Aerial Lift Safety Toolbox Talk

Project: ____________ · Date: ____________ · Led by: ____________

Aerial lifts feel safer than ladders — big machine, rails around you, solid platform. But lifts kill workers in three repeatable ways: tip-overs on bad ground, ejections from the basket, and contact with overhead power lines.

Why it matters

A boom lift can catapult you out of the basket when it bounces or gets struck — rails won't hold you in. And the same machine that puts you 60 feet up puts you 10 feet from a power line faster than you can react.

Key points — cover all of these

1. Only trained, authorized operators run the lift — each model handles differently, and scissor and boom rules differ.
2. In a boom lift, tie off to the manufacturer's anchor inside the basket, every time. Check your site rules for scissor lifts — rails only count if the gate is shut and chains are up.
3. Walk the route and set-up area first: slopes, soft ground, potholes, trench edges, dock plates. Outriggers and level ground are what keep it upright.
4. Look up before you go up — power lines (stay at least 10 feet away), steel, piping, and crush points against structure.
5. Keep both feet on the platform floor. Never climb the rails, step on the midrail, or lean out to gain reach — reposition the lift.
6. Do the pre-use inspection: controls, emergency lowering, brakes, tires, horn. Know how ground rescue works before anyone goes up.

Ask the crew

The answers are the point — this is where today's real hazards surface.

• Who on this crew is actually authorized for the lifts on site — and for which type?
• What overhead hazards are on today's route — power, steel, ductwork?
• If the operator became unresponsive at height, who here knows how to bring the basket down from the ground controls?

The one thing today

Walk your lift path before you drive it today — every pothole and slope, before wheels roll.

Reference: OSHA 29 CFR 1926.453 (aerial lifts); ANSI A92 standards

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