Good Practice Guidance for Reducing Trapping/Crushing Injuries to People in MEWPs has been published by the Construction Industry Plant Safety Group (CIPSG), chaired by the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) and administered and supported by the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF).
The guide has been updated due to the prevalence of entrapment incidents logged by equipment users on IPAF’s anonymous incident reporting portal. Typically in such incidents, someone working in a mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) becomes trapped between a rising basket and roof beam or steelwork in a blind spot overhead.
MEWPs are broadly acknowledged to be one of the safest and most efficient means of enabling temporary work at height but between 2016 and 2020, incidents entered into the IPAF reporting portal catalogued the deaths of 73 people in 15 countries in entrapment incidents. Entrapment injuries to persons in the MEWP platform are usually serious and often fatal.
The 22-page document sets out to inform people about the measures that can be used to reduce the risk of entrapment incidents, with guidance on planning, risk assessment, machine selection, operator training, familiarisation and rescue.
The original version of the guidance was published in 2010. Added content reflects and builds on findings from Health & Safety Executive research published last year (HSE RR1180:2022), which examined the effectiveness of secondary guarding when used in a range of entrapment scenarios.
Kevin Minton, chair of the Construction Industry Plant Safety Group for MEWPs, said: “The guidance will be a vital reference tool for MEWP hire companies, customers, operators and manufacturers. Presented in easily digestible sections, it is aimed at those using and supervising MEWPs, and those responsible for rescuing entrapped people, as well as anyone involved in planning and risk assessing work with MEWPs, specifying equipment, managing the work or organising training. We anticipate it will prove to be a useful training tool as it has been designed to be used in briefings or toolbox talks for supervisors and MEWP operators.”
IPAF head of safety & technical Brian Parker added: “This updated guidance has taken a while to develop, but it was much-needed, as data gathered via IPAF’s reporting portal (www.ipafaccidentreporting.org) shows that entrapment is consistently one of the top five causes of serious injuries and deaths when using MEWPs.
“Much work and cross-industry consultation has gone into this document to ensure it is thorough, comprehensive, clear and concise. The powered access industry has advanced significantly over the past five to 10 years, with technological advancements driving secondary guarding devices, and machine capabilities and complexities. Meanwhile, the breadth of industry end applications has developed considerably over that period.
“We feel this new guidance document adequately encompasses all of these changes and provides an important point of reference to aid in minimising entrapment risks for all those planning, executing and supervising work at height using MEWPs. We are very pleased to see it published for users to read and download free of charge.”
Good Practice Guidance for Reducing Trapping/Crushing Injuries to People in MEWPs is available from www.cpa.uk.net/safety-and-technical-publications/plant-safety-group and www.ipaf.org/resources.
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