Safety Tips For Wheelchair Lifts

Having a wheelchair lift in your home or at your place of work is extremely helpful for those who need to get around using a wheelchair. However, it can also be somewhat dangerous, since you are lifting someone up to a height where he or she could be injured and he or she will not be able to stop him or herself from getting hurt should something go wrong. Here are some wheelchair lift safety tips to make sure that everything goes smoothly.

1. Post a Sign Near the Controls Asking If the Brakes are Locked

The easiest way to prevent anything from going wrong on a wheelchair lift is to ensure that the person in the wheelchair has his or her brakes locked securely. For people who regularly use wheelchair lifts, locking the brakes is second nature, but if a person doesn't use the lift regularly, he or she might forget to put on his or her brakes. Significantly reduce the chances of this happening by posting a large, easy-to-read sign near the controls for the wheelchair lift that asks if the person has locked his or her brakes. This will remind the user to check the brake locks in order to make sure that he or she doesn't roll around before even starting to operate the lift.

2. Have a Signal Installed That Says When the Gate is Not Locked

The next thing that you are going to want to do is have a signal installed that will beep at the user and prevent the wheelchair lift from starting if the gate that contains the wheelchair lift is not locked properly. Even if a person forgets to put on his or her brakes, his or her mistake can be easily caught by the gate, which will prevent a wheelchair from rolling off the platform. However, if the gate is not locked properly, then this backup measure is not going to work at all. If the wheelchair lift that you currently have does not include this feature, you can usually have it installed separately or merely added to the lift to increase safety.

3. Train People

Finally, make sure that you train everyone that uses the wheelchair lift regularly. Proper training helps reduce the chance that the lift will be operated incorrectly and increases the chances that someone who knows how the wheelchair lift works will be nearby and be able to stop the lift from not being operated correctly.

For more information, talk to a company that specializes in wheelchair lifts, such as Corner Home Medical

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