Aerial lifts have replaced ladders and scaffolding on many job sites due to their mobility and flexibility. But aerial lifts pose significant safety hazards, and many workers are injured or killed on them each year.

An aerial lift is any vehicle-mounted device used to elevate personnel, including:

• Extendable boom platforms.
• Aerial ladders.
• Articulating (jointed) boom platforms.
• Vertical towers.
• Any combination of the above.

They may be made of metal, fiberglass, reinforced plastic, or other materials. They may be powered or manually operated, and they are considered aerial lifts regardless of whether they can rotate around a primarily vertical axis.

OSHA provides the following information to help employers and workers recognize and avoid safety hazards they may encounter when they use aerial lifts.

Hazards Associated With Aerial Lifts

The following hazards, among others, can lead to personal injury or death:

• Fall from elevated level.
• Objects falling from lifts.
• Tip-overs.
• Ejections from the lift platform.
• Structural failures (collapses).
• Electric shock.
• Entanglement hazards.
• Contact with objects.
• Contact with ceilings and other overhead objects.

Standards That Apply

OSHA Standards: 29 CFR 1910.67, 29 CFR 1910.269(p), 29 CFR 1926.21, 29 CFR 1926.453, 29 CFR 1926.502.

American National Standards Institutes standards: ANSI/SIA A92.2-1969, ANSI/SIA A92.3, ANSI/SIA A92.5, ANSI/SIA A92.6.

What to Do Before Operating an Aerial Lift

Prior to each work shift, conduct a pre-use inspection to verify that the equipment and all its components are in safe operating condition.  Follow the manufacturer's recommendations and include a check of:

Vehicle components

• Proper fluid levels (oil, hydraulic, fuel, and coolant).
• Leaks of fluids.
• Wheels and tires.
• Battery and charger.
• Lower-level controls.
• Horn, gauges, lights and backup alarms.
• Steering and brakes.

Lift components

• Operating and emergency controls.
• Personal protective devices.
• Hydraulic, air, pneumatic, fuel, and electrical systems.
• Fiberglass and other insulating components.
• Missing or unreadable placards, warnings, or operational, instructional, and control markings.
• Mechanical fasteners and locking pins.
• Cable and wiring harnesses.
• Outriggers, stabilizers and other structures.
• Loose or missing parts.
• Guardrail systems.

Do not operate any aerial lift if any of these components are defective until it is repaired by a qualified person. Remove defective aerial lifts from service (tag out) until repairs are made.

To assist personnel in conducting pre-use  inspections, you can use an industry-proven equipment inspection checklist program such as The Checker, designed by safety professionals expressly to facilitate efficient, thorough inspections.

The Checker offers checklists with detail specific to aerial lifts, in book form or as mobile inspections tied to cloud-based inspection management software.

Personnel should inspect work zones for hazards and take corrective actions to eliminate such hazards before operating aerial lifts in any unsafe zones.

Items to look for include:

• Drop-offs, holes, or unstable surfaces such as loose dirt.
• Inadequate ceiling heights.
• Slopes, ditches, or bumps.
• Debris and floor obstructions.
• Overhead electric power lines and communication cables.
• High wind and other severe weather conditions, such as ice.
• Other people in close proximity to the work.

What to Do While Operating an Aerial Lift

Being safe with aerial lifts doesn’t end once the pre-use inspecting has taken place. Operators must be constantly diligent about how they use the lift.

Fall Protection

• Ensure that access gates or openings are closed.
• Stand firmly on the floor of the bucket or lift platform.
• Do not climb on or lean over guardrails or handrails.
• Do not use planks, ladders, or other devices as a working position.
• Use a body harness or a restraining belt with a lanyard attached to the boom or bucket.
• Do not belt-off to adjacent structures or poles while in the bucket.

Operation/Traveling/Loading

• Do not exceed the load-capacity limits. Take the combined weight of the worker(s), tools, and materials into account when calculating the load.
• Do not use the aerial lift as a crane.
• Do not carry objects larger than the platform.
• Do not drive with the lift platform raised (unless the manufacturer’s instructions allow this).
• Do not operate lower-level controls unless permission is obtained from the worker(s) in the lift (except in emergencies).
• Do not exceed vertical or horizontal reach limits.
• Do not operate an aerial lift in high winds above those recommended by the manufacturer.
• Do not override hydraulic, mechanical, or electrical safety devices.

Stability in the Work Zone

• Set outriggers on pads or on a level, solid surface.
• Set brakes when outriggers are used.
• Use wheel chocks on sloped surfaces when it’s safe to do so.
• Set up work zone warnings, such as cones and signs, when necessary.

Overhead Protection

• Be aware of overhead clearance and overhead objects, including ceilings.
• Do not position aerial lifts between overhead hazards if possible.
• Treat all overhead power lines and communication cables as energized, and stay at least 10 feet (3 meters) away.
• Ensure that the power utility or power-line workers de-energize power lines in the vicinity of the work.

Insulated aerial lifts offer protection from electric shock and electrocution by isolating operators from electrical ground. However, an insulated aerial lift does not provide protection if there is another path to ground (for instance, if you touch another wire). To maintain the effectiveness of the insulating device, do not drill holes in the bucket.

Training for Aerial Lift Safety

Only trained and authorized persons are allowed to operate an aerial lift. Training should include:

• Explanations of electrical, fall, and falling-object hazards.
• Procedures for dealing with hazards.
• How to recognize and avoid unsafe conditions in the work setting.
• When and how to conduct proper pre-use inspections of the lifts.
• Manufacturer's requirements.
• Instructions for correct operation of the lift (including maximum intended load and load capacity).
• Demonstrations of the skills and knowledge needed to operate an aerial lift before operating it on the job.

Workers should be retrained if any of the following conditions occur:

• An accident occurs during aerial lift use.
• Workplace hazards involving an aerial lift are discovered.
• A different type of aerial lift is used.

Employers are also required to retrain workers whom they observe operating an aerial lift improperly.

Takeaway

Following OSHA’s recommendations for aerial lift safety will significantly minimize the human and financial risks that come with unsafe use of this valuable equipment. The Checker is an ideal tool for adhering to those recommendations, providing personnel with support, consistency, and detailed but easy-to-follow guidance  as they ensure the aerial lifts they’re using are in correct, safe working order.

Image courtesy of Penarc, Creative Commons.