The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) and the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) have produced new guidance on safe methods of isolation of platform controls for mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs).
HSE is investigating an incident involving a MEWP and found that when at height, the method of isolating the controls can introduce a hazard to the occupants of the platform. The investigation is ongoing but enough has been discovered to start sharing safety learnings.
The emergency stop control on the MEWP platform has been used in the powered access industry for a number of years to achieve isolation of controls and/or power source when the MEWP has reached its place of work.
This practice was first introduced on older machines, not designed to current standards, to reduce the risk of entrapment and inadvertent operation of controls.
As the standards have evolved and designs have changed, this practice may no longer be appropriate to reduce the risk as other methods are now used in control designs, HSE and IPAF say.
The operator of a MEWP may be required to isolate the controls and/or power source using platform controls. Where the machine is equipped with an ‘engine on/off’ control at the platform control console, this should be used to switch the engine off during normal operation rather than the emergency stop control, unless the manufacturer indicates that it would be unsafe to do so.
Where machines are not equipped with a dedicated ‘on/off’ control at the platform control console, the MEWP operator should follow the manufacturers’ operating instructions as to how this should be achieved.
HSE also says that it is the user’s responsibility to ensure that the correct MEWP has been selected for the task, and that a suitable and sufficient risk assessment has been carried out and documented.
