Following the death of a worker on April 29 in West Melbourne, WorkSafe has issued a safety alert to remind employers that safe systems of work must be in place for the delivery and collection of EWPs as well as for the EWP planned tasks.
The April fatality occurred when the employee was trying to load the scissor-lift EWP onto a tilt-tray truck in West Melbourne. The EWP fell from the rear of the vehicle and the force ejected the employee from the EWP. The employee received serious head injuries and died in hospital.
EWP safety breaches regularly appear in the courts, with an example below in today’s SafetyNet article Third fine for fruit cannery fall, and there have been a number of similar serious incidents reported involving the delivery and collection of EWPs.
There are five key risks associated with the delivery and collection of EWPs – each of these risks could lead to death or serious injury:
- overturning during movement
- uncontrolled movement due to freewheeling
- slipping due to low friction
- operating outside of the manufacturer’s instructions
- poor understanding of how to operate the EWP
When your employer requires an EWP for a work task, check that the process of delivering and collecting the EWP to and from the work site is included in their safe systems of work. Thorough risk assessment and risk management processes can eliminate or reduce risks during the unloading and loading of EWPs.
WorkSafe has identified seven key points for a safe system of work for delivery and collection of EWPs:
- Transport EWPs on a drop-deck trailer, or low loader, rather than a tilt-tray truck, if practicable.
- Ensure transport operators are trained and competent to operate the EWP.
- Ensure transport operators are trained and competent in the EWP manufacturer’s instructions. This includes instructions in operation, emergency devices, loading and unloading, disengaging the drive motor if required, and tie-down processes.
- Ensure the EWP is loaded and unloaded in line with the manufacturer’s instructions.
- Ensure the correct method is used for loading the EWP onto the specific transport. Methods include, for example – drive on/off, freewheel and winch, drive and winch on/off, direct crane lift on/off.
- Ensure transport operators have the appropriate licences. This includes a licence to perform high-risk work and a driver's licence.
- Ensure that the braked wheels of the EWP are always in contact with the ground or bed of the truck to prevent unplanned freewheeling.
Working alone was also identified as a contributing factor in the April fatality. Avoid working alone when loading or unloading EWPs, for example:
- use a safety observer, and/or
- use substitute equipment, such as a crane, which requires multiple people
For further guidance on the safe use of EWPs WorkSafe publishes the Elevating Work Platforms industry standard (Edition 4). This industry standard covers common EWP hazards, inspection and maintenance requirements, emergency procedures and safety guidance around several common work tasks completed using EWPs – for example:
- installing overhead pipework or duct work
- painting, welding, grinding
- welding and hot works
- installing large panels
- working and travelling on inclines
Employers have specific duties under the OHS Regulations to prevent involuntary falls from more than two metres in the workplace – extra vigilance is required to ensure that the risk of falls is not simply replaced with a risk arising from unsafe EWP use.
Read more: Employee dies in elevated work platform incident | WorkSafe Victoria