Aerial Work Platforms
The aerial work platform or AWP is a machine engineered and designed to elevate workers and tools to a particular height for the completion of jobs. The kind of machinery varies with the specific make and unit. Before aerial work platforms were made, all jobs needing work at high levels needed to be carried out with scaffolding. Hence, the invention of aerial work platforms has increased the overall productivity of similar tasks and kept a lot of employees safe.
There are 3 main kinds of aerial work platforms. They are scissor lifts, boomlifts and mechanical lifts. These machines can be operated with pneumatics, mechanically using 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 requiring an external force to move them or be mounted to a vehicle in order to be transported.
The aerial work platform was created by John L. Grove, an American industrialist and inventor. Nonetheless, in the year 1966, before the first model of JLG, a company called Selma Manlift launched an aerial lift model.
During 1967, after selling his previous business Grove Manufacturing, John L. Grove and his wife decided to take a road trip. They opted to stop at Hoover Dam. While the couple was there, Grove unfortunately saw 2 workers electrocuted while they were working on scaffolding. This terrible 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 tasks in a better way.
Once John returned home from his trip, he bought a small metal fabrication company and formed a partnership along with 2 friends. They soon started designing ideas for the aerial work platform. The new business was named JLG Industries Inc. They proudly released their very first aerial work platform in 1970 with the aid of 20 workers.