Aerial Lift Requirements

• Workers on aerial lifts face falling hazards. Tom Brakefield/Brand X Pictures/Getty Images

  Construction workers use aerial lifts to transport themselves, or equipment, to hard to reach heights. Aerial lifts are dangerous to ride due to falling hazards, so the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has safety standards in place to ensure aerial lifts are in safe operating order, and that construction employees are properly trained to operate them. According to OSHA, falls are the primary cause of occupational deaths in the construction industry.

Testing

• OSHA mandates aerial lift controls and booms to be tested daily prior to use. Testing the lift controls and booms is a preemptive way to detect defaults and malfunctions before employees are accidentally injured on the job. In rule 1929.453(b)(2)(xii), OSHA states that the boom must be inspected to make sure it is properly cradled, and that outriggers are in proper position. In rule 1926.453(b)(3) OSHA also requires workers to perform electrical tests, which must adhere to the provisions outlined by the American National Standards Institute.

Operation

• According to OSHA, aerial lifts must only be operated by individuals who are authorized to do so. Operators are properly trained to utilize the equipment safely, so it is crucial that workers without training do not attempt to operate the machinery.

Movement

• Aerial lifts must never be moved when they are in extended position. As such, it is important to ensure that the brakes are set on the equipment doing the lifting (such as a truck), and wheel chocks should be used when the equipment is stationed on an incline.

Clearance

• Working at high heights exposes workers to other hazards beyond falling, such as electrocution hazards. In response, OSHA mandates that workers maintain a minimum clearance of 10 feet away from the nearest overhead lines. For maximum protection, power lines, telephone poles and other electrical wires must always be treated as if they are energized, even if the electricity appears to be turned off.

Personal Safeguards

• Workers who are sent up in an aerial lift must protect themselves by wearing personal safeguards, such as a body harness or a restraining belt that has a cord attached to the boom to prevent falling. In case an accident happens and the worker is sent over the edge of the boom, the safety harness or restraining belt will catch his fall. In addition to safety devices, individuals who work in elevated aerial lifts must practice safety behaviors, such as standing firmly on boom floor and never sitting or climbing on the edge of the basket.