# Scissor lifts and fall protection?



## kendal69 (Jun 5, 2010)

Here's OSHA law that has always stumped me. While in a scissor lift you must be in fall protection?

My question is, if the scissor lift tips over you're going down anyway.

One thing about age it makes you move a whole lot slower and hold onto things a lot longer between transitions and makes you double check your footing. This has saved me more time than I can count. I used to fly around like we all have and have half grips on things but nit any more. I grab and white knuckle it then I transition and white knuckle that and so on and on. I've slipped plents but because of my hard grip it saved me from going down.


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## LekoBoy (Jun 5, 2010)

*Re: Electrician falls in West Palm Beach Florida*


kendal69 said:


> Here's OSHA law that has always stumped me. While in a scissor lift you must be in fall protection?
> 
> My question is, if the scissor lift tips over you're going down anyway.


I'm not sure OSHA requires it in a scissor lift, as it's classified as a movable scaffold. Requirements may vary from state to state, and even venue to venue. But here's the thing, in this case the harness and lanyard isn't really to protect you from a fall, it's to keep you in the basket and not climbing on the railings or over-reaching. And forget that notion of "being able to jump to safety" if a lift does go over. Studies have proven the safest place to be is inside the basket.
Fall protection, fall prevention, fall restraint, fall arrest all have slightly different meanings and are often confused.


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## gafftaper (Jun 5, 2010)

*Re: Electrician falls in West Palm Beach Florida*

If I remember right, the OSHA mandate for a fall restraint in a lift kicks in when you get above a certain height level.


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## kendal69 (Jun 5, 2010)

*Re: Electrician falls in West Palm Beach Florida*

Nope - it's an OSHA rule mandated by the Government for all states with no specification to "height'". (ii) Lanyard length should be six feet plus or minus two inches (1.83 m plus or minus 5 cm) as measured from the fixed anchorage to the attachment on the body belt or body harness......For instance, if a six foot (1.8 m) lanyard is used, the total free fall distance will be the distance from the working level to the body belt (or harness) attachment point plus the six feet (1.8 m) of lanyard length. Another important consideration is that the arresting force which the fall system must withstand also goes up with greater distances of free fall, possibly exceeding the strength of the system.
Sure you can all get in a lift with not restraint and argue the rules with the OSHA inspector till the cows come home, but for me when I get on a lift I'm wearing fall protection period..

Section I of appendix C sets out the mandatory criteria for personal fall arrest systems used by all employees using powered platforms, as required by paragraph (j)(1) of this standard. Section II sets out nonmandatory test procedures which may be used to determine compliance with applicable requirements contained in section I of this appendix. Section III provides nonmandatory guidelines which are intended to assist employers in complying with these provisions.

I. "Personal fall arrest systems" - (a) "Scope and application." This section establishes the application of and performance criteria for personal fall arrest systems which are required for use by all employees using powered platforms under paragraph 1910.66(j).

Personal Fall Arrest System (Section I - Mandatory; Sections II and III - Non-Mandatory) - 1910.66 App C


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## gafftaper (Jun 5, 2010)

*Re: Electrician falls in West Palm Beach Florida*

Which is interesting because most fall arrest systems require nearly 20 feet to safely stop your fall. I looked at standard fall arrest systems for my theater. With a 17' fall to the deck, I determined in most cases I would hit the floor about the same time as the lanyard decided to slow me down.


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## Pie4Weebl (Jun 6, 2010)

*Re: Electrician falls in West Palm Beach Florida*

I was told by my employer's safety boss that any sort of articulating boom lift requires you to be tied off while any scissor platform does not.


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## MNicolai (Jun 6, 2010)

*Re: Electrician falls in West Palm Beach Florida*

My understanding for the school district I work with is that OSHA says you don't need a harness to be in a scissor lift until you step onto the railing or lean over the side. (Also, scissor lifts are not regulated as aerial lifts, but instead as mobile scaffolds.) At that point, you need to be wearing fall restraint gear. This is not to be confused with fall arrest, because if you fall out of the lift, then a fall arrest harness will likely cause the lift to fall over onto you and crush you just after you hit the ground, presuming you were even high enough in the air for the lanyard to catch your fall. The fall restraint harness is there to keep you from ever falling in the first place.




