Managing Mewps on Your Job Site

• 31 December 2015
• Local News
• 3095 Views

The increasing versatility and popularity of mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) means that they are used across a growing number of industry sectors including construction, facilities management, retail, media, airports and arbori-culture, to name a few. Whether it is to reach into confined areas, over large obstacles, or under structures either internally or externally, each MEWP application may be different.

This has led manufacturers to develop a vast range of MEWPs of varying designs, shapes, sizes and capability, including scissor lifts, booms, wheeled, tracked, vehicle and trailer mounted machines, powered by a variety of power sources to reach heights from 2 meters to over 100 meters and making it possible to access difficult spaces and reach through narrow openings, with minimal noise and emissions.

By its very nature, work at height is a high-risk activity and with an estimated 1.5 million MEWPs in circulation worldwide, each and every machine has been designed with one common aim – to provide a safer and more efficient means of temporary access to work at height.

MEWPs are inherently safe by design; it is where and how they are used that increases the potential risk of an accident. Thus it is vital that you consider how MEWPs are being managed and operated on your job site!

Before you start any work at height, it is vital to complete a risk assessment and a method statement, and to have these items documented. Ask yourself if work at height can be avoided. If work at height cannot be avoided, use appropriate work equipment and other measures to prevent accidents. Ask yourself what the hazards are and take measures to eliminate or minimize the potential risks of injury or damage.

Consider what is actually happening on the jobsite. Take the effort to walk the route. Are the ground conditions amenable to the type of equipment to be used? Is it a busy area with heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic which would need to be cordoned off? Jobsite requirements may be different, depending on whether it is under-bridge work on a highway, indoor work in a shopping mall, or work on high-rise buildings.

To add to that, machine types may be vastly different. There are different categories of MEWPs to meet various needs. The two most typical are scissor lifts and self-propelled booms. They are most often used in construction, but also in manufacturing and cleaning and maintenance. For work requiring higher mobility, there are vehicle-mounted platforms (VMPs) and trailers that can be hitched to most vehicles. VMPs can, for example, give 26 metres of reach on a 3.5 ton truck used for street lighting or 100 meters reach on a specially designed vehicle for heritage restoration work. Push-arounds and vertical platforms provide an efficient form of access inside buildings (stage work, storage) where mini-scissors are also very effective.

PIC: Machine types and selection

It is important to select the right piece of equipment for the job. The following factors should be taken into account:

• The nature of the work to be carried out

• Access to work area

• Terrain

• Work area conditions, especially ground bearing capacity and maximum machine point loadings

• Number of people, tools, materials and equipment to be lifted

• Height and outreach required

• Fuel type

To give an example: Boom-type MEWPs generally have smaller baskets and lower lift capacities than scissor-type MEWPs and their platforms can “bounce” at height due to the boom structure flexing (also known as the “catapult” effect). This usually makes boom-type MEWPs unsuitable to use for installing long or heavy materials, or bulky materials that may obstruct the function controls. In these cases, scissor lifts may be more appropriate. You key consideration should be: What is a safe means of access?

Work at height is a high-risk occupation. The onus is on management to manage that risk through a hierarchy of measures:

• Elimination: Design out the need to work at height

• Substitution: Use specialist equipment

• Engineering controls: Safety systems and guarding

• Administrative controls: Training, supervision and work scheduling

• Personal protective equipment: A last resort

In all this, the emphasis is on management responsibilities as the backbone of ensuring safe MEWP operations and preventing risks. More information and resources at www.ipaf.org.