Operating safely at height — IPAF MEWP Operator Practice

Sample questions

1. 01During familiarisation on a new boom, the trainer explains how the emergency stops relate to the normal stop controls. What does PUWER reg 16 require?

   • AThey operate in priority to the normal stops
   • BThey are needed only at the platform controls
   • CThe normal stops always take priority over them
   • DThey may be switched off while the boom travels

   Why: PUWER reg 16 requires readily accessible emergency stop controls where appropriate, and says they must operate in priority to the normal stop controls. Thinking the normal stops win is the tempting reversal of the rule. A MEWP normally has an emergency stop at the platform and one at the base, and HSE’s construction guidance asks for a ground-level stop for a carrier trapped against a structure, so platform-only is wrong. An emergency stop is never switched off.

2. 02A van-mounted boom will not let the platform rise, and the display shows the outriggers are not set. A colleague suggests bridging the interlock to save time. What is right?

   • ABridge it, as long as the ground is firm and level
   • BBridge it, if the platform only goes a short way up
   • CHold the override and raise the platform slowly
   • DSet the outriggers properly; never work round it

   Why: Many machines have interlocks that stop the platform rising until the outriggers are set, and HSE’s MEWP page says outriggers must be extended and chocked before the platform is raised. These devices are there to prevent an overturn, so you fix the cause rather than work round it. Firm ground is the tempting reason to bridge it, but the outriggers are what keep the machine stable as it goes up, and a short lift or a held override defeats the device just the same.

3. 03A large boom on your job is the model involved in an HSE alert after one overturned near full height. What did HSE say about its stability sensors?

   • AChecked only at each thorough examination
   • BSet by the operator to suit each job
   • CSwitched off when working on level ground
   • DKept to the manufacturer’s settings

   Why: The HSE alert issued after a large boom overturned said the machine’s safety devices and sensors must be configured to the manufacturer’s settings, and that recalibration is outside routine pre-delivery or operator checks and should only be done by someone competent. Setting them to suit the job is the tempting operator shortcut the alert rules out. Sensors are never switched off, and HSE recommended confirmatory calibration checks rather than leaving it to the periodic examination.