Platform Lift Safety: OSHA Guidelines & Best Practices

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) identifies construction as being a highly hazardous industry. Platforms are used in construction to enable workers to perform their jobs within scaffolding systems. Safety procedures must be employed to secure workers while working from such heights.

Support

• According to the OSHA, platforms must be supported by wire ropes or cables and suspended by overhead outrigger beams. Two-point suspension scaffolds hold platform lifts in place so that they do not swing.

Access and Egress

• Workers must have safe access to the platforms lifts, as well as a safe means of egress. Ladders and ramps can be attached to platforms to provide workers with a way up and down.

Fall Arrest Systems

• Falling from a platform lift can result in a fatality, so preventing falls through fall arrest systems are required by the OSHA. When workers are atop platforms, they must wear safety harnesses. Additionally, guardrail protection is required for platforms that are over 10 feet above ground, or above the previous surface.

Planks

• Platforms must be laid next to one another as tightly as possible, with the edges close together. Gaps in the platform can create instability, which endangers workers.