Updated October 31, 2019
The deadline for the Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWPs) safety training and certification has been moved to March 1, 2020.
Members of the A92 Main Committee decided at the 2019 ASC A92 Aerial Work Platforms Annual Meeting, held Oct. 27-30 in Kansas City, Missouri to move the deadline from December 10th, giving everyone in the industry a big sigh of relief.
We called the Scaffold and Access Industry Association (SAIA), which serves as the secretariat for the A92 standards, to confirm the reporting.
According to Lift & Access magazine, “…two appeals, partially approved by ANSI this spring, have resulted in the delays. The appeals, brought by the ARA and Tutus Solutions, opposed the requirements that the Manual of Responsibilities (MOR) must be placed on every MEWP and that modifications or additions to a MEWP must be made only with the permission of the manufacturer. ANSI agreed that those provisions were not in compliance with ANSI’s commercial policy.”
“The Scaffold and Access Industry Association, which serves as the secretariat for the A92 standards, has been working with the appellants, other main committee members, and ANSI to reach an agreement and approval on language changes that the appeals’ decision dictated.”
What does this mean for you? You still need to have your operators and supervisors trained and certified.
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) create standards that govern the use of aerial work platforms. The last big change to these standards was in 2006.
New standards were published on December 10, 2018. According to these new standards, owners and operators must meet the new ANSI training requirements, which include:
- The ability to self-familiarize yourself with any machine that you have not been specifically certified on by reading the operators manual, doing a walk-around inspection, and understanding the limitations of the equipment.
- Documentation of self-familiarization.
- The ability to provide occupant training.
- Rules, regulations, and standards that apply to MEWPs, including operation, safe use, and training.
- Potential hazards associated with the use of MEWPs and how to protect against them.
- Where manufacturer’s operation manuals should be stored and how they should be used.
We have trainers onsite ready to help you. Please call 951-256-2040 today for an appointment. You can attend training at one of our Corona or Escondido locations.
Other changes in the ANSI guidelines require owners and operators to:
- Give more consideration to machine choice
- Participate in extensive planning to determine machines based on application.
- Perform site risk assessments for MEWP operations, including training.
Please contact us today to learn more about training.
