Aerial lifts in Washington State
Versalift Aerial Lifts Support Key Industries Across Washington State
Aerial lifts are important to Washington families, businesses and government organizations. Because they are so important to supporting electric utility maintenance and telecommunications service, aerial lifts are ubiquitous in Washington. As is the case with much of the United States, the majority of electric distribution and telecommunications infrastructure is built above the ground. Other regular users of vehicle mounted aerial lifts in Washington include fleets that support logging and timber, visual communications, cellular tower construction, wind turbine maintenance and the broad set of daily maintenance tasks that are required for traffic signals, roadway lighting and street signage.
Distributors for Washington
Electric Power and Utility Industry in Washington
Aerial lifts support Washington electric power and utility providers in Washington. This group includes privately owned utility companies, municipal utilities and member-owned electric cooperatives. Each of these organizations support the people of Washington state by providing a consistent and reliable flow of power to homes and businesses. Washington’s transportation sector consumes about a third of the state’s total energy consumption. Hydroelectric power generation is the largest source of energy in the state of Washington, and it accounts for approximately 25% of the nation’s net hydroelectric power generation. Vehicle mounted aerial lifts for the electric utility industry require insulation systems to protect linemen at the platform. Versalift insulated aerial lifts feature TruGuard®, the world’s most advanced bucket truck safety system, which provides an additional layer of protection at the platform.
Below is a short list of some organizations that provide electric power to consumers in Washington:
- Avista Utilities
- Benton County Public Utility District
- Clark Public Utilities
- Douglas County Public Utility District
- Franklin County Public Utility District
- Grant County Public Utility District
- Pacificorp
- Puget Sound Energy
- Seattle City Light
- Snohomish County Public Utility District
- Tacoma Power
Aerial Lifts and Telecommunications Construction & Maintenance in Washington
Aerial lifts are constantly in use in Washington, where there are several major telecommunications and cable television providers, and hundreds of smaller providers, that perform regular maintenance work on the overhead networks of data cable that crisscross the state. Connectivity has expanded over the past decade, including broadband access for more Washingtonians. The state of Washington is one of the most connected in the country, with greater than 97% of people with access to a broadband internet connection. In fact, the state is building a broadband office that is dedicated to funding and expanding internet access in order to improve education, commerce and jobs. Versalift supports several major telecommunications providers in the United States, including Washington, with fleet equipment. One of the most popular Versalift telecomm units is the Vantel-29, which has the lightest weight and the greatest payload capacity in its industry peer group. Versalift van-mounted aerial lifts can be seen in more detail here.
Below is a short list of some telecommunications providers in Washington:
Aerial Lifts and their applications for Forestry in Washington
Aerial lifts for logging, forestry and other forest related applications must be reliable and tough to withstand the heavy work they do in Washington, the second largest lumber producer in the USA. More than fifty percent of Washington State, an area of 22 million acres is forested. The Washington State Department of Natural Resources oversees 2.1 million acres of state forest. The remaining forest land is held mostly privately. 70% of Washington’s timber harvest in comes from privately owned forest lands. 1,700 businesses in the state are related to forest products and services, generating $28 billion in income each year.
Get more information on Versalift Forestry equipment.
Aerial lifts for Bridge Inspection in Washington
Aerial lifts for bridge inspection are used by bridge inspection engineers and contractors who are licensed for bridge inspection in Washington state to maintain public safety. There are approximately 7,300 bridges in Washington that are over twenty feet long and that carry vehicles. Washington’s Department of Transportation maintains ongoing inspections of its bridges in order to report on their condition to the Federal DOT every other year. The Astoria-Megler Bridge is a four-mile long steel truss bridge, opened in 1966, which runs over the lower Columbia River. The longest span of the bridge is nearly a quarter mile long.
North America’s leader in bridge inspection equipment can be found at https://aspenaerials.com.
Washington State General Information
With a Population of approximately 7.5 million people, Washington State is located in the Northwestern Corner of the Lower 48. The state capital of Washington is Olympia, though the states biggest cities are Seattle and Spokane. Seattle is home to many of the country’s biggest names in business: Amazon, Costco, Microsoft and Starbucks were founded in Seattle. Washington is a location for global leadership in the aerospace industry. It also produces more apples, pears, red raspberries and sweet cherries than any other state. Additionally. It is the most glaciated state in the US with more than 3000 glaciers. Geographical features of this beautiful state include rugged cliffs, deep pools and forested Pacific Ocean coastline. Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains are well-recognized places in Washington. Tourist attractions include the Space Needle in Seattle, Mount Saint Helens, the Pike Place Market and the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit. Forest state parks that draw millions of hikers include Olympic National Park, Mount Rainier National Park and North Cascades National Park.
Notes on Aerial Lift Safety from the United States Department of Labor
Washington State Aerial Lift Safety
Aerial Lift Safety is highly visible due to population density and the number of roads in the state. All safety codes are strictly enforced throughout the state, and are written to be in alignment with the United States Department of Labor’s OSHA regulations on Aerial Lift Safety.
You can find the OSHA Aerial lift factsheet here.