Stability of a Mast Climbing Work Platform During Fall Arrest

Details

• Personal Author:
  Hause M ; Lutz T ; Pan, Christopher S. ; Wimer B
• Description:
  Mast climbing work platforms (MCWPs)-mast climbers-are a type of elevating construction equipment with a powered drive unit that propels a work platform up and down a vertical mast structure. MCWPs are being used more frequently in the United States and are a potentially safe and configurable alternative to traditional tube-and-coupler or system scaffolding. An estimated 22,000 MCWPs are in use in the United States [O'Shea, February 2014], with roughly 70% of those being used daily. Freestanding variations of MCWPs offer mobility and can readily be moved around job sites. These non-anchored MCWPs can be assembled to a working height of up to 45 feet, but under OSHA regulation (1926.451 (g) (1) (vii)), it is only necessary to wear a fall-arrest protection system when an open edge is present. This presents a safety concern for fall exposure. A National Occupational Research Agenda feasibility study investigated the stability of a freestanding, 45-foot mast climber during a fall-arrest condition. A Fraco ACT8 mast climber was erected in its largest freestanding configuration (45 feet tall with 30-foot-long platforms on each side of the mast). A fall-arrest condition was created by dropping an Advanced Dynamic Anthropometric Manikin under three test conditions representing common exposures. Arresting force at the anchor point and platform displacement in the vertical direction were measured. The maximum arrest force under the test conditions was well within the ANSI Z359.1-2007 standard. The maximum initial vertical platform displacement occurred on the unloaded platform condition and was recorded to be 4 inches over an approximate 0.3-second time frame. During each of these tests, the overall stability of the MCWP remained intact. It was noted that if the outriggers were not properly placed according to the manufacturer's recommendation, then the unit could become unstable. Additionally, due to platform movement during the fall-arrest condition, a worker could be exposed to fall hazards if not properly secured. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Construction Industry Occupational Health Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Workplace
• Keywords:
  Construction-equipment Equipment Reliability Equipment Testing Exposure-levels Fall-protection Risk-factors Work-environment Workers
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research ; PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  72
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20047365
• Citation:
  National Occupational Injury Research Symposium 2015, (NOIRS 2015), May 19-21, 2015, Kingwood, West Virginia. Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2015 May; :72
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5c4fa2c15b80f58893f6a67a5b6aa829b2d495bebe464e8094a9e1d74e6967109dfa11103ac7decdcee70c4fe3acf8bef3bfb9f1daf76f59447342a1ac9d09bb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228228/cdc_228228_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.16 MB ]