Secondary guarding devices: caution urged
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a safety alert advising that “covers/shrouds on machine controls do not protect against entrapment of operators between the machine and nearby obstructions”.
In addition, it has advised duty holders to familiarize themselves with two industry guidance documents: the Strategic Forum for Construction Plant Safety Group’s Best Practice Guidance for MEWPs: Avoiding Trapping/Crushing Injuries to People in the Platform and IPAF’s Guidance on Secondary Guarding Devices.
The alert follows the HSE’s review of seven fatal accidents involving MEWPS, in which the operators were crushed. In five of the accidents, the operator was crushed between an overhead obstruction and a cover/shroud fitted over the controls of the machine.
