Aerial Work Platforms
AWP or aerial work platforms are designed and engineered to elevate workers and their tools to a certain height so as to carry out a task. The particular unit and manufacturer and kind of machine all varies. Before aerial work platforms were developed, all tasks requiring work at high levels needed to be done with scaffolding. Hence, the invention of aerial work platforms has increased the overall productivity of similar tasks and kept many employees safe.
There are 3 main kinds of aerial work platforms. They are scissor lifts, boomlifts and mechanical lifts. These types of machinery could be operated with pneumatics, mechanically via a rack and pinion system or by hydraulics or with screws. These models may be self-propelled with controls at the platform, they may be unpowered units that need an external force to move them or be mounted to a vehicle in order to be transported.
The aerial work platform was created by John L. Grove, an American inventor and industrialist. However, during the year 1966, before the very first model of JLG, a company called Selma Manlift introduced an aerial lift model.
John L. Grove and his wife decided to take a road trip in the year 1967. This was after selling his previous business Grove Manufacturing. They opted to stop at Hoover Dam. While the couple was there, Grove unfortunately saw 2 employees electrocuted while they were working on scaffolding. This tragic incident led John Grove to discover an untapped market for a new product that can safely raise workers in the air for them to do construction and maintenance tasks in a better way.
John purchased a small metal fabrication business and formed a partnership with 2 friends, when he returned home from his vacation. The small business soon began designing ideas for the aerial work platform. The new business was called JLG Industries Inc. They proudly released their first aerial work platform in the year 1920 with the aid of 20 workers.