EWPA launches Good Practice Guide
After months of meticulous work, the Elevating Work Platform Association (EWPA) is pleased to announce the release of their GOOD PRACTICE GUIDE for Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs).
When used correctly, MEWPs provide a safe way to perform work at height. However, people have been seriously injured and killed due to:
- not fully assessing the hazards and risks of the job, site and the equipment
- not following the manufacturer’s recommendations
- inadequate training and supervision equipment failure
As part of its mandate to promote safe use of MEWPs, the EWPA’s guide is an essential document for working at height and is being made freely available to the general public as an online resource containing the latest body of knowledge for these machines.
This guide outlines the safe work practices on how to operate and maintain MEWPs safely and help duty holders meet their obligations under the Work (Occupational) Health and Safety Acts and Regulations in each region of Australia. Duty holders include employers, employees, principals, designers and manufacturers, hirers and suppliers engaged in work associated with MEWPs.
James Oxenham the CEO of the EWPA said “The EWPA is committed to promoting the safe use of MEWPs. The Good Practice Guide has been developed to consolidate guidance notices and other safety information that has been produced by the EWPA, providing one central document that outlines the safe work practices on how to use and maintain MEWPs.”
The advice in this Good Practice Guide represents the current state of knowledge (the best available at the time of publication) on the safe design, use and maintenance of MEWPs that are common across a broad range of industries and applications. To ensure that the latest, most relevant information is available at a given time, the guide will be reviewed and revised regularly by the EWPA and its Technical and Training sub committees.
The Good Practice Guide refers additional guidance material about MEWP safety and hazard control measures.; including industry standards, codes of practice, guidelines, manufacturers’ instructions and other material.
For more information or to view the EWPA Good Practice Guide visit the EWPA website.
