AWPT Prepares Basic Guidance on Safety Harnesses

December 1, 2005 • Highlighting the use of full body safety harnesses this week at the Aerial Platform Safety Conference in Houston, Texas, Aerial Work Platform Training (AWPT), Rouzerville, Pa., has drafted a basic guidance on when and where boom lift operators are to wear harnesses and how to wear them correctly.

 

Similar to the Technical Guidance Note H1/05/05 Safety Harnesses in Mobile Elevating Work Platforms issued by the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF), AWPT's parent organization, the draft statement states that anyone operating a boom lift, whether self-propelled or vehicle mounted, should wear a full body harness with an adjustable lanyard set as short as possible. It also says that operators of scissor lifts and other vertical platforms do not normally need to wear a safety harness. AWPT stresses that the use of any platform should be preceded by a full risk analysis and take into consideration the manufacturer's instructions.

 

AWPT is seeking comments from safety authorities and from the access industry on its draft guidance note on the use of harnesses. Comments may be emailed to mail@awpt.org by January 1, 2006. According to IPAF Managing Director Tim Whiteman, AWPT expects the final version of the guidance note to be completed by the Rental Show in February. Copies of the finalized guidance note will be available on www.awpt.org.