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CLIMBING WORK PLATFORMS – THE FUNDAMENTALS OF SAFETY
Mast Climbing Work Platforms (MCWP’s) are increasing
in popularity, and many users, rental companies, owners and
safety professionals are looking for guidance on how to safely
erect, dismantle and use this highly flexible equipment. Kevin
O’Shea, our Safety and Training Director and the International
Powered Access Federation (IPAF) Senior MCWP Instructor in
the US, highlights some of the important fundamentals to remember
when you want to use these ever more popular platforms.
An MCWP is primarily used to position personnel,
along with their necessary tools and materials, to perform
their work. The two main types of platform currently in use
in the US are ‘rack and pinion’ and ‘hydraulic’.
MCWP’s are very different to other forms
of powered access, e.g. a scissor lift is delivered from the
manufacturer with a fixed load capacity, an MCWP has various
load characteristics depending on the configuration of the
platform.
ANSI A92.9, the current design standard for
MCWP’s demands that ‘training on proper use and
operation be given upon each delivery by sale, lease or rental’.
THE FUNDAMENTALS
1. The Job Survey
One of the most important parts of the process
occurs before the unit or units arrive at the job site, the
job survey.
The job survey, which should be completed
by a ‘competent person’ establishes vital information
which is used to plan the number and configuration of machines,
the method of tying, the ground conditions and the identification
of hazards leading to a method statement for the erection
and dismantle. It is vital that the person carrying-out the
job survey has the relevant experience to be able to fully
plan a safe installation.
2. Ground Conditions
  An
MCWP 200’ high can be responsible for 16 tons of load
at the ground, or at the point where the base plate or chassis
is situated. The ground needs to be solid, flat, compressed
and compacted. Danger can arise from underground cavities
(which may be dug out after the unit(s) has been erected)
such as underground car parks or pipe trenches. The mast,
not the chassis or base plate, needs to be absolutely vertical,
both perpendicular to, and parallel to the face of the building.
If the unit is being erected on a ‘cantilever
bracket arrangement’ the design must be passes by a
qualified structural engineer.
Many people have commented that when they
observe an MCWP installation, erectors spend a disproportionate
amount of time on the positioning and leveling the unit, and
that when the mast erection commences, it ‘goes up quickly’.
The attention to detail in positioning and leveling can save
lives, time and money.
3. What Are You Tying Into?
 Ties
hold the MCWP, and, therefore, you, to the structure. It is
therefore a mystery why very few users pay attention to this
critical part. Here is a list of questions you should get
answers to before you begin installing expanding anchors into
concrete for mast stability:
• What am I tying into and will it take
the loads?
• What forces (tensile and shear values) need to be
counteracted by the anchors or tying system?
• What size of anchor, and how many do I need?
• What is the diameter of the hole I need to drill for
the anchors, how deep should it be, and how close should the
next anchor hole be, (the incorrect application of any of
these factors can seriously damage the effectivity of the
anchor), and remember to clean out drill holes before inserting
the anchor(s)
• Am I drilling into a post tension slab?
• What torque setting should be used to tighten the
anchors?
4. Tie Distance
Make sure you keep within the manufacturers
recommendations on tie distances. One of the common mistakes
is to measure the tie distance in ‘floors’ rather
than feet, e.g. If a manufacturers guidelines state ‘max.
tie distance 30’’, most people have the idea that
they can tie ‘every three floors’. If the floors
are more than 10’ apart you need to get guidance from
the manufacturer before tying every third floor.
5. Platform Configuration
When building an MCWP make sure you follow
the manufacturers guidelines on the platform size and configuration.
Experienced installers build the mast first
and configure the platform second. This means build the mast
with a minimal of platform sections either side of the mast
and no unnecessary front edge extensions, these greatly increase
the load on the mast and ties and can easily and quickly be
added after the mast has been built and tested.
6. Don’t Overload the Platform During
Installation or Dismantle
Make sure that you only have the recommended
amount of mast sections stored on the platform, and that they
are ‘evenly distributed’ either side of the mast,
(another reason for minimizing the number of platform sections
during erection and dismantle is to physically limit the number
of masts that can be stored)
7. Make Sure Erection and Dismantle Crews
are Trained and Communicate
One of the most hazardous areas of MCWP use
is the dismantle phase.
Too many times we see properly trained installation
crews erecting the MCWP’s at the start of the job because
the supplier wants to impress, only to see less competent
crews brought in for the dismantle phase, or worse, the customer
is allowed to dismantle the units, all in the name of ‘economy’
This is where accidents can happen.
