Aerial Work Platforms
AWP or aerial work platforms are engineered and designed to raise employees and their tools to a certain height in order to carry out a job. The specific unit and manufacturer and type of equipment all varies. Before aerial work platforms were made, all tasks needing work at high levels had to be carried out with scaffolding. Hence, the invention of aerial work platforms has increased the overall productivity of similar tasks and kept numerous workers safe.
The three key types of aerial work platforms are scissor lifts, boomlifts and mechanical lifts. These types of machines could 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 situated 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.
John L. Grove was an American inventor and industrialist who is widely credited to creating the aerial work platform. Nevertheless, in 1966, before 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 together with 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 tragic event led John Grove to discover an untapped market for a new product which can lift employees safely 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 with 2 friends, when he returned home from his trip. The small business soon started designing ideas for the aerial work platform. The new company was called JLG Industries Inc. They proudly released their first aerial work platform in the year 1920 with the aid of 20 employees.