Elevating work platform specialist, Genie, has taken the cover off its Lift Guard Contact Alarm prototype for its GS range of slab scissor lifts and GR, GRC and QS series vertical masts at the HIRE18 show in Brisbane in May.

The prototype has also been shown to customers in the UK and North America. It is similar to Genie’s alarm system now available on its range of boom lifts, but specifically designed for use on scissor lifts and vertical masts.

The Lift Guard Contact Alarm is an electronic secondary guarding solution designed to activate when an obstruction contacts activation whiskers mounted to the lift’s platform guardrails – one at the front and one at the rear- alerting operators, occupants and ground personnel to a potential hazard.

“Operator safety and productivity are key considerations in the Genie design process,” said Genie National Product Support Manager, Tim Merritt.

“The Genie Lift Guard Contact Alarm system for slab scissors and vertical mast lifts is designed to supplement a trained operator’s situational awareness and provide a secondary layer of guarding while working at height.