8. Training
  Finally,
remember that no one ever got injured because they were over-trained,
MCWP’s are a fantastic tool, and, when erected and used
properly, they can increase safety and productivity simultaneously.
Comprehensive training is available and there is no substitute
for well informed and properly trained installation and operational
personnel in the MCWP business.
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SAFETY AND TRAINING COURSES – DON’T LEARN ABOUT
THEM BY ACCIDENT!
Kevin O’Shea, our training and safety
director is working with IPAF to create training centers in
the United States that will provide standardized mast climbing
training, and then issue powered access licensed registration
cards (PALs) to those who complete the program.
“The idea will be to strategically place
training centers in the U.S, so that we can maximize on demand,”
and we expect to have 10 opened within the next 18 months
(three have already been appointed in Montreal, Boston and
Atlanta) and potentially doubling to 20 in 4 years. Mastclimbers
was the first MCWP training center in the US.
The specialized training will be offered for four groups.
The first is “user’s appointed/responsible person,”
(currently called Demonstrators), which are people charged
with monitoring the safe use of mast climbers on their job
sites, completing daily and weekly inspections, and making
sure the mast climbers are safe for use.
The second group is the “installers” who set up
and take down the equipment.
The third is “advanced installers”
who set up and dismantle the scaffolding, and assess any associated
risks, compiling risk assessments, method statements and safe
methods of work.
The fourth group is “mobile operators”
who are charged with the safe operation, transference, of
mobile mast climbers on powered chassis’.
Kevin is currently working to form an IPAF
MCWP working committee, inviting people from OSHA, mast climber
manufacturers, labor organizations, and others to get together
and write safe use regulations.
“What we’ve got to do is quickly and comprehensively
compile safe use regulations,” he said. “We’re
looking at a 12 to 18 month process for writing the documents,
and getting them to the publication stage. We already have
safe use regulations in other countries which, since their
introduction, have had the effect of establishing a level
playing field, identifying who is responsible for what, keeping
standards of supply consistently high, informing regulatory
and compliance bodies about how to identify risk within an
MCWP installation, and setting training and accreditation
standards for the industry. We’re going to take the
blueprint of those regulations, Americanize them, get input
from the MCWP industry in the US, and fashion the document
into something we can present to the industry as the benchmark
for consistency, quality and safety.”
Mast climber training started in Europe in
1983 and was mandated by legislation in 1997, which brought
the number of accidents in Europe down to nearly zero. More
than 50,000 people receive training and earn their PAL cards
each year in Europe.
We expect to see a growth in the number of mast climbers used
in the United States. We estimate that the same number of
mast climbers are used in this country that are used in Singapore,
a country about 60 times smaller than the U.S.
“That tells you about the potential for this equipment,”
Kevin said. “I think as we go forward over the next
12 to 24 months, we’ll see a large uptake in mast climber
usage, giving further impetus for safe use regulation. Although
mast climbers are generally regarded as one of the safest,
if not the safest, method of powered access available, a small
number of accidents have occurred in the US in the last 24
months. We need to move quickly”
“Accidents, as indicated by statistics
compiled in Europe, are predominantly caused by events that
are associated with mast climber installation and dismantling,
and more so in the dismantle phase,” Kevin continued,
“It’s a paradox that, while the dismantle phase
is generally regarded as having the greatest potential for
accidents, this function is either carried out by less experienced
installation crews, or worse, by the customer. The crew setting
up a mast climber is oftentimes different than the dismantling
crew, and if the two crews don’t communicate, it can
lead to problems. If something was done during installation,
like using a cum-a-long for straightening the mast, the dismantling
crew needs to know it. Similarly, during take down, removing
the last two ties is critical, and the stability of the MCWP
will be highly dependent on the way it was set up by the installation
crew.
“Miscommunication, or none at all, means that dismantling
crews are not in possession of all the facts to enable them
to control all the risks.”
“Problems are also caused by occasional
users not being properly familiarized in the safe use of the
equipment, and this, combined with a lack of authority on
the project, leads to the potential situation where they could
carry out unsafe acts in ignorance, or be instructed to carry
out an unsafe practice by a superior. Safe use regulation
would seek to clarify these, and many other areas, of potential
risk”
Enquiries regarding IPAF Mast Climber Training
Courses should be directed to Kevin in the first instance.
