Question 1

When a Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWP) is used for height work in port or drydock, what additional ground/deck-condition factor must be checked before use that isn't relevant to a fixed scaffold?

Accepted Answer

Ground/deck stability, levelness, and load-bearing capacity for the MEWP's outriggers or wheels, since the platform's stability depends entirely on its base Unlike scaffolding built up from multiple secured points, a MEWP's entire stability rests on its base/outriggers — an uneven, soft, or overloaded surface beneath it can cause a tip-over that a fixed scaffold would not be vulnerable to in the same way.

Question 2

A worker is rigged with a fall-arrest lanyard anchored to a point about 3 metres to the side of where they will actually be working on a funnel platform. What hazard does this anchor positioning introduce, and what should be done?

Accepted Answer

This creates a swing fall hazard; the anchor should be repositioned more directly above the work area, or the risk assessment should specifically address the swing radius and any structure the worker could strike An anchor offset to the side turns a vertical fall into a pendulum swing — the worker could be seriously injured striking the funnel structure itself during the arc of the fall, even though the fall is technically 'arrested'.

Question 3

A contractor wants to walk across a row of deck skylights to reach an antenna for maintenance, stating they've 'done it plenty of times before with no problem'. What is the correct response?

Accepted Answer

Deny direct access across the skylights; treat them as a fragile surface requiring fall-arrest protection, physical covers, or a controlled route around them, regardless of past experience Past success walking on a fragile surface says nothing about its current condition — degradation is often invisible until the point of failure, so 'I've done it before' is exactly the kind of normalisation of risk that precedes a fragile-surface fall.