No One is Above the Law

John Laurin

John Laurin is western region safety and risk manager for RSC Equipment Rental in Santa Ana, Calif. He has spent his entire career in the aerial manufacturing and rental industries. He started with Calivar and moved to Mark Industries where he ran the worldwide parts and service departments until the company moved its operations out of California. In the early 1990s, Laurin joined American Hi-Lift in Southern California as regional safety coordinator. He remained in that position through the acquisition by Prime Equipment Rentals in 1996 and through the merger with Rental Service Corp. in 2001. Laurin has been a Scaffold Industry Association member since 1992 and a member of the ANSI A92 committee since 1993. Currently an active member serving on the ANSI committees writing A92.5, Laurin can be reached at John.Laurin@RSCrental.com.

  

August 4, 2005 — It doesn't seem to matter if the manufacturer warns the user of the dangers, or if we talk about it at a safety meeting, someone always seems to get into trouble — whether they're getting into a boom lift without a harness and a lanyard or standing on the railing to get to the very edge to do the job while still having reach left to get there. More than 16 deaths occurred last year due to the unsafe use of aerial equipment, and who knows how many more injuries occurred from people falling or jumping out of the platform of a boom lift.

 

I was recently in the field visiting a rental yard (this could be yours) to discuss an incident with an aerial lift operator who had been seriously injured. When I pulled into the yard, I noticed that the driver operating a lift did have his harness on but had neglected to hook his lanyard to the basket. Before he attempted to drive the unit off his trailer, I signaled to him to connect the lanyard. He gave me a strange look and proceeded to lower the unit and turn off the engine.

 

“Did you forget to hook up?” I asked him. You can guess what his response was. “Don't worry,” he said. “This is our lot, and we're not required to hook up in the yard — only when we are in the field or on public property.”

 

He proceeded to stare at me as if I was the one unaware of the procedures and quickly started the unit to proceed with his task. This brief incident reminded me of a dinner I had with an OSHA inspector at the last ANSI meeting. I asked him about upcoming plans for the industry. He said OSHA will be targeting rental yards. Although not surprised, I responded, “Why is that?” His reply was that the rental yards appear to be very good at conducting training for their customers, but very poor or neglectful to train their own employees and new employees. Some locations fail to even give a familiarization of the equipment and complete the required training! This happened to be true when it came to the young driver I encountered who thought he was above the law, convincing his supervisor that he had been trained by his previous employer.

 

My advice is it may pay, as well as save a life or serious injury, to take a walk around and check your shop, yard, drivers, and records to ensure your employees have been trained in the proper operations of aerial work platforms. Are they practicing being above the law when it comes to using the lanyard and harness? You may be surprised at what you find.

 

What is the law? Harness must be worn and a lanyard attached as soon as you enter the platform. You also must maintain a firm footing on the platform, and the owner is responsible that the operator has been trained. That's the bottom line.