Risk Assessments for Scissor Lifts and Elevated Work Platforms?

Today, all workers that are using an Elevated Work Platforms (EWP) must be trained on the right personal protective equipment (PPE) to wear for fall arrest/fall protection. When the Ministry of Labour came up with the new Working at Heights standard for construction projects, they said they wanted to develop a similar standard for industrial establishments. Makes sense right? Lo and behold, The Ministry of Labour (MOL) came back with proposed amendments for Regulation 851 (Industrial Establishments) and in it they said the current regulations are sufficient and no special training is required!

What the MOL is proposing instead is for businesses to conduct risk assessments for the operation of equipment like Elevated Work Platforms, and in it specify the personal protective equipment that must be worn. After that they want you to add it to your safe work instructions for the use of Elevated Work Platforms so you are instructing your workers on how to wear, inspect, and use fall protection equipment. We believe it actually makes a lot of sense to teach workers how to use fall protection equipment as part of how to use an Elevated Work Platform properly and safely, don’t you? The more specific you can make these safe work instructions the better.

Let’s face it, every company handles things differently and because of it, safe work instructions will always vary. As great as we are when it comes to training your workers, we cannot train them on when exactly they are going to need to wear their PPE, or where to specifically tie off at their job site since we don’t follow them around all day. We recommend to continue the training you have been doing for Elevated Work Platforms, but add in your safety to-do list the risk assessment for these machines and what PPE they need to wear. Have peace of mind knowing you are fully compliant to even the future safety laws that are coming.

We can teach you how to perform these risk assessments and how to work in the safe use of fall arrest components into your safe work instructions! Contact us to learn more.

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