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MAST CLIMBERS - INITIATIVES ON TRAINING AND LEGISLATION
The First AWPT Mast Climbers Training Centre Opens In Boston
Mast Climbing Work Platforms (MCWP’s) have an enviable
reputation in Europe as probably the safest method of access
available. MCWP manufacturers and users here in N. America
are keen to emulate this and, in the last twelve months, some
interesting foundation work has emerged, which, if it continues
at its initial pace, could increase the performance of the
product and significantly reduce the number of accidents.
It has been just over a year since the incident in Boyleston
St., Boston, where a mast climber fell from a raised position
on a city center building killing three people, and since
that time much has been done to increase MCWP regulation and
training to higher levels.
IPAF (International Powered Access Federation) through its
US subsidiary AWPT (Aerial Work Platform Training) is working
with key individuals to increase standards, safety, and the
quality of training.
Kevin O’Shea, Vice President of Safety and Training
with Mastclimbers LLC in Atlanta, and IPAF’s main spokesman,
and Senior Instructor, on MCWP’s explained the reasons
why IPAF is now involved in the US.
‘Since its inception in 1983, IPAF, a ‘not for
profit’ organization, run by the worlds’ top manufacturers
and users of powered access equipment, has driven important
legislative improvements, in the areas of design and safe
use of booms, scissors, tele-handlers and mast climbers, through
to working documentation and practices. MCWP’s have
come through similar evolutionary growth patterns in other
countries, and there are times in a products life span where
legislation and training fall slightly behind as product use
takes a surge. This is where we currently are in the US, and
one of the key components to getting the balance back is the
introduction of high quality, localized training’.
‘We are delighted to be able to announce the opening
of the first IPAF/AWPT training centre in Boston, and are
fortunate that we have found a company such as Northeast Work
Platform Training (NEWPT) to deliver this training. NEWPT
is situated in the middle of Boston’s re-generation
area and owner, Tom Lawler, has been involved in both the
Boston construction market and MCWP supply for many years.
The evidence tells us that the way to reduce accidents effectively,
and reduce manufacturers liability at the same time, is to
deliver high quality, consistent training which is measured
and audited.
These training centers, working in conjunction with committee-driven
legislative upgrades, will be responsible for the increased
safe use of the product, and it is our intention to have a
network of training centers throughout the US.
‘The manufacturers are committed because it ultimately
reduces their liability. Some manufacturers use structural
engineers to verify the integrity of an installation as a
way of reducing the potential for accidents. California OSHA
has its own guidelines on MCWP use. New York is looking at
MCWP use through its Cranes and Derricks Committee, the CPWR
(Center for Protection of Workers Rights) has a working group
looking currently at improving regulation on MCWP’s.
It’s obvious from all of this recent activity that current
MCWP legislation isn’t keeping pace with the usage of
the product’.
‘Training and regulation is the only way for manufacturers
to really protect themselves from liability. A machine that
is sold to a rental company, which is then rented to an end
user, who ‘loans’ it to a sub-contractor on the
jobsite, who then misuses it, resulting in an accident, will
appear on the 6 o’clock news usually bearing only the
manufacturers name. Liability is a complicated issue, and
it can be disproportionately and unfairly applied’.
Tom Lawler, NEWPT’s founder and owner said, ‘We’re
delighted to be the first independent IPAF/AWPT Training Center
in the US, and we intend to offer the full range of courses
All the way up to Instructor level. In my 20 years in the
powered access business I have seen product misuse at its
worst and quality training at its best. NEWPT will be a center
of excellence for powered access training and we relish the
opportunity to work with IPAF, Massachusetts contractors and
other interested parties to eradicate accidents through misuse
and lack of quality training. We have flexible courses which
can be conducted in the classroom and jobsite, we can provide
‘third party verification’ of installations and
we can offer consultancy advice to major contractors on compilation
of in-house safe use regulations.’
‘Training and regulation is the only way for manufacturers
to really protect themselves from liability. A machine that
is sold to a rental company, which is then rented to an end
user, who ‘loans’ it to a sub-contractor on the
jobsite, who then misuses it, resulting in an accident, will
appear on the 6 o’clock news usually bearing only the
manufacturers name. Liability is a complicated issue, and
it can be disproportionately and unfairly applied’.
 Northeast
Work Platform Training Inc.,
100 Gibson Street, Unit 3
Dorchester MA 02122
Principal –
Tom Lawler
Tel: (617) 288 1777
Cell: (781) 254 3569
Email to:
toml@nwpti.org |
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