Health & safety bulletin
Use Of Safety Harnesses In MEWPS
30th October 2008
At recent site meetings and audits, some employees have requested clarification on what action to take if a mobile elevated work platform (scissor lift) has no suitable anchor position for the lanyard.
As a company we have carried out relevant risk assessments and sent all site operators on an IPAF Safety Harness course. This course ensures that all operators are trained in the use of harnesses and lanyards, and understand the importance of carrying out visual inspections before using the equipment.
If there is no tested anchor point, it is still safer to connect to the most suitable anchor position (a handrail or similar). This increases the chance of your fall being arrested, rather than not attach the lanyard and have no chance of fall arrest whatsoever.
For clarification, the MEWPs that we hire will not tip over if you fall with your lanyard attached, unlike on a mobile scaffold tower where we advise NOT to wear a harness for this very reason.
Each of our site employees has been issued with their own personnel harness and lanyard. It is each individual's responsibility to keep them in good condition and to inspect for wear and tear before use, as per guidance at the IPAF approved training course. If your harness or lanyard shows any sign of wear or is damaged, do not use it, do not work in the MEWP / Cherry Picker, and contact the office immediately.
Please note that our company policy is that the wearing of a safety harness is mandatory whilst working in a mobile elevated work platform. Connecting your lanyard to the most appropriate fixing point is also part of company policy.