Posted By Dave Merchant hmm... I can see their idea, but question if the basket would stay afloat for long enough to allow a lanyard to be disconnected no matter where it's clipped. It also assumes that this 'failure' results in the man basket hitting the water the right way up! If you're working entirely above water then there's a sensible argument for not having a restraint system at all, and just wearing life jackets. IPAF's guidance on working over water is worth reading, as they have the same problems and specifically say "no harnesses". I wouldn't work over water with a connection to ANYTHING that could fall in and doesn't float as well as I do. As once said to me about driving across frozen lakes with your seatbelt on:- It's better to jump out and swim for it, than stay in and sink with it.

Posted By Dave Merchant It'll only be a gray area until someone drowns. I suggest talking to your training provider and asking for an explanation as to why they say what they say - blindly following generic training is not going to work in a case-specific situation like yours, and while there's no specific law on working over water the advice from IPAF is very clear. If you're in need of something more 'official' than that, I suggest you contact the HSE Infoline. They won't give you an absolutely precise answer but they'll describe what general principles of protection they would expect you to be using.

Posted By alex mccreadie I would agree with some of the posters in "no harness" If you are dealing with people that say harnesses must be worn then in my opinion your workforce have got it right. Connect the lanyard to the crane hook and then clip on to that. When I was involved with mobile cranes that is what we taught. BS7121 PART 1 says to connect to a suitable point within the carrier but this is a best practice document. In this case I feel your operators are correct and would go with them if harnesses must be worn. MY OPINION Ta Alex

Posted By Dave Merchant If someone other than the HSE (trainer, site owner, primary contractor, etc.) is insisting on the workers wearing a harness, then it's THEY who are most likely at fault, either through a simple lack of understanding or a mistaken reading of the regulations. If the workers are competent users of PFPE then part of that competence is the ability to understand when instructions they are being given are wrong, and when they should refuse to follow them until a detailed re-evaluation of the risks and possible solutions has been carried out. Assuming that just because someone is 'in charge' makes them immune to mistakes kinda misses the point of why we've just adopted the CMA. Anyone with a kid has used the line "I don't care what HE said - if I told you to put your hand in a fire, would you?", but it seems they forget it when they arrive at work.

Posted By safety medic Elliott, From you last post I would like to pick up on one point. Irrelevant to what the Client/PC says, if a completed risk assessment that is inline with current HSE guidance is conducted then you have a SSoW. You rightly point out that there is a bigger risk of someone being thrown out of the basket than the basket/crane actually failing (provided all the controls are in place) therefore harness is a suitable control. You dont specify if the basket is open top (no roof) if so, the option is to attach to the crane hook/master link with strop/inertia. As a result of your risk assessment you will be able to identify the major residual risk and find a suitable control, the anchor point, quick release buckles etc.