Aerial Work Platforms
The aerial work platform or AWP is a machinery designed and engineered to elevate employees and tools to a particular height for the completion of tasks. The kind of equipment varies with the particular brand and model. Before aerial work platforms were made, all tasks which require work at high levels needed to be done with scaffolding. Thus, the invention of aerial work platforms has increased the overall productivity of similar jobs and kept many workers safe.
There are 3 key kinds of aerial work platforms. They are boomlifts, mechanical lifts and scissorlifts. These types of machines can be operated with pneumatics, mechanically via a pinion and rack system or with screws or by hydraulics. These models may be self-propelled with controls at the platform, they may be unpowered units requiring 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 creating the aerial work platform. Nonetheless, during the year 1966, prior to JLG's very first model, a company called Selma Manlift introduced an aerial lift unit.
In 1967, after selling his previous company Grove Manufacturing, John L. Grove and his wife decided to take a road trip. They decided to stop at Hoover Dam. While the couple was there, Grove unfortunately witnessed 2 workers electrocuted while they were working on scaffolding. This tragic incident led John Grove to discover an untapped market for a new product that can safely lift workers in the air for them to perform construction and maintenance tasks in a better way.
John bought a small metal fabrication business and formed a partnership along with 2 friends, once he returned home from his trip. The small business immediately started designing ideas for the aerial work platform. The new company was named JLG Industries Inc. They proudly launched their very first aerial work platform in the year 1920 with the aid of 20 workers.