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Posted By Mike Foulds
The use of scissor lifts within my new work place (Distribution Centre) is regular, they use them for stock taking, unloading damaged pallets and maintenance.
Currently none of the scissor lifts are kitted out with any sort of arrest harness.
My question, what if any regulation is there around the wearing of a harness?
My searching of the net has two camps, some say only neccessary when using a lift outside on uneven ground and in a smooth floor warehouse not a problem, others say harness no matter what.
The lifts do have fixing points.
Your thoughts please, and thank you in advance for them.
Mike
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Posted By Simon Dean
Hi Mike,
I would recommend doing a search on the forums for this topic. What you will find is many 'discussions' (and I use this word lightly), for reasons for and against the use of harness in scissor lifts.
In the end it is down to what your own risk assessment identifies, working environment etc.
We use a scissor lift for stock checking in a warehouse, retrieving damaged stock from racking etc. The operatives do wear a harness, with a lanyard attached (not fall arrest). People tend to want to lean out, or there is a risk that it could be struck by MHE. Plus the guys don't mind wearing them.
So i would do a search, do your risk assessment and come to your own conclusions. The only things i would bear in mind is: don't use fall arrest and does the scissor lift have anchorage points.
There is no legal requirement and you won't find a definitive yes or no in any guidance or legislation.
Si
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Posted By Robert K Lewis
This one has been played to death by both camps - I am in the never needed one and scissor lifts should not be used on too uneven ground. In any case the lift section has to be lowered to a pre-set,set by the manufacturers, point before it can traverse. The CoG is then well inside the volume of the base and overturn is unlikely. Unless of course you are traversing across or up/down severe slopes.
The issue is one of catapaulting - not whether you should ever climb on the handrails/midrails. Neither should ever be permitted. If the platform cannot be manouvered into the correct height you have the wrong piece of kit. Boom types catapault not scissors.
Bob
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Posted By Pete Longworth
In my last job we used scissor lifts as part of the installation of printing presses for the newspaper industry. The scissor lifts had a guard rail and mid rail as well as toe boards. We took the view that as long as the scissor lift was on firm level ground and the work did not involve leaning outside the confines of the working platform then a harness was not required. Our installations were visited on a number of occasions by the HSE, who had no issue with the way we were working.
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Posted By CFT
No surprises in following on from you Bob with this one, I agree a scissor lift has such a finite amount of allowance for working on uneven ground that you may as well not bother and waste your time and use something more suitable to the task.
I have seen the activity you describe on many occasions throughout large distribution style warehouses, where I worry is the absolute lack of training and awareness of working from a scissor lift in situations such as this which means they won't have a clue what they are supposed to wear or do on not as the case may be; when it is like this lock it up and don't let anyone near it; having so said, and I recently had many discussions on this task and I will say, if the operatives are properly trained and subsequently managed there will be no need for any restraining equipment.
For what you describe I feel the scissor is the correct equipment in this particular case.
I'm pleased you said 'not' arrest as most of the ones I have seen over the years of clients, the operative has been wearing an arrest lanyard and when questioned, so many don't have a clue what they have on anyway; the intention if they must be used for whatever reason, is to restrain them not arrest them as you correctly suggest!
With Bob here, train em up properly (with a proper trainer) and let them loose. Don't forget the inspection and testing and servicing.
Good luck
C
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Posted By Ali
Look at the Work at Height Regs 2005 and apply the hierarchy of controls. Shortcut is, there is no legal requirement to wear PPE on a safety platform as fall prevention (guard rails)is much higher up the table than harnesses. You can wear the ppe in addition if you want, but it's not legally required and the lanyard may also pose a trip hazard as well as requiring additional training, inspections etc
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Posted By Robert K Lewis
Ali
Just be careful with the use of general phraseology such as safety platform. The HSE distinguish very carefully between cherry picker, boom type, and flying carpet, scissor type, lifts. The former always need a harness the latter I contest never do, subject as CFT reminds us all to training and supervision.
Bob
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Posted By Dave Merchant
Ali's approximately on the right track - the platform of a MEWP is _also_ a working platform under WAHR2(1):-
"working platform" -
(a) means any platform used as a place of work or as a means of access to or egress from a place of work;
(b) includes any scaffold, suspended scaffold, cradle, **mobile platform**, trestle, gangway, gantry and stairway which is so used.
As such it has to satisfy Shed 3.1, hence the edge protection and the legal duty to keep the 'platform' stable when in use.
The reason the scissor lift vs. picker argument rages so much is that the WAHR do not correctly define the reasons for a risk of falling in the first place. Back in the TWAHD days I had the same arguments in meeting after meeting, but because of the way the WAHR adopted text from LOLER the holes in logic weren't closed... but what do you expect from a commmmmmitteee.
If a platform is 'suitably stable' under WAHR S3.1 then there is no reason for a person to be thrown from it, and no need to wear a harness if there's edge protection - irrespective of the style of MEWP. S3.1(4)b specifically says the platform must not "become accidentally displaced so as to endanger any person", so if the law is applied to the letter almost all boom-style MEWPs which specify a harness would be banned, because by asking for a harness the manufacturer is admitting that they expect the platform could 'become displaced'. It's like selling you a penthouse flat and suggesting you should sleep with a parachute on.
The scissor lift users' argument is that it's 'more stable' and so doesn't need a harness, which I agree with entirely. To use one in a way that makes it unstable is illegal because of the above - but if so the same logic has to apply to cherry pickers as there's no categories of platform in the Regs. Because harnesses in a cherry picker *are* sensible in some cases, the scissor-lifters are shown their counterparts using harnesses and told to do the same - when in reality it's not even a question they should be asking in the first place.
"is this think likely to throw me out?"
"yes"
"fine. I'll be in the pub till you fix it."
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Posted By Phil
It depends if you can ensure the operatives will not stretch or reach out, at my old company a harness & lanyard were compulsory in all cradles & MEWP's (VPP, boom, scissor etc..)
I was given a picture at a training seminar where both mountings on one end failed and the platform flipped over. There were two men working, one connected and one not. The man connected was flipped under the edge and crushed to death. The man who was not was thrown several feet and suffered broken bones & fractures but lived.
It made me think hard and fast for some time and after several discussions we decided to keep the status quo as in the long run it was believed to be safer.
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Posted By CFT
Sorry Phil, I missed that, so which status quo did you actually keep then?
C
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Posted By Pete Longworth
"at my old company a harness & lanyard were compulsory in all cradles & MEWP's (VPP, boom, scissor etc..)"
That one I think.
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Posted By Phil
Thats the one Pete
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Posted By Mike Foulds
Thanks for all your thoughts.........I am still not sure in which camp I have my feet.
I will spend some time with the guys in the lifts and see what really goes on.
Mike
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