Aerial Work Platforms
The aerial work platform or AWP is a machinery engineered and designed to elevate employees and tools to a particular height for the completion of tasks. The kind of machine varies with the particular make and unit. Before aerial work platforms were made, all tasks requiring work at high levels had to be done with scaffolding. Thus, the invention of aerial work platforms has kept many workers safe and increased the overall productivity of similar jobs.
There are 3 main kinds of aerial work platforms. They are scissor lifts, boomlifts and mechanical lifts. These kinds of equipment are able to be operated with pneumatics, mechanically via a rack and pinion system or by hydraulics or with screws. These models may be self-propelled with controls at the platform, they may be unpowered units which need an external force to move them or be mounted to a vehicle in order to be transported.
John L. Grove was an American inventor and industrialist who is widely credited to developing the aerial work platform. Nevertheless, in 1966, prior to the first model of JLG, a company called Selma Manlift introduced an aerial lift unit.
In the year 1967, after selling his previous business Grove Manufacturing, John L. Grove together with his wife decided to take a road trip. They decided to stop at Hoover Dam. While the couple was there, Grove unfortunately saw 2 employees electrocuted while they were working on scaffolding. This terrible incident led John Grove to discover an untapped market for a new product which can safely lift employees in the air for them to do construction and maintenance jobs in a better way.
Once John returned home from his vacation, he bought a small metal fabrication business and formed a partnership along with 2 friends. They soon began designing ideas for the aerial work platform. The new company was named JLG Industries Inc. They proudly launched their very first aerial work platform during the year 1920 with the aid of 20 employees.