Posted By Rich T I have been looking at this on and off for weeks and am still not convinced my approach is OK. I need to get our in-house maintenance guys up to a height of about 7 meters to where our warehouse space heaters are installed. Previously we have used ladders (scary), bolt-on non-integrated cages on our FLT's (not really suitable - but safer than ladders) and a cherry picker - safer still than the cage, but not ideal. WHY? We have to get our guys to step off/out of the lifting equipment to get onto the working platform where the heaters are to perform both planned maintenance and ad-hoc corrective actions. Now the situation is difficult to understand without pictures but - these units are 7 meters above the warehouse floor, above areas of VNA racking, they are difficult to get at due to the supporting truss work of the building (meaning a scissor lift is out of the question as they are not maneuverable enough). Up till now - I have been allowing transfer between the platform and the lifting equipment on the basis that there is no other, reasonably practical, method of gaining access that seems safer. The only other way I can see of doing this more safely would be to spend many thousands of pounds creating a permanent access walkway at roof height (there are six of these all along the line of the warehouse). However, this is a leased building (with full repair and maintain clauses) and we have been doing this for 25 years without incident. Sorry about the waffle - but its not an easy one to explain. Is it (ever) justifiable to continue to step out of cherry pickers? Has anyone an example of more appropriate access equipment?

Posted By Rich T Thanks Kevin. Yeah - I have had that response too, many times. But I tend to treat that response along the same lines as "The HSE have banned ladders" suggestion. I have now got an extract of BS8460 (which I did not have up until now) which covers section 6.12 (Exiting the work platform at height) but not Annex B. So I'm going to have to tootle off to BSI and get a copy I think. Then I'll have to get my ducks in a row with regard to a SSOW. Many Thanks.

Posted By AlB Good to see some sensible advice being handed out here rather than the swathes of "you can't do that" I was expecting! Rich, as has been said previously, you can, under certain circumstances, exit a MEWP provided there is adequate provision made for the safety of the persons exiting the MEWP. However, be careful that you don't fall into the trap of accepting this as normal practice on your site - if you need to access this location on a reasonably regular basis (every two or three months for example) then you may well have to think about permanent access. If you;re only talking about once every couple of years, then it can be argued in terms of cost vs benefit. AlB

Posted By GARYS Hi Rich I may be of some assistant if you still need help. E-mail me direct Gary

Posted By CFT Rich your concerns over TTL's not withstanding, as you have given a description of the plant area which seems to be more than safe for the operatives, what then is the problem with twin tails, one can be firmly attached in the MEWP and on the working area only releasing once safely behind the gated/fenced/barriered area; assuming of course there are appropriate anchor points on the work area. just a thought. CFT

Posted By garyh Doh, may be I am being thick but why not use a scaffold or mobile scaffold to gain access? You could keep it in house, and train the same people to erect it.

Posted By apjw why dont you put in place a permenant anchor point in the location of the heaters so that the operatives can safely clip their harnesess on to prior to exiting the cherry picker basket. as previously mentioned you could also use twin tailed lanyards. ensure that the selected anchor points are tested and approved as required.

Posted By Steve Clark Saw this thread below after looking for info on this subject. This is particularly interesting given the method of access onto the plinth in Trafalgar Square (cherry picker). It's all well and good looking at BS documents but its the publications by the HSE that are of interest to me and these are not particularly clear. I've also looked at others (MISC614, ACR[CP]002:2005, MoD JSP 375) and some say 'no' , some say that it 'should not normally be permitted'. With reference to the fabrication of a special platform - remember to apply the machinery directive. I have requested clarification from the HSE infoline but was told to get in touch with Westminster EHO - not the answer i was looking for as i would have liked a national enforcement view on this.

Posted By SNS Amongst the things that I wished I read were the originating dates ..... What was your solution Rich .... if you are still there. Another thing I wish for is the ability to edit posts. S