Elevating Work Platforms - pdf file

Elevating Work Platforms

(Scissor Lifts & Aerial Lifts)

CONTENTS

1.0         PURPOSE

2.0         APPLICABILITY AND SCOPE

3.0         DEFINITIONS

4.0         APPLICABLE REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS

5.0         RESPONSIBILITIES

     5.1      Employee

     5.2      Department / Instructor/ Supervisor Responsibilities

     5.3      Environmental Health and Safety Responsibilities

6.0         SAFE OPERATION OF ELEVATED WORK PLATFORMS (Scissor Lifts)

7.0         SAFE OPERATION OF AERIAL LIFTS (Extensible Boom Platforms)

8.0         GUARDING ROTATING SHAFTS, GEARING, AND OTHER MOVING PARTS

9.0         DESIGN AND MAINTENANCE

11.0       TRAINING

12.0       PROGRAM APPROVAL AND REVIEW

1.0         PURPOSE

The purpose of this program is to ensure the safe operation of elevating work platforms including scissor lifts and aerial lifts.

2.0         APPLICABILITY AND SCOPE

Powered platforms are used in maintenance and cleaning operations throughout the University.  Supervisors must ensure that those who work with such equipment receive instruction on its’ safe operation.

3.0         DEFINITIONS

Aerial Lift - A vehicle-mounted device, telescoping or articulating, or both, used to position personnel. They include the following types of vehicle-mounted aerial devices used to elevate personnel to jobsites above ground:  Extensible boom platforms, Aerial ladders, and Articulating boom platforms.

Elevating Work Platform - A device designed to elevate a platform in a substantially vertical axis (Vertical Tower, Scissor Lift).

Extensible Boom Platform - An aerial device (except ladders) with an extensible boom. Telescopic booms with personnel platform attachments shall be considered to be extensible boom platforms.

4.0         APPLICABLE REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS

California Code of Regulations, Title 8, Section 3636

5.0         RESPONSIBILITIES

Environmental Health and Safety will oversee the administration of this program, but ultimate responsibility for its implementation rests with each department on campus.

5.1         Employee

It is the responsibility of each affected employee to:

• Inspect and perform safety checks on the work platform before each use;
• Only operate equipment for which they have been trained;
• Ensure the safe operation of the platforms.

5.2         Department / Instructor/ Supervisor Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of each supervisor affected by this program to:

• Ensure employees receive training prior to starting work on powered platforms;
• Ensure that employees only operate equipment for which they have been trained;
• Ensure employees operate platforms safely.

5.3         Environmental Health and Safety Responsibilities

It is the responsibility of the Environmental Health and Safety Department to:

• Provide technical assistance and training;
• Periodically review this program and evaluate its effectiveness to determine the necessity for updating written procedures.

6.0         SAFE OPERATION OF ELEVATED WORK PLATFORMS (Scissor Lifts)

Observe the following safety rules when operating powered platforms:

• The travel speed at Maximum Travel Height should not exceed 3 feet (0.9m) per second.
• Self-propelled units must be equipped with electrical or other interlock means which will prevent driving them with the platform height greater than the Maximum Travel Height or at speeds greater than permitted at Maximum Travel Height.
• The surface upon which the unit is being operated must be level with no hazardous irregularities or accumulation of debris which might cause a moving platform to overturn.
• Units are to be assembled, used, and disassembled in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.
• Units shall be assembled, and used only by personnel who have been trained in their use.
• Equipment must be inspected for damaged and defective parts before use.
• Avoid loaded lifts in excess of the design working load and remove the unit from service for repairs when damaged or weakened from any cause.
• Never sit, stand or climb on the guardrails of an elevating work platform or use planks, ladders, or other devices to gain greater working height or reach.
• Avoid use of lifts during high winds or storms.
• Employees climbing or descending vertical ladders must have both hands free for climbing.  Note: for best footing employees should remove foreign substances, such as mud or grease from their shoes.
• Where moving vehicles are present, the work area must be marked with warnings such as flags, roped off areas or other effective means of traffic control shall be provided.
• Unstable objects such as barrels, boxes, loose brick, tools, debris, must not be accumulated on the work level.
• Ensure that small tools etc. are shielded from falling on persons required to pass under the equipment.

