Worker Guide

Aerial Lifts on Location: Boom Lifts, Man Baskets and the Rules for Going Up

On an oilfield location, a good share of the work happens above the ground. Level gauges sit on top of tanks. Valves and instruments reach high on separators. The old ways up are ladders and scaffolding. On most jobs there is a better tool: an aerial lift, a powered platform that raises a worker to the work. Used right, it is faster and steadier than a ladder. Used wrong, it can tip over or drop someone from height. This article covers where aerial lifts are used on location, the two common types, and the rules for going up.

Where Aerial Lifts Earn Their Keep

Production equipment is where aerial lifts get used most on a lease. Tanks, separators, heater treaters and other vessels carry their openings and instruments on top. Relief valves, level gauges, thief hatches and sample points sit above head height on big tanks. An aerial lift puts a worker level with the top of the vessel, with both hands free and a solid floor underfoot.

Inspection and lighting work keeps lifts busy too. Tank roofs get checked for corrosion and pitting. Light towers need bulbs changed. For all of that, a lift beats a ladder that has to be moved and climbed again for every work point. When loads move by crane instead, the rules differ; see the article on crane and lifting operations for those.

Boom Lifts and Scissor Lifts: The Two Families

Two families of aerial lift do almost all of the work. A boom lift carries its platform on the end of an arm. The arm can be telescoping, sliding out straight, or articulating, bending at hinged joints. A boom lift reaches over and out, so a worker can get over the edge of a tank or out to a fitting that is not directly above the machine.

A scissor lift is the other family. Its platform rides straight up on folding legs that open and close like a scissor, which is where the name comes from. The platform does not reach sideways over an obstacle. Scissor lifts suit work directly overhead and carry a bigger platform with room for two workers and their tools.

The two machines fail differently. A boom lift can tip if the weight goes too far past the base. A scissor lift can tip on uneven ground if it is driven with the platform raised. Knowing which family you are on matters, because the manual and the safety rules are written for that machine.

Before Anyone Goes Up

Only trained and authorized operators run an aerial lift. Training covers the controls, the load limits, the hazards of that machine type, and the manufacturer's instructions. A worker who has never run a boom lift does not learn it at full height with a wrench in hand. Companies keep operator training files on record.

Every lift gets a pre-use inspection on the day it is used. The operator checks the tires or tracks, hoses, welds, platform, gate, guardrails, controls and fluid levels. A machine with a problem does not carry anyone until it is fixed. The check takes minutes and catches a cracked weld or a leaking hose before it becomes an incident.

The machine has to sit on firm, level ground before anyone rides it. Stabilizers and outriggers get set and pinned on solid pads or ground that will hold the load. Brakes are set. On a slope, wheel chocks go in. The operator also keeps the machine clear of power lines overhead. A lift that settles or sinks while a worker is up is a serious event, so the ground under the machine deserves a real look.

Rules for the Person in the Platform

Once the platform is up, the worker stays inside it. The gate stays closed. No standing on a rail to reach higher, and no planks, ladders or boxes set up in the platform. The rules are plain: stand on the floor of the platform and stay inside the rails. A guardrail is there to keep a worker in, and it stops being protection the moment someone climbs on it.

On a boom lift, each worker wears a personal fall arrest system: a full-body harness with a lanyard tied off to the anchorage point built into the platform. The manufacturer's instructions and the standard call for that tie-off. Workers also may not tie off to an adjacent pole or structure, because the machine can move away from that anchor. On a scissor lift the protection comes from the guardrails, and the rule is to work within them with the gate closed. For more on fall protection at the rig itself, see the article on fall protection on service rigs.

Load limits matter at height. The manufacturer's rated capacity includes the workers, their tools and whatever they carry. A lift is never moved with the boom raised and a worker in the basket unless the machine is built for exactly that. When the work is done, the boom gets cradled and the outriggers stowed before the machine travels.

What the OSHA Rules Say

Two OSHA sections cover the machines that lift people on oilfield locations. In general industry, 1910.67 covers vehicle-mounted elevating and rotating work platforms. In construction, 1926.453 covers aerial lifts, including extensible boom platforms, articulating boom platforms, aerial ladders and vertical towers.

The two rules make the same core demands. Lift controls are tested each day before use. Only trained or authorized persons operate the machine. Workers stand on the floor of the platform and do not climb on its rails. On boom-type machines, a personal fall arrest or restraint system is worn and attached to the boom or basket. Manufacturer load limits are not exceeded. Brakes are set, outriggers sit on pads or a solid surface, and wheel chocks go in on inclines. Platforms carry guardrails, and the machine has upper and lower controls, with the lower set overriding the upper.

The paperwork side matters as much as the machine. Inspection records prove the daily checks happened on the dates they were supposed to. Operator training files show who is cleared to run each machine. Those records are the kind of field paperwork tracked in OpsFlo, ticket, dispatch, timesheet, approvals and document software built for field crews. When an auditor asks for yesterday's pre-use inspection, the answer should be a record produced in seconds, not a promise.

Sources and further reading

• eCFR 1910.67: Vehicle-mounted elevating and rotating work platforms
• OSHA 1910.67: Vehicle-mounted elevating and rotating work platforms
• eCFR 1926.453: Aerial lifts (construction)