Genie Offers Details on Standards Changes in North America
In support of OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down to Prevent Falls in Construction week, May 8-12, Genie has released its “Upcoming Changes to ANSI A92 & CSA B354 Standards" presentation to help raise safety awareness in the aerial access industry. This overview explains how the ANSI A92 (United States) and CSA B354 (Canada) standards are changing and why.
The changes affect how products are referenced in North America, as well as how subjects such as design, safe use and training are covered. The Genie presentation provides details on the new standards including changes in design such as platform load weighing and, for owners and operators, requirements to perform jobsite safe use planning and risk assessments.
“The goal of OSHA’s National Safety Stand-Down is to raise awareness of best practices for working safely at height,” said Scott Owyen, Genie Training Manager, Terex AWP. “One of the biggest challenges in the aerial industry is increasing awareness about why safety is so important, especially as the standards change. With the changes to the ANSI and CSA standards, there is a need for education, especially in the aerial market, about the implications of the new standards, as well as how they will work with current industry regulations.”
Owyen said the updating process incorporates the inclusion of international standards (ISO) which will more closely align products produced by North American AWP manufacturers, including Genie, with products offered in global markets such as Europe, Australia and China.
“These updates may allow aerial equipment owners to more easily trade new and used equipment worldwide,” Owyen noted. “It is important for the people working in the aerial access industry to understand for what will be different and start preparing now.”
Changes in the new standards will include: equipment terminology; equipment design standards; safe use and planning; risk assessment planning; training for operators, supervisors and occupants; and maintenance and repair personnel training.
Genie’s presentation shares the latest information on these changes as well as how new Genie aerial equipment will follow and apply them. Genie is also offering a video presentation that can be accessed at: https://terex.wistia.com/medias/wkvcya7ko8#. Additional information is offered at: http://aerialpros.genielift.com/category/mewp-standard/.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.