Aerial Work Platforms
AWP or aerial work platforms are designed and engineered to elevate workers and their tools to a particular height in order to carry out a job. The specific unit and manufacturer and type of machinery all varies. Before aerial work platforms were developed, all jobs which require work at high levels had to be done with scaffolding. Thus, the invention of aerial work platforms has kept a lot of workers safe and increased the overall productivity of similar tasks.
There are 3 key types of aerial work platforms. They are boomlifts, mechanical lifts and scissorlifts. These kinds of machinery could be operated with pneumatics, mechanically utilizing a rack and pinion system or with screws or by hydraulics. These models may be self-propelled with controls at the platform, they may be unpowered models 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 developing the aerial work platform. However, during 1966, prior to the first unit of JLG, a company called Selma Manlift introduced an aerial lift model.
During the year 1967, after selling his previous business Grove Manufacturing, John L. Grove and his wife decided to take a road trip. They decided to stop at Hoover Dam. While the couple was there, Grove unfortunately witnessed 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 employees in the air for them to do maintenance and construction jobs in a better way.
John bought a small metal fabrication company and formed a partnership with 2 friends, once he returned home from his vacation. The small business soon began designing ideas for the aerial work platform. The new business was named JLG Industries Inc. They proudly released their first aerial work platform in the year 1920 with the aid of 20 workers.