JLG offers a variety of technologies and accessories for our full line of mobile elevating work platforms, or MEWPs, (formerly known as aerial work platforms or AWPs) that are designed to not only maximize efficiency and productivity but also to address operator safety and equipment safe use.
Below are highlights of some of our most popular safety technologies and accessories, along with insights into how these important tools can help you to work safely and more efficiently.
SkyGuard®: How does it work?
OSHA identifies the Focus Four hazards as electrical hazards, fall hazards, struck-by hazards and caught-between hazards. Caught-in, or caught-between, injuries occur when an operator gets pinned between two or more objects. And, JLG® SkyGuard® technology, offering enhanced control panel protection, is purpose-built to help lessen the risk of caught-between hazards on the job.
How does it work? When the SkyGuard sensor is activated (by approximately 50 lb / 23 kg of force), it stops all machine functions that are in use at the time. It also offers reverse functionality, which means that after stopping the machine, the sensor can temporarily reverse, or “undo,” most functions that were in use at the time of activation. By stopping the platform and moving the operator away from the obstruction automatically, SkyGuard helps reduce caught-between injuries while working at height.
SkyGuard can be activated from a variety of angles and provides additional protection without impeding or reducing the work envelope of the boom lift. It also doesn't increase the platform profile or limit the use of the platform in any way, meaning operators can be just as productive while enjoying extra protection. It can be reset by cycling the foot switch or e-stop.
SkyGuard SkyLine™ is standard on most new JLG boom lifts. Plus, our original SkyGuard solution can be retrofit to engine-powered JLG boom lifts manufactured after 2004. This is just another way that we’re demonstrating our commitment to innovations in safety technology that enhance both productivity and machine control panel protection.
In additional to our original SkyGuard enhanced control panel protection system, we offer SkyGuard Skyline and SkyGuard SkyEye™. To learn more about the differences between these options, please click here.
SkySense®: How does it work?
One of the biggest challenges for boom lift and scissor lift operators is how to minimize risks while navigating within their surroundings. The solution is to increase awareness of potential obstacles. And, that’s how the JLG SkySense, an enhanced detection system, available as an option on most JLG boom and scissor lifts, was developed — as a means to increase protection of people and property on job sites. Using strategically placed object detection sensors, it provides operators with an added level of awareness of their immediate surroundings.
How does it work? When a machine is in use, the sensors establish warning zones and stop distances in the machine’s direction of motion. And just like a blind-spot detector in a car, the SkySense platform sensors can warn operators of objects that are in their path of movement.
Here’s how: As the machine approaches the zone limits, audible alerts notify the operator, with an increase in frequency, that the operator should reduce the speed of the machine as he/she gets closer to an object. Once the machine reaches the stop set point, the machine will stop moving, at which point, the operator must manually override the system to continue maneuvering the platform and creep towards their work area in a very deliberate manner.
Think about it like this: You're now inching toward that object instead of coming in fast. It’s important to note that the sensors only look in the direction of travel and the warning zones are scalable based on joystick input.
For more information about JLG SkySense technology, click here.
SkyPower®: How does it work?
Any items draped over a boom lift or scissor lift’s platform’s rails can easily snag or catch on something near the equipment and could pull the machine in the opposite direction of where it’s positioned, increasing the chances of a tip-over.
To eliminate the danger of draped hoses and oxygen/acetylene tanks to make an operator’s work environment safer, JLG has designed its boom lifts and scissor lifts with power in the platform. With its optional SkyPower® system, a self-contained AC power unit to run hand tools, there is no need to access power via an extension cord from the ground to operate JLG productivity accessories, including SkyWelder® (for boom lifts), QuikWelder (for scissor lifts) and SkyCutter®.
What other kind of safety technology is built into JLG lifts?
Several new technologies are now available on JLG equipment that deliver safety benefits can also help to make some common aerial job site challenges more manageable and minimize the risk of accidents, all while complying with the most current industry standards.
For example, ANSI/CSA standards in North America require that new boom lifts and scissor lifts are equipped with load sensing and tilt sensing technology to make sure operators remain within the capacity limits of the machine
- For load sensing, machines must now be equipped with sensors that actively monitor the machine’s platform load and sound an alarm, as well as interrupt normal operations, if overloaded. JLG boom lifts and scissor lifts have built-in sensor technology that is advanced enough to recognize when the machine is back within its rated load capacity, enabling operations to resume without the need to recalibrate the machine.
- For tilt sensing, JLG technology allows operators to utilize restricted functionality to return the machine to a work area within its allowable operating range.
Recent advancements in machine suspension technology have been developed to address safely working on uneven terrain. For example, self-leveling (for boom lifts) and variable-tilt and QuikLevel Advanced (for scissor lifts) are technologies designed to adjust the machine’s chassis to the ground conditions, rather than trying to adjust the ground conditions for the machine.
- With self-leveling technology, the JLG machine is engineered to continuously and automatically level itself on slopes up to 10-degrees, even when driving the unit at height.
- With variable-tilt technology on JLG scissor lifts, sensors monitor both the weight in the platform and the machine’s tilt to determine the allowable work envelope. The machine then notifies operators, prior to raising the machine, about how high they can elevate, removing the guesswork that often results in having to descend and try again.
- QuickLevel Advanced is a new feature on JLG Rough Terrain Scissors that allows the stowed scissor to level on side slopes up to 4.5 degrees then elevate and drive at full height under certain conditions.
What digital technologies are available to enhance job site safety?
Mobile apps are becoming more prevalent on job sites, and many are now available and are designed to improve the operator’s experience with the machine before work begins. For example, the JLG augmented reality (AR) app can enable users to scan the MEWP’s safety decals to get the current information on ANSI standards’ requirements, as well as to see an overlay of a specific machine’s control panel with explanations of its functions prior to machine operation.
Also, the JLG mobile control app offers remote control of select model scissor lifts through their phones without tethering to the machine. This allows users to maneuver around obstacles while maintaining a safe distance from the machine, position it into areas with low clearance and load or unload it from a truck without the need for an operator in the platform or walking next to the machine.
Safety is very important to JLG. That’s why JLG provides information on everything safety-related, from inspections and manuals to how-tos and manlift safety videos to better support its equipment owners and users. We even offer operator training in person, virtually or online. To review essential aerial lift safety, product and training information relating to JLG equipment, click here.
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