Fall restraint means you cannot physically get to a point where you will fall.


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## jwl868 (Jun 6, 2010)

*Re: Electrician falls in West Palm Beach Florida*

The OSHA reference that discusses the distinction between scissors lifts and other lifts can be found here:

02/23/2000 - Fall protection, training, inspection and design requirements of aerial lifts and scissor lifts/scaffolds.

Joe


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## kendal69 (Jun 7, 2010)

yep - still my understanding, Tomato Tomauto one still needs to be in a harness on a scissor lift/mobile scaffold.


Tie-off requirements for equipment covered by the other scaffold provisions (§1926.451, 1926.452, 1926.454)
As discussed above, scissors lifts are covered by the non-aerial lift portions of the scaffold standard. Therefore, §1926.451(g) applies, which requires that employees on a scaffold more than 10 feet above a lower level must be protected from falling by restraint systems, fall arrest systems, or guardrails (Note: the standard mandates guardrails for some types of scaffolds). Tying-off is not required where protection is afforded by guardrails.

I doubt that state would be more forgiving than Federal laws on this? 

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> ...most fall arrest systems require nearly 20 feet to safely stop your fall.



You're looking at the wrong equipment. check these out they have INSTANT locking when a fall occurs. Heck a rope tied around your waste is better than NOTHING!

RTC Fall Protection Products


I certainly hope I'm not reading here how to skirt current laws or ways to find a loop hole on why NOT to use safety gear. If I am than more people here will end up like the guy in Nevada.

In my opinion I don't count on anyone for my safety. I don't count on anyone to supply me with safety gear. I purchase my own belts, gloves, helmets, goggles, masks, and rigging equipment. I don't want some Chinese shackles supplied by someone else without me knowing the history of that shackle of safety gear - NO THANKS.

Saying " my employer didn't supply the lanyard so I just went up on the scaffold and walked around AND FELL.

Listen people are free to do as you wish and everyone can save a great deal of money not buying safety gear, but I do know it takes a long time for a broken leg to heal with no hope of working so that's a loss of a lot more than the safety gear cost.

Enough preaching but I want everyone here to go home safe every night and if me beating you over the head does that than I'm guilty as charger.

You young Bucks please take heed, I was a young buck and the only way I got to be an old buck was playing it safe. You are not immortal.


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## MNicolai (Jun 7, 2010)

kendal69 said:


> yep - still my understanding, Tomato Tomauto one still needs to be in a harness on a scissor lift/mobile scaffold.



Not necessarily; if a person uses a scissor lift with properly maintained guardrails, then they need not use a harness provided their body does not exit the bounds of the platform. If they are leaning over the railing, standing on the toeboards, or otherwise extending themselves beyond the safety of the railings, they then are required to put on appropriate fall protection.

So if you focus lights from a scissor lift and focus such that the lights are above you and the platform as you adjust them, no harness is required. If you focus such that your torso is at a similar height to the lights and you reach out beyond the railing to adjust the fixtures, then you may need to be using appropriate fall protection depending on how far you lean over the railing.

My general rule of thumb is if I must stand on the toeboards or have to lean so far over the railing so to have my torso directly above the railing, then I will use a harness. If I only need to extend my arms out over the railing, then the railing will still act to prevent me from falling. However, if I need to extend my torso above or beyond the guardrail, then the guardrail is no longer suitable in and of itself to provide fall protection for me.

On a somewhat related note, scissor lifts equipped with platform extensions are often not used properly. People will extend the platforms out, and without thinking about it, stand on the extension (in the extended position) while driving the lift. This is not permitted by OSHA reg 1926.452(w)(6), which stipulates that to move a mobile scaffold, no employee may be on any part of the scaffold which extends outward beyond the wheels, casters, or other supports.


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## jwl868 (Jun 7, 2010)

kendal69 said:


> I doubt that state would be more forgiving than Federal laws on this?



I didn’t have time to find the regulatory citation, but from the State Programs portion of the US OSHA website:

‘…States must set job safety and health standards that are "at least as effective as" comparable federal standards. (Most States adopt standards identical to federal ones.)’

(See Frequently Asked Questions about State Occupational Safety and Health Plans)

Joe


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