Lessons From the field

Over the weekend, a friend approached me and shared a story about a recent incident she had heard

involving a scissor lift.

The incident involved a construction worker who was working from a fully extended scissor lift.

Instead of lowering the platform before moving the lift, the worker moved the lift while it was still

elevated. During movement, the lift struck an unseen pothole, causing a violent jolt. The force threw

the worker from the platform, resulting in fatal injuries on impact.

Thoughts from Your Health & Safety Director

This incident is a tragic reminder that even equipment equipped with guardrails can become

extremely dangerous when it is moved while elevated. Uneven ground, potholes, debris, slopes, soft

soil, and sudden movements can all create conditions where a lift can jolt, shift, or become unstable.

Moving a scissor lift while the platform is elevated is against proper procedure unless the equipment

is specifically designed and approved by the manufacturer for that use, and all manufacturer

requirements are followed. The safe procedure is to lower the platform, inspect the travel path,

reposition the lift, and then elevate again once the lift is on stable, level ground.

Although OSHA does not specifically require a harness to be worn in a scissor lift when compliant

guardrails are in place, Sabre policy requires employees to wear a harness whenever they are

elevated, regardless of guardrails. This policy exists for situations just like this.

Following safety procedures may feel unnecessary when “it’s only going to take a second,” but that

second can change everything. A harness may feel unnecessary too — until the moment it saves your

life.