7.0         SAFE OPERATION OF AERIAL LIFTS (Extensible Boom Platforms)

Observe the following safety rules when operating Aerial Lifts:

• Never work near overhead power lines.
• Do not support aerial baskets or platforms by adjacent structure(s).
• Test the lift controls in accordance with the manufacturers recommendations or instructions prior to use to ensure controls are in safe working condition.  Ensure controls and signaling devices are tested and are in good operating condition
• Employees must only operate aerial devices for which they have been trained.
• Do not “belt-off” to an adjacent pole, structure, or equipment while working from an aerial device.
• Never sit or climb on the edge of the basket or use planks, ladders or other devices to gain greater working height.
• Never exceed the manufacturer specified load limits on booms, baskets and platforms.
• Set the braking systems prior to elevating personnel with the vehicle.
• Provided they can be safely installed, wheel chocks shall be installed before using an aerial device on an incline.
• When used, outriggers shall be positioned on pads or a solid surface. All outriggers shall be equipped with hydraulic holding valves or mechanical locks at the outriggers.
• Climbers shall not be worn while performing work from an aerial device.
• When an insulated aerial device is required, the aerial device shall not be altered in any manner that might reduce its insulating value.
• An aerial device truck shall not be moved when the boom is elevated in a working position with employees in the basket or platform.
• An effective communication system must be maintained at all times between the basket or platform operator and where applicable, the vehicle operator.
• Survey the route to be traveled is prior to the work trip, checking for overhead obstructions, traffic, holes in the pavement, ground or shoulder, ditches, slopes, etc., for areas other than paved, a survey should be made on foot.
• The speed of the vehicle should not exceed three (3) miles per hour.
• Only one employee is allowed in the basket at any given time.
• Lower level controls aren’t to be operated unless permission has been obtained from the employee in the device, except in case of emergency.
• Before moving an aerial device for travel, the boom is to be inspected to see that it is properly cradled and outriggers are in stowed position.
• While in an elevated aerial device, the employee must be secured to the boom, basket or tub of the aerial device through the use of a safety belt, body belt or body harness equipped with safety strap or lanyard. Safety belts/body belts used as part of a positioning device system shall be rigged such that an employee cannot free fall more than 2 feet.
• A body harness may be used in a personal fall restraint, positioning or fall arrest system. When a body harness is used in a fall arrest system, the lanyard shall be rigged with a deceleration device to limit maximum arresting force on an employee to 1,800 pounds and prevent the employee from hitting any levels or objects below the basket or platform, and shall limit free fall to a maximum of 6 feet.

8.0         GUARDING ROTATING SHAFTS, GEARING, AND OTHER MOVING PARTS

• All rotating shafts, gearing, and other moving parts shall be guarded.  Ensure that any removed guards are in place prior to operation.

9.0         DESIGN AND MAINTENANCE

• Aerial devices placed in service prior to December 23, 1999 shall have a conspicuously displayed legible plate or other legible marking verifying the aerial device is designed and manufactured in accordance ANSI specifications.
• platform decks shall be equipped with a guardrail or other structure around its upper periphery that shall be 42 inches high, plus or minus 3 inches with a midrail.
• Controls must be plainly marked as to their function and guarded to prevent accidental operation.
• The materials used in the repair of aerial devices and elevating work platforms must conform to standard specifications of strength, dimensions, and weights, and shall be selected to safely support the rated work load.
• Electrical wiring and equipment shall meet the provisions of the California Electrical Safety Orders.
• All exposed surfaces should be maintained free from sharp edges, burrs, or other hazardous projections.

11.0       TRAINING

Employees must receive training prior to starting work on elevating work platforms.  Individual departments will retain records on the persons trained and persons doing the training.

12.0       PROGRAM APPROVAL AND REVIEW

Date Reviewed:     December 12, 2005                          By:       E. Becker, B. Drewelow