JLG adds Sky Guard to the anti-entrapment offering

JLG has developed Sky Guard to help boom operators avoid entrapment while working where there are overhead obstacles. The device is being demonstrated as a prototype and the company is welcoming feedback from customers and platform users.

JLG's Ron Jackson is at pains to make it clear that anti-entrapment devices are not a "fail safe" nor a substitute for appropriate levels of operator training and machine familiarisation but fall within the "environment of supplemental safety".

The Sky Guard is essentially a tape switch placed in a bar above the control panel - it has a range of activator points to accommodate users of different heights and positions on the machine. When appropriate force is applied to the bar the machine stops and a loud alarm sounds to alert people on the ground to the incident.

The device is configured to make a slight reverse in boom travel direction after activation to potentially free the operator to release himself. If the operator does release the foot pedal the machine re-sets and can be used as normal.

JLG is not alone in presenting an anti-entrapment device, Terex AWP too is showing its own solution OPS (Operator Protection Solution) alongside Lavendon's Sky Siren and AFI-Uplift's Sanctuary Zone. NIftylift's SiOPS anti-entrapment solution has been available on its Tough Cage for nearly two years and can be seen on the Niftylift stand at the show.

Look out for more information on anti-entrapment devices on-line at www.khl.com/ai soon and in the next issue of Access International.