OSHA requires that when working on an aerial lift, workers must wear fall protection in the form of either a body belt or a body harness with a lanyard attached to the boom or basket of the lift. This fall protection system serves as a personal fall arrest or travel restraint system to prevent workers from falling out of the lift platform. Key points on OSHA fall protection for aerial lifts:
- OSHA regulation 29 CFR 1910.67(c)(2)(v) for general industry and 29 CFR 1926.502(d) for construction requires a personal fall arrest or travel restraint system.
- Workers must wear a body belt or body harness with a lanyard attached to the boom or basket while working from an aerial lift.
- The purpose of the system is fall restraint to keep workers from being ejected or falling out of the lift, not necessarily fall arrest for rescuing after a fall.
- The anchor point must be the boom or basket, and the lanyard used should be a short tether that prevents climbing out or falling.
- This fall protection is mandatory regardless of height, including at ground level while operating a boom lift.
- Aerial lifts have guardrails, and workers must stand firmly on the platform floor without climbing on guardrails.
In summary, OSHA requires workers on aerial lifts to wear a body belt or harness with a securely anchored lanyard as fall protection to prevent falls and ejections from the lift platform.
