ACCESS in ACTION
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ACTION | FEBRUARY 2014
GUIDANCE NOTICE
EWPA Technical Bulletin
28 September 2012
MEWP Controls – Design and
Modification
In recent months there have been
two incidents involving unintentional
operation of upper control box joystick
controllers on scissor lifts.
In an attempt to prevent a reoccurrence,
End Users have been requesting the
Manufacturer’s Original Design be
modified eg: by fitting additional
guarding.
As a result, Owners are sometimes
modifying their equipment to comply with
such requests.
The Association is concerned that such
modifications have not been authorised
by the equipment manufacturer; are
sometimes of an ad-hoc nature and
may not fully address the risk; and may
introduce new hazards as a result. (Fig 1.)
Any person(s) who modifies an MEWP
will take on the obligations of a Designer
and/or Manufacturer in accordance with
Workplace Health and Safety Regulations.
Further, such modification(s) may
constitute an alteration to the design and
require a re-submission of engineering
documentation from the Manufacturer
as well as formal notification to the
respective Workcover Authority as an
alteration to Registered Plant Design.
Other Information:
In 2011, a new version of AS1418.10
was released and requires all control
devices to be protected against activation
other than that initiated by the operator.
Further, if a ‘deadman’ device (trigger or
button,etc) is integral with the motion
control the standard requires the deadman
device to be protected against inadvertent
actuation.
Some pre 2011 MEWPs may lack
guarding (or have insufficient guarding) to
minimise the likelihood of unintentional
movement. The Association understands
End Users and Owners are seeking a
timely resolution to protection of controls,
Reissuing of Guidance Note on EWP controls
and the Association would endeavour to
encourage the same.
However appropriate solutions may take
some time to develop and as an interim
measure, it may be possible for alternative
risk controls to be implemented.
EWPA Recommendations:
The Elevating Work Platform Association
recommends the following:
1. End User Responsibilities:
i. MEWPs should only be used for the
purpose they are designed for and
should not be modified in any way.
ii. End users should advise Owners of any
identified risks arising from the use
of plant that are not managed by the
original design.
iii. End users should consider implementing
self-managed interim risk control
measures which do not alter the design
of the MEWP (while appropriate
solutions are being developed).
In the case of scissor lifts where
unintentional operation of upper control
box joystick controllers is possible, End
Users should consider the following when
the Scissor lift is not in use:
• Activating the Emergency Stop Button
before working from the platform
• Switching off the engine
2. Owner’s Responsibilities:
i. Owners should review all new
information regarding the use of the
equipment they own.
ii. Should advise Designers and/or
Manufacturers of any identified risks
arising from the use of plant not
managed by the original design.
iii. In the case of upper control box joystick
controllers on scissor lifts, Owners
should consider the original design
and identify if the risk of unintentional
operation is managed.
Unintentional operation may be caused by:
• Operator inadvertently leaning on the
joystick controller and activating the
‘Deadman’ device and joystick controller
• Hoses, leads or other objects etc
contacting the joystick and activating
both the ‘Deadman’ device and the
joystick controller
Management of unintentional operation
may include:
• Guarding
• Drive and lift functions disabled after
nominated ‘inactivity timeout’ period
• Design of ‘Deadman’ device or control
logic to preclude simultaneous activation
Where unintentional operation is
possible (or where Owners are not sure),
Owners must not make any changes to the
design of MEWP’s but should instead seek
advice and assistance from Manufacturers.
3. Designers’ or Manufacturers’ (or their
Representatives’) Responsibilities:
i. Should review all new information
regarding the use of their original design
and as necessary revise control measures:
• When an existing control measure
has been identified as ineffective in
controlling the risk
• If a new hazard or risk is identified
• If the results of consultation indicate that
a review is necessary
ii. Manufacturers should advise owners of:
• Estimated time required for review of
new information
• Estimated time for redesign(if necessary)
• Instructions for conducting retrofit and
associated costs
HR
Fig 1: Unauthorised ‘Adhoc’ guard (arrowed)
welded above manufacturer’s original guard may
cause scissor lift to become unstable if hoses,
leads etc become snagged on it
The EWPA has reissued a Guidance Note from September 2012 regarding a safety issue and EWP Controls and is warning all EWP
owners and operators to keep an eye out for this potential hazard and take action to eliminate this issue.
Phil Newby, EWPA Executive Director said: “About a year ago there were some major concerns from a number of sites regarding the
issue of correctly designed controller box guards.
“With the support of the supplier and manufacture members this problem was identified and solutions put in place. This covered
the identified hazard of no effective protection against inadvertent/accidental operation of the joy-stick.
“It appears there are still a number of EWPs that have yet to have this hazard fixed,” Phil said.
The EWPA advises all rental fleet and end user owners ensure their EWPs have eliminated this issue. Or to forward this reminder
to EWP owners with this problem. Further information and how manufacturers can help is available on the EWPA webpage under
Resources
). The original Guidance Note from September 2012 is featured here as a reminder.
