Scissor Lift Safety
A safety talk focused on scissor lift hazards, including falls, tip-over risk, platform controls, guardrails, overhead hazards, uneven surfaces, and safe movement.
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Key Hazards
- Falls from the elevated platform
- Tip-over from slopes, soft ground, potholes, or uneven surfaces
- Workers crushed between the lift, overhead structures, walls, or equipment
- Contact with overhead power lines or energized equipment
- Objects falling from the platform
- Unauthorized or untrained operation
2–3 Minute Talk Script
Scissor lifts are useful for elevated work, but they can create serious fall, tip-over, crush, and overhead hazards if they are not inspected and operated correctly.
Only trained and authorized workers should operate a scissor lift. Operators should understand the controls, emergency lowering procedure, platform limits, and site conditions.
The lift should be inspected before use. Guardrails, gates, controls, tires, wheels, brakes, pothole protection, batteries, alarms, emergency stop, and hydraulic components should be checked.
The work surface should be evaluated before raising the platform. Slopes, soft ground, holes, floor openings, debris, drop-offs, ramps, and uneven surfaces can affect stability.
Workers should keep both feet on the platform floor and stay inside the guardrails. Standing on rails, ladders, boxes, buckets, or materials inside the platform creates fall hazards.
Overhead hazards should be checked before raising or moving the lift. Beams, pipes, lights, sprinklers, door frames, tree limbs, wires, and ceilings can create crush or contact hazards.
Loads should remain within the lift’s rated capacity, including workers, tools, materials, and equipment. Tools and materials should be secured so they cannot fall.
Safe scissor lift use depends on inspection, trained operation, stable surfaces, overhead awareness, staying inside the guardrails, and lowering or stopping the lift when conditions change.
Safety Reminders
- Operate scissor lifts only if trained and authorized.
- Inspect the lift before use.
- Check the travel surface before raising the platform.
- Stay inside the guardrails.
- Do not stand on rails, ladders, buckets, or materials.
- Watch for overhead hazards and power lines.
- Keep tools and materials secured on the platform.
Ask the Crew
- Has the scissor lift been inspected today?
- Is the ground or floor stable enough for the lift?
- What overhead hazards are present?
- Is the platform load within rated capacity?
- Are workers staying inside the guardrails and using the lift correctly?