Genie slab scissor lifts and vertical masts will soon get a secondary guarding system after the Terex-owned powered access company introduces the feature at Vertikal Days later this month.
The new Genie Lift Guard Contact Alarm system is designed for Genie GS scissors and GR, GRC and QS vertical masts, and activates when an obstruction makes contact with an activation whisker mounted on the lift’s platform guardrails. Once activated, it will alert the operator, occupants and ground personnel of potential hazards. In the standard configuration it will have a whisker each mounted on the front and rear of the platform
Zach Gilmor, Genie product manager, Terex AWP, for the EMEAR region, said: “The Genie Lift Guard Contact Alarm system is designed to supplement a trained operator’s situational awareness and provide a secondary layer of guarding while working at height. Showing this prototype to customers during Vertikal Days gives us the opportunity to engage with Genie customers and end users, gaining feedback from them so we can tailor our future protective solution offerings to best meet their needs and expectations.”
A prototype of the system will be on show from May 16-17 at the Vertikal Days in the UK, he added.
The system is activated when an activation whisker is deflected by an obstruction, which triggers a limit switch in the base of the assembly, stopping all machine motion and sounding an alarm along with flashing beacons.
Driving and elevating functions will be available to the operator after he has acknowledged the activation of the system and the machine stopping. Gilmor added that there will be a free-movement zone between the activation whisker and the guardrail, allowing mobility for operators and occupants after the system is activated.
While the Genie Lift Guard Contact Alarm system is slated to go into production in late 2018, a retrofit kit will be available once production starts for compatibility with the company’s scissor lifts and vertical masts produced from 2011-2018 with the Genie Smart Link system.
