Missing Safety Pin on Scissor Lift Safety Rail!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees:  Please see the photo below.  One of our employees was about to use a scissor lift so he could perform some taping tasks on a wall.  Before getting on the scissor lift, he performed a safety inspection of the lift and he came across a missing safety pin on one of the safety rails.  In place of the missing safety pin, he found a pencil.  Apparently someone had lost the original safety pin and inserted a pencil in its place.

Had the taper not inspected the scissor lift and found that a safety pin was missing, this could have possibly lead to a serious injury or fatality.  If the taper or another employee had leaned on the scissor lift safety rail while the safety pin was missing, the safety rail could have failed. We don't know who inserted the pencil in place of the safety pin.  It could have been done by another contractor or by one of our employees.  We will probably never know the answer to that.

This is exactly why all employees are required to inspect their equipment such as aerial lifts, scaffolding, ladders, etc. prior to use.  Our aerial lift provider was notified of the missing safety pin and they delivered one on the same day so this hazard has been rectified.

Great job - Julian Nunez on identifying and reporting this hazard.  Your actions may have prevented a serious injury or fatality.

Have a Safe Day!