Aerial Work Platforms
AWP or aerial work platforms are designed and engineered to elevate employees and their gear to a particular height in order to complete a task. The specific unit and manufacturer and kind of machine all varies. Before aerial work platforms were developed, all jobs which need work at high levels had to be done with scaffolding. Therefore, the invention of aerial work platforms has kept numerous employees safe and increased the overall productivity of similar jobs.
There are 3 main kinds of aerial work platforms. They are mechanical lifts, scissorlifts and boomlifts. These machinery are able to be operated with pneumatics, mechanically via 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 devising the aerial work platform. However, in 1966, before the first unit of JLG, a company called Selma Manlift introduced an aerial lift unit.
During the year 1967, after selling his previous company 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 employees electrocuted while they were working on scaffolding. This tragic incident led John Grove to discover an untapped market for a new product which could safely lift employees in the air for them to perform construction and maintenance tasks in a better way.
When John returned home from his vacation, he purchased a small metal fabrication company and formed a partnership together with 2 friends. They soon began 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 1970 with the aid of 20 workers.