Q: What is required by OSHA for man lifts as far as fall protection?
A: If you’re using scissor lifts a personal fall arrest harness is not needed if all four sides of the lift are protected by guardrails since they fall under OSHA’s scaffolding regulation. If you’re using an extendable boom aerial lift then personal fall protection is required. It’s OSHA’s policy that an employer will be in compliance with OSHA’s fall protection requirements for aerial lifts if one of these three means of fall protection are used:
- Use of a body belt with a tether anchored to the boom or basket (fall restraint system),
- Use of a body harness with a tether (fall restraint system), or
- Use of a body harness with a lanyard (fall arrest system).
If using a fall arrest system you need to be aware of the distance it takes to actually arrest the employees fall. For example, if a 6’ person is using a 6’ lanyard the distance that would be needed to arrest the fall safely without hitting the ground would be around 18 feet. This length is taking into consideration the distance that the lanyard could stretch and a 3’ safety factor that OSHA requires to be added into the total distance.
