What Are Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPS) In Construction?
What Are Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPS) In Construction?
Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs) are machines and devices used to move persons, tools, and materials to work positions.
They come in various shapes and sizes to suit different needs, including static vertical platforms such as scissors lifts and static booms, as well as self-propelled booms, trailer-mounted booms, vertical personnel platforms, and push-around vertical lifts.
When choosing a MEWP, it is important to consider the specific needs of the project. MEWPs are designed to safely raise people and equipment to work positions where they can carry out maintenance, construction, or cleaning tasks.
They must be operated according to the manufacturer’s instructions and safety guidelines, including standing firmly on the floor of the MEWP rather than sitting or climbing on guardrails or using planks, ladders, or other devices for a work position.
Only MEWPs with manufacturer-installed platform controls for horizontal movement may be moved while in the elevated position.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has published two standards related to MEWPs:
ANSI A92.22 Safe Use of Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs) and ANSI A92.24 Training Requirements for the Use, Operation, Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance of Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs). These standards provide guidance on how to use MEWPs safely.
What Are Examples Of MEWP?
Examples of MEWPs include aerial platforms, vertical lifts, powered access, spider lifts, cherry pickers, scissor lifts, aerial work platforms, boom lifts, and push-around vertical platforms (PAVs).
PAVs are ideal for indoor low-level access making them suitable for use in retail shops, offices, and public buildings. Mast lifts are a small type of cherry picker with boom lift operation, while scissor lifts are large mobile vertical lifts that are ideal for use in a variety of applications.
What Are The 2 Basic Types Of MEWP?
Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs) are powered access machines used in a variety of construction and warehousing sectors. There are two basic types of MEWPs: boom (cherry pickers) and vertical (scissor lifts). Boom lifts have two types of operation, static or mobile.
Vertical lifts can also be static or mobile and can have a telescopic mast. The aerial work platform industry is further divided into two distinct classifications:
Group A and Group B. Group A MEWPs are dominated by scissor lifts, which move vertically but stay inside the tipping lines, while Group B MEWPs typically consist of boom-type MEWPs. Both boom and scissor lifts require safety training to be operated on the jobsite.
What Is The OSHA Requirement For A Mobile Platform?
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard 1910.23(e), mobile ladder stands and platforms must have a step width of at least 16 inches (41 cm).
Additionally, the maximum work-surface height of mobile ladder stands and platforms must not exceed four times the shortest base dimension without additional support.
Furthermore, the steps of mobile ladder stand platforms must meet the requirements of paragraph (e)(2)(i) of this section.
Rolling ladders with a platform height of 4-10 feet (1.2-3 m) must have handrails with a vertical height of at least 36 inches (91 cm) and midrails in the platform area.
Finally, all ladder stand platforms with a platform height above 10 feet (3 m) must have guardrails and toeboards on the exposed sides and ends of the platform.
