Scissor lifts are some of the most used equipments in construction areas and large warehouses. They are used to transport large items that are simply too heavy to carry on ones own. There are different types and each one are designed to haul different things and for different purposes.
No matter what they are used for OSHA has made it clear that anyone who uses them must be thoroughly trained and be wearing the proper fall protection gear. OSHA – Occupational Safety & Health Administration – is a branch of the U.S. Department of Labor. It is their job to make sure that employers provide a safe environment for people to work in.
Part of their job is to design fall protection requirements that must be abided by. The regulation stated that when someone is on an elevated scissor lift they must set up the guard rail system. This is what will prevent them from falling off. The worker must also be wearing a fall restraint harness.
Although the harness is helpful and OSHA believes it will help – some manufacturers do not advise it. The problem with the harness is that there is no anchor point which the harness can attach to. Some would argue that the guard rail would serve this purpose – but this is prohibited by OSHA and would violate their law.
OSHA believes that to attach the harness to the guard rail would prove fatal because it would cause the whole lift to fall over. If this should happen the worker who fell and anyone close to it could be injured. For now manufacturers are designing a new anchor point for the harness. However, many models still do not have it. Because of this OSHA will not always penalize anyone who does not wear one.