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Responsibilities
Regarding Service
You may own or rent the scissor lift you use for your work. Owning adds other
levels of responsibility. As owner, you have the responsibility to maintain a
copy of the operating, maintenance, repair and parts manuals. You are required
to maintain, inspect and repair the equipment in accordance with the
manufacturer’s recommendations. Frequent inspections must be performed every
three months or 150 hours of use, whichever comes first. An annual inspection
must be completed no later than 13 months from the date of the prior annual
inspection. The inspection must be performed by a person qualified as a
mechanic on the specific make and model of the aerial lift or one having
similar design characteristics. The owner shall train their maintenance
personnel in the inspection and maintenance in accordance with the
manufacturer’s recommendations.
Use by Others
As an owner, if you rent or provide the lift for any form of beneficial use
(loan/borrow by others), you are required to perform a pre-delivery preparation
(inspect and adjust). You are required to familiarize the person designated by
the receiving entity that the manuals for the machine are in place, to review
the control functions and safety devices for the specific model being delivered.
The owner is also responsible to assist the user and operators relating to
rated capacity, intended use, maintenance, repair inspection, or operation of
the aerial lift. You can’t just give someone the key to your machine and walk
away.
Familiarization
Familiarization upon delivery is not training, rather the information regarding
the control functions and safety devices for the aerial platform to a qualified
person or operator who controls the movement of the lift. This information must
be conveyed to any trained operator prior to their use of the aerial lift. Each
machine may have unique control functions and operations and unique safety
devices. This information enables a trained operator to recognize how to safely
operate that specific machine. (See Familiarization Technical Guidance AWPTF1
at
awpt.org.)
Operator Training
When an owner directs or authorizes an employee to operate an aerial platform
(loading, unloading, inspecting, or any form of use) the owner shall ensure
that the person has been trained, familiarized and made aware of the
responsibilities of an operator as outlined in the ANSI standards. This
requirement exists whenever an employer directs or authorizes an employee to
operate an aerial lift, regardless if the aerial lift is
owned-rented-leased-etc. Training is defined as the instructions to enable a
trainee to become a qualified person regarding the task to be performed,
including knowledge regarding potential hazards. It is unrealistic to expect
training to take place when a lift is delivered to a job
site.
Still on the topic of training, if you are renting equipment you take the title
user as defined by ANSI. Whether you are an owner or a user, you are required
to train and familiarize the operator on the specific unit being operated and
additionally retrained, if necessary, based on the user’s observation and
evaluation of the operator. This is an important responsibility of a user
(employer).
The ANSI standard states the user shall monitor the performance and supervise
their work to ensure the use, application, and operation of the aerial lift is
in conformance with the standard, and to warn against hazards, provide means to
protect against the hazards and explain the potential consequences of not
following proper operating guidelines. ANSI defines 37 issues and subjects that
need to be included in those instructions and guidelines, such as fall
protection, slope and grade, distribution of load, etc.
When a rental company delivers an aerial lift, they are required to provide the
familiarization to the person designated by the receiving party. The intent is
to have either a qualified person or the operator of that lift be the one
assigned to receive this information. If a qualified person receives the
information, they can convey the information to the assigned operator of the
lift. If for some reason, you do not accept the familiarization at point of
delivery, you are still responsible to ensure anyone that you direct or
authorize to operate the lift is both trained and familiarized. Do not take
lightly the responsibility of providing familiarization to trained operators.
Prestart Inspection
As an entity that has care, custody and control of an aerial lift, you are
required to perform a prestart inspection before use each day or at the
beginning of each shift. This is a visual inspection and function test that
includes 10 specific items listed in the ANSI standard. It includes items from
the operating and safety controls to all items specified by the lift’s
manufacturer.
Record Retention
Regardless of whether you own or rent an aerial lift, required records must be
maintained for four years. Required records include names of individuals
trained, retrained and familiarized and the name of trainer(s), clear
identification of training covered, date of training, written records of
frequent and annual inspections and repairs, and pre-delivery preparation.
All aerial lifts are safe and effective tools to assist when working at
heights. The responsibilities above summarize some of the specific requirements
defined in the ANSI standard. You will need to review the document to be fully
aware of all the requirements in the standard for the safety of all. An
analysis of the changes made to the ANSI standards in 2006 can be found at
AWPT’s Web site (
awpt.org). W&C
