Posted By Roger Lawson-Lee I am the Health & Safety Advisor for my company. I currently have a difference of opinion with our FLT provider who has influenced the management by stating that the HSE guidelines on the use of working platforms were purely a 'guideline' and the advice was not contained in a Regulation. He further stated that as long as the safest method of working at height has been evaluated, risk assessment completed and a Permit To Work issued, we were fulfilling the requirement of the law. I agree that the HSE guidelines were purely a ‘guideline’ and the advice is not contained in a regulation. However, It is partly a matter of interpretation and a matter of regulation. I would make the point that PM28 allows use of an FLT with safety cage for short unplanned tasks, changing a bulb, clearing a gutter. The Work at Height Regs 2005 Regulation 7(2)(b) (clause 24 in the HSE Guide) places a duty on employers to select the most suitable work equipment for the task to be carried out regardless of the duration of the task. This does not mean that we have a MEWP to unblock a drain, however, I take the view that it does mean that we use a MEWP for planned maintenance when working at height. The law states that a risk assessment must be suitable and sufficient, it means that consideration must be given to many factors such as: 1. Duration of the task, 2. The nature of the task 3. Age and experience 4. The level of competence 5. The additional degree of control that makes a MEWP safer when working at height 6. The fine control that one has with a MEWP when compared to the coarse movement in limited directions of a cage I would not agree that it’s just ok to have a satisfactory risk assessment and permit to work. In the event of an accident when using a cage for a planned event, it would not be a good defence to due diligence to an HSE inspector. He would have expected us to use the most suitable piece of equipment. I would welcome any erudite member's view on this point to support my stance. Many thanks.

Posted By Robert K Lewis Better to look for an alternative supplier - questions of competence begin to come up in my mind! Bob