Fall protection

Safe use of aerial work platform equipment.

By Matthew Davis

A new educational document on personal fall protection for users of aerial work platform (AWP) equipment is now available as a free download from participating organizations’ websites.

The document—Statement of Best Practices of Personal Fall Protection Systems for Aerial Work Platform Equipment—is intended to:

• Educate the industry on applicable OSHA regulations and the industry-supported ANSI standards
• Provide information to assist users and operators during their selection process to identify the most appropriate personal fall protection system for their job functions while operating AWP equipment
• Inform the user and operator how to recognize and guard against the potential fall hazards associated with AWP equipment
• Encourage the incorporation of best practices for personal fall protection with AWP equipment into a company’s fall protection plans

The American Rental Association (ARA), the Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM), the Associated Equipment Distributors (AED), the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) and the Scaffold Industry Association (SIA) joined forces to develop the document.