Aerial Work Platforms
The aerial work platform or AWP is a machinery engineered and designed to raise workers and tools to a particular height for the completion of tasks. The kind of machinery varies with the particular brand and unit. Before aerial work platforms were made, all jobs which require work at high levels needed to be carried out with scaffolding. Thus, the invention of aerial work platforms has kept many workers safe and increased the overall productivity of similar tasks.
There are 3 main kinds of aerial work platforms. They are scissor lifts, boomlifts and mechanical lifts. These machinery are able to be operated with pneumatics, mechanically utilizing a rack and pinion system or with screws or by hydraulics. These units may be self-propelled with controls at the platform, they may be unpowered models which require an external force to move them or be mounted to a vehicle in order to be transported.
The aerial work platform was developed by John L. Grove, an American industrialist and inventor. Nonetheless, during 1966, prior to the first unit of JLG, a company known as Selma Manlift launched an aerial lift model.
John L. Grove along with his wife decided to take a road trip in 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 workers electrocuted while they were working on scaffolding. This terrible incident led John Grove to discover an untapped market for a new product which can lift workers safely in the air for them to do construction and maintenance tasks in a better way.
Once John returned home from his trip, he purchased a small metal fabrication business and formed a partnership together with 2 friends. They immediately started designing ideas for the aerial work platform. The new business was named JLG Industries Inc. They proudly released their very first aerial work platform in the year 1920 with the aid of 20 workers.