Preparation

Regardless of an operator’s experience level, an ideal work environment, and spectacularly maintained equipment, an operator cannot simply “hop on a MEWP” and get working immediately.

There are some extremely important pre-operational tasks that must be completed prior to operating the equipment. Basically, there needs to be some planning and preparation before jumping on the equipment.

Operators must be competent in this area, therefore, it’s a very important part of an operator’s practical evaluation.

Here are some pre-operation tasks that you’ll be evaluating. And remember, this is just a guideline.

Depending on your company, the worksite you’re on, and the specific equipment you’ll be using, your preparation and planning might have additional things that must be completed.

Risk Assessment

As discussed in the fundamentals course, it’s important that operators conduct a risk assessment prior to operating their MEWP.

Risk assessments help to identify risks that an operator may encounter while driving the MEWP and performing their jobs functions. It also helps them to determine what safety measures are required to be implemented to reduce the risk of an incident occurring.

Evaluating your operator’s ability to conduct a risk assessment should be one of the first things that are covered during a practical evaluation. This will help to set the tone for the entire evaluation and get the operator thinking about risk reduction that should carry through the entire time they’re operating the equipment.

The extent and details of a risk assessment will depend on the workplace that your trainee is operating in.

While we encourage you to develop a risk assessment program, guidelines, and form that’s specific to your workplace, we’ve included a form and guidelines in this program for you to use and modify as you see fit.

MEWP Selection

If you have more than one MEWP available at your worksite, and your trainee will be required to select the MEWP that’s correct for the tasks they’ll be performing, you should evaluate them during the selection process.

Remember that selecting the appropriate MEWP for the job task is critical to the safety of the operator, occupants, and others in the work area.

If your trainee uses the wrong machine for the job, it could result in damage to the machine, damage to the work location, injuries, or even death.

During the evaluation, make sure that your trainee picks the right machine based on:

• The types of tasks they’ll be performing
• Any constraints on the worksite, such as space limitations
• Ground conditions
• Site access
• Proximity to the public or the workers
• Any other relevant factors

Incorrect Selection

If your trainee selects the incorrect machine during the evaluation, do not allow them to continue with the job tasks with the incorrect machine.

At this point, you should pause the evaluation and review the selection process in detail with the trainee. Allow them to ask questions so that you can provide any clarification that they need.

Once you’ve completed a detailed review, you can resume the evaluation and have them try the selection process again. Only this time, you should set a different task from the previous attempt to more accurately test their abilities, especially if you only have two MEWPs to select. Otherwise, they may select the correct machine only because they selected the incorrect machine of the two in the previous attempt.

Pre-Use Inspections

Because MEWPs can perform strenuous work and are often used in harsh environments such as construction sites, they can be prone to wear and tear, and even damage. This is one of the reasons that it’s incredibly important that companies establish a pre-use inspection process and procedure.

This process should require regular pre-use inspections that are conducted by the operators of the equipment.

When evaluating your operators, you should measure their performance against your company’s specific inspection criteria.

For example, you might have your maintenance department regularly inspect the engine compartment rather than having your operators do this. If this is the case, you should not deduct points from your operator if they do not check this area.

Most of the time, a pre-use inspection includes a visual inspection and a function test. We reviewed what’s typically included in a pre-use inspection in the fundamentals MEWP course.

Remember, each MEWP can be unique and will have different pre-use inspection requirements. The best place to find these requirements is in the MEWP’s operator’s manual, which should be available for review directly on the MEWP.

It’s likely that you have an actual inspection form for the operator to fill out. This would be an excellent reference to use when evaluating the operator since you’re measuring against the exact standard that your company uses for this task.

We’ve also included a pre-use inspection checklist that you can use as a guideline and customize as you see fit.

Don’t forget to make sure that the operator you’re evaluating completes the inspection form correctly by having them submit the document to you for your detailed review.

Deficiencies

There’s not much good in inspecting a piece of equipment if issues are never reported and resolved.

Unfortunately, in some companies, this becomes a common theme. Operators may identify issues with equipment and never report those issues, which results in them never getting resolved.

There are various reasons that this happens.

Sometimes, operators do report damage or deficiencies, but the damage does not get repaired in a timely manner. The operators become disheartened and feel that they’re reporting issues for no reason and that they’re not being heard.

When you’re evaluating your operator, in addition to ensuring that they report the deficiencies in accordance with the company’s guidelines, explain that they must do this consistently. Even if they feel that the repairs are not taking place quickly enough, let them know that they still must report the issues no matter what. There should also be an escalation process for these scenarios, and this is a good opportunity to reiterate the process.

PPE Selection

Depending on the type of MEWP you’re evaluating the operator on, they may require some sort of PPE to carry out any pre-operational activities. Ensure they are using the necessary PPE at this time.

Evaluating their selection and use of the correct PPE will carry through the entire evaluation.

Their PPE use must be consistent. For example, if they will be operating a boom lift, their fall arrest systems must be worn correctly and secured at all times while they’re in the basket, including while it’s lowered. If they leave the machine and re-enter, they must reconnect their system every time.

Functional Test

Functional tests are another important part of the preparation and planning process. Just like the visual inspection, the functional test will help ensure that all functions on the equipment are working as intended and will not present any hazards to operators, occupants, and other individuals on the worksite.

Make sure that your trainee tests all important functions specific to the equipment they’re using. This includes but is not limited to:

• Horns and other awareness devices
• Ground controls
• Platform controls
• Functional enable switch(s)
• Motion alarms
• Available safety features

Occupant Training and Instruction

If your operators will have occupants working with them on the MEWPs, you’ll need to ensure that your operators can provide the correct information and training to occupants.

While occupants do not require the same extent of training as your operators, they still need to receive important information to help them complete their work activities safely. They’ll also need information on how to operate the MEWP controls in the event of an emergency.

Your operator should provide the following information to the occupant during the evaluations:

• Factors that affect stability
• Hazards and their avoidance. They can also share the risk assessment results with the occupant
• How to use their fall protection on the specific MEWP including the location of anchorage points
• MEWP and site-specific work procedures that the occupant(s) must follow
• The manufacturer’s specific warnings and instructions related to the work activity that will be performed
• How to safely use the MEWP’s accessories
• The location of the MEWP’s operator’s manual
• General knowledge of the intended purpose and function of MEWP controls, features, and devices, including emergency shutdown and lowering procedures, to the extent required to lower the MEWP safely to the ground or to the stowed position

Also, make sure that the operator advises the occupant that the instruction they’ve been provided does not give the occupant permission to operate the MEWP controls at any time except in an emergency.

Parking and Securing

You should continuously evaluate your operator’s ability to park and secure the MEWP throughout the entire evaluation where applicable.

For example, the MEWP will need to be parked and secure prior to raising the platform or boom to perform work. You should consider all factors when observing your operator do this including the location that they park in relation to objects, traffic, and other individuals.

Also, if they are parking and securing the MEWP in an area where there is vehicle traffic, they will likely need to cordon off the area correctly.

At the conclusion of the evaluation, you’ll be able to evaluate their ability to shut down and park.

This portion will include their ability to identify the designed parking area, lower the boom or platform to correct position, apply the brakes, and remove the key to prevent unauthorized individuals from operating the MEWP.