Subscribe To Aerial Pros

The Genie commitment to operator safety.

For more than 50 years, Genie has successively brought to market solutions that focus on operator safety. The new generation of Genie® Lift Guard™ secondary operator protection systems for Genie boom lifts, scissor lifts and vertical masts is a recent example...and the Genie Fall Arrest Bar system is another.

Designed to provide operators with the ability to perform tasks on structures adjacent to the platform while remaining attached, the market has received the Genie Fall Arrest Bar system with strong interest. Because safety is an important topic in the aerial industry, we wanted to take this opportunity to respond to your most frequently asked questions.

Regulation in my country does not allow exiting the platform of a MEWP at height. Why has Genie developed the Fall Arrest Bar?

Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs) are indeed not intended for the transfer of people from one level to another. They are specifically designed to lift people to a position where they can carry out work from the platform and then return to the starting level (Ref. scope EN 280).

Every country has its own approach on the safe use of MEWPs. Currently, some do not allow exiting the platform at height, whereas other countries do allow this under some circumstances. In reality however, this happens everywhere in the world, so Genie has taken this into account as foreseeable misuse, which is an obligation from the EU Machinery Directive.

Does this mean that exiting the platform at height should become common practice?

No. Exiting the platform at height should be strictly controlled and undertaken only in very limited circumstances. If a rigorous and robust risk assessment indicates that this is the safest and most effective means of accessing a particular location, then this task – under strict control – can be undertaken.

If a customer asks me for advice on when he could let operators exit the platform at height, where can I find guidance on this?

Genie experts have carried out extensive research on instances of exiting the platform at height and have produced guidance information which is available on request. You can ask your Genie representative for further information.

Is the Genie Fall Arrest Bar compliant with the current regulation?

Yes. The Genie Fall Arrest Bar is the first device of its kind to have been formally certified as a PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) of Category III by the notified body SATRA (Notified Body for Personal Protective Equipment EU Regulation 2016/425), following strict testing.

Furthermore, Genie boom lifts are to be considered as a reliable external anchorage point, as they have successfully passed the dynamic fall arrest anchorage test in line with ISO 16368 – internal type approval test withstanding the force of a free-falling 136 kg test mass. As such, we can assure you that the anchorages utilized on Genie booms meet the performance requirements of current standards and regulations and that almost all Genie boom models can be used as part of the overall fall arrest system.