The use of aerial work platforms is on the rise. In a recent study, the International Platform Access Federation, an industry group, found that AWPs continue to grow as a percentage of rental fleets. This expanding user base is one of the concerns driving revised ANSI safety standards, as many operators are not highly experienced. The comment period for its new rules ends on May 16, and big changes are coming to the main industry-wide safety standard for AWPs.
“In these new standards, we’re looking at what we know today that we didn’t know when we wrote the last standard,” says Tony Groat, development manager at IPAF North America and an ANSI committee member. “We’re looking at new equipment in the marketplace, as well as new technology available to us.”