Evaluating the stability of a freestanding Mast Climbing Work Platform

Abstract

Mast Climbing Work Platforms (MCWPs) are becoming more common at construction sites and are being used as an alternative to traditional scaffolding. Although their use is increasing, little to no published information exists on the potential safety hazards they could pose for workers. As a last line of defense, a personal fall-arrest system can be used to save a worker in a fall incident from the platform. There has been no published information on whether it is safe to use such a personal fall-arrest system with MCWPs. In this study, the issues of concern for occupational safety included (1) the overall stability of the freestanding mast climber during a fall-arrest condition and (2) whether that fall-arrest system could potentially present safety hazards to other workers on the platform during a fall-arrest condition. This research project investigated those safety concerns with respect to the mast climber stability and the workers using it by creating fall-arrest impact forces that are transmitted to the equipment and by subsequently observing the movement of the mast climber and the working deck used by the workers. This study found that when the equipment was erected and used according to the manufacturer’s recommendations during a fall-arrest condition, destabilizing forces were very small and there were no signs of potential of MCWP collapse. However, potential fall hazards could be presented to other workers on the platform during a fall arrest. Workers near an open platform are advised to wear a personal fall-arrest system to reduce the risk of being ejected. Due to the increasing use of MCWPs at construction sites, there is a corresponding need for evidence and science-based safety guidelines or regulations. To fill the knowledge gap, this research begins to investigate the effects of fall-arrest on the overall stability of a freestanding MCWP and workers while wearing a personal fall-arrest system.

An Association Rule Mining Model for the Assessment of the Correlations Between the Attributes of Severe Accidents

“…For this reason, the results may not reflect all aspects of the accident. Fall-related equipment, which includes mast climbing work platforms (Wimer et al, 2017) and scaffolds (Rubio-Romero et al, 2012), were also evaluated in terms of their stability. Fall accidents of drywall installers were also studied to identify their characteristics (Schoenfisch et al, 2014).…”

The Influence of Fatigue, Recovery, and Environmental Factors on the Body Stability of Construction Workers

“…Since construction workers are often required to work at heights or on unstable surfaces, ensuring body stability is critical to prevent accidents [ 7 ]. Workers with poor body stability are more likely to lose their balance and suffer FST accidents, leading to injuries or fatalities [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ].…”

Analysis of the Effects of Anchorage Failure on the Stability of a Mast Climber System

“…MCWP equipment is generally considered to be inherently safe, consequently, limited studies have been conducted on MCWPs independent of the manufacturers' design and testing. When the equipment was erected and used according to the manufacturers' recommendations during a fall-arrest condition (Harris et al, 2010) destabilizing forces were small and would not potentially cause a MCWP collapse (Wimer et al, 2017). From the standpoint of structural stability, the anchorages and their attachments are among the weakest elements for the entire MCWP setup.…”