WORKING AT HEIGHT
WITH GREAT POWERED ACCESS COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY
Tony Lock, Service Manager at access platform service and repair specialist, PSR, explains how to keep your powered access equipment legally compliant and in the optimum condition.
The first self-propelled scissor lifts and booms were launched in the mid- 1970s. Fast forward 40 years and there is now a huge range of powered access products designed to make working at height safer and more productive.
However, to borrow a phrase, with great powered access comes great responsibility – after all, we are propelling workers many metres up into the air. While it is important to ensure that operators have the necessary training to safely use powered access, there is also a legal responsibility for the owners of the equipment to keep it in good condition. In the UK, this falls under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, or LOLER 98 for short.
The legal definition is a ‘responsible person’ – typically the employer or machine owner. That person is legally obliged to maintain the equipment in a safe working condition for the use of their employees.
The law states that every access platform in your fleet should receive a ‘Thorough Examination’ by a competent person, at least every six months – more frequently if the machine is used in what is deemed a ‘hostile environment’.
Owners of access platforms are obliged to keep records of all Thorough Examinations and report any defects identified to the responsible person.
THOROUGH EXAMINATION A Thorough Examination is simply the legal name for the regular inspections that every powered access platform undergoes, to ensure it is in good condition. In many ways it’s like a car MoT inspection. The process
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generates a report that identifies whether or not the equipment is safe to use, and includes advice on defects found that need to be corrected.
“While it is important to ensure that operators have the necessary training to safely use
powered access, there is also a legal responsibility for the owners of the
equipment to keep it in good condition.”
It’s a methodical and detailed examination of the equipment and all safety-critical parts, carried out at specified intervals by a ‘competent person’. A competent person means someone who has the appropriate qualifications and technical expertise to properly inspect and test access platforms – every PSR engineer in our nationwide network is classed as a ‘competent person’.
The law states that if the competent person identifies any serious defects during the examination, they must immediately report it to the responsible person. If the defects do not create an imminent risk, you can continue to use the machine, but are obliged to rectify the issues within a certain time frame. Where there is a defect that could imminently be of danger to any persons, the competent person will recommend that you
take your access platform or lifting equipment out of service immediately until the defect has been rectified. High quality service providers will offer you an on-the-spot quotation so you immediately understand the cost of rectifying these issues.
GETTING IT DONE Companies with large powered access fleets may have their own qualified, ‘competent person’ in house. However most end users don’t have this luxury, so the options are to transport your equipment to a testing centre, or have an inspector come to your site. PSR specialises in on-site Thorough Examinations, saving you the time, hassle and cost of transporting your machine to an inspection centre.
Every PSR engineer has a mobile workshop in his van and carries an extensive stock of spare parts. This means that in many cases PSR can conduct the Thorough Examination, address defects and re-test the machine, all in one single visit. This helps substantially reduce machine down time.
If you choose to fix the defects yourself, the competent person will come back to re-test your equipment – but this does generate additional call-out fees. It can be far more cost-effective for the engineer to rectify the issues, then carry out the re-test immediately afterwards. Provided it now has a clean bill of health, your access platform or lifting equipment will receive its final Report of Thorough Examination. You’re now fully compliant and your powered access equipment is safe to use.
www.iapsgroup.com
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