Obligations, Regulations and
Rescue Systems of Truck-Mounted Mobile Elevating Work Platforms
The safest, most efficient and productive system on the market for carrying out work at height
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The lifting of people at height is a particularly hazardous task, and therefore all existing preventative measures must be taken and established procedures followed for the safety of all workers. Below we detail the various existing regulations and the rescue systems of the Truck-mounted access platforms.
OPERATION FROM THE WORK PLATFORM
One of the mandatory compliance measures, both by regulation and for safety, is the operation of the MEWP from the work platform itself, as established by the Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC (transposed into Spanish legislation by Royal Decree 1644/2008) and the EN-280 standard. In both regulations, the location and use of the operating controls of MEWPs are detailed for safety reasons. The intended use of MEWPs is also indicated by the manufacturers, who cannot contradict current regulations.
Therefore, any manoeuvre of the MEWP being operated from the control stations it fails to comply with the legislation on the chassis. These are useful for carrying out the equipment stabilisation manoeuvres on the ground prior to carrying out the operations to elevate the work platform. They are also from for emergency use only to be able to carry out personnel descent manoeuvres in the event of a failure of the control panel installed on the work platform.
APPLICABLE REGULATIONS
Below, we indicate the regulations that refer to the location of the operator in charge of handling the MEWP:
- Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC (transposed into Spanish law by Royal Decree 1644/2008 item 6.2)
- UNE EN 280 Standard, section 5.7.4
- Royal Decree 1215/1997, Annex II, Section 1, point 3.
REFERENCES TO INVOLVED ENTITIES
MEWP manufacturer Bronto Skylift: «The main control panels to be used (by MEWP operators) are those installed on the work platform and take precedence over those installed on the truck chassis. The control panel installed on the truck chassis may only be used as a secondary emergency system in the event of a breakdown or the impossibility of operating the main controls.View report)
National Association of Powered Access RentalANAPAT): «The control stations on the work platform are for safety reasons, and the MEWP must be operated from the work platform, following the manufacturer's instructions» «…therefore, carrying out any manoeuvre of the MEWP with an operator at the chassis control stations breaches the legislation indicated above, and the chassis control stations may only be used for emergency manoeuvres».View report)
“SAFETY IS NOT JUST A MATTER OF REGULATIONS,
IT IS A MATTER OF COMMON SENSE:
THE OPERATION OF THE MEWP IS FROM THE WORK PLATFORM"
Operator control of the manoeuvre from the work platform allows permanent, continuous and close-up visibility OF THE MANOEUVRE, which guarantees safety during operation.
In a manoeuvre viewed from ground level. From ground level, the technical complications, gusts of wind, real distance between the blade and the working platform, potential panic among the technicians repairing the blade due to being alone in the event of a breakdown, and other potential unforeseen events are not always perceived.
PEMP RESCUE SYSTEM
At Transgruma, we have a detailed rescue procedure for operating personnel and any other persons on the work platform in the event of a MEWP breakdown.
If you would like to know about this procedure, you can request access to the document via the following link:
Training of our operational team
The Truck-mounted Mobile Elevating Work Platforms, are operated by specialised operating personnel of TRANSGRUMA S.A., who possess specific qualifications and training, part of which is received at the Centre TGM Training.
TGM Training it is a centre specialising in the delivery of training courses approved according to the standard GWO (Global Wind Organization), primarily applicable in the wind energy sector:
- Working at Height
- First Aid
- Firefighting
- Manual Handling of Loads
The people in our operations team receive frequent training and are qualified to act in the event of any MEWP emergency or breakdown.
Should you require additional information regarding occupational safety or Transgruma S.A.'s MEWP working procedures, we put the following email at your disposal: cae@transgruma.com where our Occupational Health and Safety officers will be able to address any concerns.