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Vehicle-mounted aerial devices such as extensible boom platforms (i.e., bucket trucks), aerial ladders, articulating boom platforms, and vertical towers are utilized in a variety of industries to safely perform job tasks at heights greater than the reach of ladders. As a result, aerial lifts are commonly found on jobsites and parked along roadsides to aid workers in completing job tasks in the power line, construction, utility, telecommunication, and transportation industries. Although this type of equipment may be easy to operate and provides a safe means of access to heights, if proper work practices are not followed workers can become injured.
OSHA regulates aerial lifts, including bucket trucks, at 1926.453 for construction work, which is defined as work for construction, alteration, and/or repair, including painting and decorating. For general industry work, aerial lifts are regulated at 1910.67. Both standards reference specific American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and Scaffold Industry Association regulations, which employers follow.
Since many workers are injured or killed on aerial lifts each year, it is important for employers and workers to recognize and avoid safety hazards they may encounter when they use aerial lifts.
OSHA has identified the following hazards, among others, that can lead to personal injury or death:
- Fall from elevated level,
- Objects falling from lifts,
- Tip-overs,
- Ejections from the lift platform,
- Structural failures (collapses),
- Electric shock (electrocutions),
- Entanglement hazards,
- Contact with objects, and
- Contact with ceilings and other overhead objects.
Scope
Covers employees operating aerial lifts.
Regulatory citations
- 29 CFR 1926.453 — Aerial lifts
- 29 CFR 1910.67 — Vehicle-mounted elevating and rotating work platforms
Key definitions
- Aerial lift: Any vehicle-mounted device, telescoping or articulating, or both, which is used to position personnel.
- Articulating boom platform: An aerial device with two or more hinged boom sections.
- Extensible boom platform: An aerial device (except ladders) with a telescopic or extensible boom. Telescopic derricks with personnel platform attachments shall be considered to be extensible boom platforms when used with a personnel platform.
Summary of requirements
Before operating an aerial lift:
Pre-start inspection. Prior to each work shift, conduct a pre-start inspection to verify that the equipment and all its components are in safe operating condition.
Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations and include a check of:
Vehicle components
- Proper fluid levels (oil, hydraulic, fuel and coolant);
- Leaks of fluids;
- Wheels and tires;
- Battery and charger;
- Lower-level controls;
- Horn, gauges, lights and backup alarms;
- Steering and brakes.
Lift components
- Operating and emergency controls;
- Personal protective devices;
- Hydraulic, air, pneumatic, fuel and electrical systems;
- Fiberglass and other insulating components;
- Missing or unreadable placards, warnings, or operational, instructional and control markings;
- Mechanical fasteners and locking pins;
- Cable and wiring harnesses;
- Outriggers, stabilizers and other structures;
- Loose or missing parts;
- Guardrail systems.
Do not operate any aerial lift if any of these components are defective until it is repaired by a qualified person. Remove defective aerial lifts from service (tag out) until repairs are made.
Work zone inspections. Employers must assure that work zones are inspected for hazards and take corrective actions to eliminate such hazards before and during operation of an aerial lift. Items to look for include:
- Drop-offs, holes, or unstable surfaces such as loose dirt;
- Inadequate ceiling heights;
- Slopes, ditches, or bumps;
- Debris and floor obstructions;
- Overhead electric power lines and communication cables;
- Other overhead obstructions;
- Other hazardous locations and atmospheres;
- High wind and other severe weather conditions, such as ice; and
- The presence of others in close proximity to the work.