• Shona Taylor
    0
    Hi,
    If someone is working in a scissor lift with an anchor point, do they have to wear a safety harness? If yes, can you please point me towards some literature to support that?
    Thanks
  • Chris Anderson
    70


    If you take a look at WorkSafe's Mobile Elevated Platform Best Practice Guideline it says:

    "Use an appropriate harness system if someone could fall from the MEWP. Secure the harness to a certified anchor point within the MEWP." In practice for this we require a harness to be used at all times when operating a MEWP, and you must be attached to the anchor point whenever the MEWP is moving, or going and down.

    Section 3.3 of the document goes into more detail also
  • Shona Taylor
    0
    Thanks for that Chris
  • Gary Clarkson
    6
    No they do not have to unless your risk assessment deems it necessary.
  • Alex P
    15
    Hi Shona,

    There a few things to consider with this.
    -The 'Best Practice Guidelines' that Chris mentioned
    - Risk assessment as mentioned by Gary
    - the manufacturer's instructions

    A scissor lift is the only EWP where you may not have to wear a harness, but this would be determined by a risk assessment and the manufacturer's instructions - there is no yes or no answer, but it is all stated in the BPG's.
  • Chris Hyndman
    71
    As mentioned it will be dependent on the risk assessment, but your default position should be that a harness and lanyard is to be used (unless there is a risk of the EWP falling into water).

    When assessing the pros and cons of the use of harness/lanyards, consider the normal operations of the EWP and also what is needed in the event of a rescue at height due to an unresponsive person or machinery.
  • Michelle Dykstra
    59
    Article I found on ewpa.org.nz
    Attachment
    Peter Wenn and Phil Middleton Harness articles (836K)
  • Andreas Gabriel
    1
    The simple answer to your question is: No. Regardless of whether there is a 15kN anchor point or not, where a risk assessment shows that there is no risk of a fall, a harness does not need to be used. Note that this applies to scissor lifts only, not to other MEWP types. The primary means of fall protection on a scissor lift is the handrail around the platform.
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