Workers who install ceilings, drywalls, plaster, stucco and acoustics often use aerial work platforms to get materials and themselves to the required height. The AWP is quicker and easier to get to work than other forms of access, such as scaffolding, and allows the user to increase productivity and shorten project times that in-turn makes the operator more competitive.
AWP equipment is designed to safely lift personnel, along with their tools and materials, to positions where they can carry out work from the platform. AWP equipment provides one of the safest means to place workers at height to perform a task. Nonetheless, working at height has inherent risks that must be properly addressed to ensure the safety of workers. The benefits of AWP use means that they have become so common on job sites that it may be easy to forget that operating these machines requires training.