45
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 2013
ACCESS, LIFT & HANDLERS
THE AUTHOR:
Kevin O’Shea is the director of safety and training at Hydro-Mobile. He has
worked with Mastclimbers LLC, JLG, SGB, Lavendon and Mastclimbers LTD UK
(now Harsco). O’Shea serves as Chairman of IPAF’s North American Council,
Chairman of the SAIA’s MCWP Committee, is a member of the SAIA/OSHA
Alliance Team and has won various awards over the years, including: IPAF
Safety Champion 2009, 2010 and 2013; SAIA Council Chairperson of the Year
2009 and SAIA ‘Coupling Pin’ Award 2010.
Kevin O’Shea
, director of safety and training at Hydro-Mobile, provides a number of
pointers to assist mast climbing work platform equipment owners in managing liability.
O
wners of mast climbing work platforms
are reporting increased utilization almost
without exception, and, while this
obviously is a step in the right direction, it has
other connotations with regard to duty of care,
inspection and repair.
I’ve had a number of equipment owners ask
me about the best way to identify and handle
these issues and here are a few reminders,
suggestions and pointers to assist equipment
owners in managing their liability in these
areas.
Post-Recession Temptation
Many mast climbing work platforms in the
U.S. have not been on a jobsite in the last 3-4
years with most equipment owners reporting
utilization in the teens. In reality this means:
■
A significant percentage of the fleet has gone
without maintenance in years.
■
It has also probably not been inspected in
years.
■
It has probably been robbed of components
to keep running costs down for the small
number of units which are still in use.
■
It might not have been stored properly, it
has almost certainly been stored outside, and
probably not in the best way (e.g. on dunnage
to prevent water damage).
Sadly, the reality is that when things start
As demand increases,
so does your liability
SAFETY OPINION
Equipment must be properly inspected to
avoid accidents like the one above.
To keep equipment
working properly,
make sure a
Qualified Person
inspects it.
