Health & Safety

Keep Safe Working at Height

We are at a loss as to how such a simple issue can be over complicated by the construction industry once again.

Which lanyard to use in which piece of plant? The answer is "one that restrains the user from climbing out of the basket". But the answer is not "any lanyard without an energy absorber" or "you cannot use a fall-arrest lanyard".

Both claims have confused general tradesmen for a long time. A fall from outside a basket could topple a piece of plant, and they decided the attachments were for "Restraint Only". An unfortunate choice of words from the construction industry.

The key concern is lanyard length. The lanyard should be of a length to prevent the user from getting into a position from which they could fall. The problem is that there are too many mobile elevated work platforms (MEWP) for different site jobs. Some have retro-fitted floor-mounted anchor points, while newer ones have them either side of the controls. There are solutions, like adjustable length lanyards, but these require careful training and supervision.

We might eventually get consistent positioning of anchor points and some form of manufacture standardisation.

February 2008