more than the reported 50 ft high. The lower boom appears to be a bit over half extended, and the upper appears the same, in some of the photos. I would estimate 80 ft plus or minus.
Hard to say for sure, but projecting where the lift would be at setting upright, and it looks mighty close to the crane boom. ???
It would be interesting to see the results of the investigation, though that may take some time.

In the comments below the news article, someone said that the 2 workers were tied off. Don't know how accurate that may be though. Someone else commented that the boom failed, but in the 16 pictures I see no evidence of a failed boom. Besides, a failed boom rarely dumps the base machine over.

My sympathies to the families involved.
 

heavylift

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One story says they are connecting steel beams with a crane...

Which makes one think a choker caught the basket and pulled the lift over.

Donna Robertson, acting area director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, said today there is no obvious cause for the Tuesday accident that killed one worker and seriously injured another. The two men were in an aerial lift that tipped over, dropping them about 50 feet.
 

jstachowiak

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Jacksonville, FL
JLG 1250 AJP manual

You can download the manual for this machine from JLG's website. Read sections 4-1 thru 4-9. The one thing that troubles me on these machines is if the machine is off and a cylinder leaks down (internally) there is no warning alarm. The machine has to be running to get the warning alarms.

1250 AJP operator manual link: http://csapps.jlg.com/OnlineManuals/browse.aspx?path=JLG/JLG Boom Lifts/1250AJP&title=PDF Manuals&refkey=http%3a%2f%2fwww.jlg.com%2fen-US%2fSafety.html&link=
 

stock

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We have moved on and now were lost....
Woops tells me that there are no files available!
 

Arabhacks

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Rest of the story.

Hello.

It would seem that a "Guide chain" was in use, (Tag line?).
One was tied off to the front of the basket, to "prevent it from becoming a fall hazard".
Was there only one?
More questions than answers so far.
 

icewater75074

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110hx

Hi John, I really don't want to disagree with you, but on this I'm compelled to. On these long boom machines, they do have a tipping point. For example, take a JLG 110HX, a very simple long boom machine. If you have the boom horizontal, and were to disable the boom length sensor, and telescope boom with no load in the basket (platform); long before you were to reach full boom extension the machine will tip forward from the weight of the boom. All of these long boom machines operate within what's know as an "operating envelope". Any boom position outside of this "envelope" is a tipping hazard. That's why they have systems/sensors that prevent an operator from positioning boom outside/beyond the operation envelope. One would think they should design these long boom machines to be more stable. But here's the problem; to make a long boom manlift stable in all boom positions would require 1) the machine would have to be very heavy for counterweight, or 2) it would require a large footprint like extended outriggers on a crane. Either of these would be a hinderence on a dirt construction jobsite. The compromise is to make a machine heavy enough (a 110HX is a little over 40,000 lbs) and wide enough to be manuverable on the site. But this compromise will restrict the machine to a working envelope of boom position. If the machine gets outside of this envelope, it can tip over. I am very curious as to the "rest of the story" on how this happened on this occasion.

The operation envelope is designed to allow for full extension within the working envelope, the unit if properly set-up and outriggers extended will in fact allow for full boom extension without tipping, the unit does have alot of "sway" when using the boom lift controller, thus the reason for the ramp adjustments. If the unit is tipping without a load and the boom is at horizontal the counterweight should be checked to make cetain it is correct, also the tires can come into play. The above function is part of the annual inspection.
The extension sensor is tied into the tilt switch to disable elevation during unlevel conditions.
 
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