Aerial Work Platforms
Aerial work platforms or AWPs are engineered and designed to raise employees and their tools to a certain height in order to carry out a task. The particular unit and manufacturer and type of machinery all varies. Before aerial work platforms were made, all jobs that require work at high levels had to be carried out with scaffolding. Therefore, the invention of aerial work platforms has kept a lot of employees safe and increased the overall productivity of similar tasks.
There are 3 key kinds of aerial work platforms. They are mechanical lifts, scissorlifts and boomlifts. These types of equipment can be operated with pneumatics, mechanically utilizing a rack and pinion system or by hydraulics or with screws. These units may be self-propelled with controls at the platform, they may be unpowered units needing an external force to move them or be mounted to a vehicle so as to be transported.
John L. Grove was an American inventor and industrialist who is widely credited to creating the aerial work platform. Nonetheless, during the year 1966, before JLG's first model, a company known as Selma Manlift launched an aerial lift model.
In 1967, after selling his previous business Grove Manufacturing, John L. Grove along with his wife decided to take a road trip. They decided to make a stop at Hoover Dam. While the couple was there, Grove unfortunately saw 2 workers electrocuted while they were working on scaffolding. This terrible event led John Grove to discover an untapped market for a new product that can lift workers safely in the air for them to do maintenance and construction jobs in a better way.
Once John returned home from his trip, he purchased a small metal fabrication business and formed a partnership along with 2 friends. They soon started designing ideas for the aerial work platform. The new company was called JLG Industries Inc. They proudly released their very first aerial work platform in the year 1920 with the aid of 20 employees.