What counts as a MEWP?
MEWPs include scissor lifts, boom lifts (articulated and telescopic), vehicle-mounted platforms and similar machines used to put people to work at height. They’re also known as cherry pickers and access platforms.
What a MEWP risk assessment needs to cover
HSE identifies four main causes of fatal and serious MEWP injuries, and any assessment should deal with all of them:
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Entrapment, including people trapped against the platform controls or a structure while the machine keeps running.
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Overturning, from soft or uneven ground, slopes, wind or overloading.
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Falls from the platform.
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Collisions with people, vehicles or overhead cables.
In practice, a good assessment also looks at:
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The right machine for the job: height, reach, load, indoor or outdoor use, and ground conditions.
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Ground and site: firm, level ground, trenches, manholes and loose backfill, and outriggers set up and chocked before the platform is raised.
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Wind and weather: a maximum safe wind speed set in advance, and an inspection after severe weather.
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Fall protection: effective guardrails and toe boards, and where a fall risk remains, a harness with a short restraint lanyard attached to the manufacturer’s anchorage point.
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Keeping people clear: barriers below the work area, separation from pedestrians and vehicles, and clearance from overhead cables.
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Operators: a certificate or card from a recognised course that lists the MEWP category, and familiarisation training on the specific make and model.
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Rescue: a plan for getting someone down if the operator is unable to, practised in advance, with a person on the ground who knows the emergency procedure and the ground controls.
BS 8460:2025: what changed
BS 8460, the code of practice for the safe use of MEWPs, was reissued in December 2025 and replaces the 2017 edition. According to the published summary, it is now organised around a planning-to-operation process with a new planning stage, sets clearer expectations for the competence of platform occupants and supervisors, defines rescue roles, and updates its guidance on risk assessment, wind and fall arrest. It’s a code of practice rather than law, but it is what a competent person is likely to compare your arrangements against.
Daily checks, inspections and thorough examinations
LOLER and PUWER: why both matter for a MEWP
LOLER covers the lifting side: the structure, the lifting mechanism and the safety devices. A MEWP is also work equipment, and most are self-propelled, so PUWER applies to the rest of the machine, including parts such as the brakes and steering. A thorough examination that stops at the lifting gear leaves part of the machine unchecked, which is why we cover both.
What we examine:
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Scissor lifts and boom lifts (articulated and telescopic)
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Vehicle-mounted and trailer-mounted platforms
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Structure, hydraulics, controls, emergency lowering and safety devices
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Platform, guardrails and gates, and the markings and plates
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Written report with any defects and how urgent each one is
Why use PULO Compliance
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Independent. We don’t maintain or hire out MEWPs, so there’s nothing to protect when we find a fault.
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Both regulations. LOLER and PUWER examined in one visit.
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A fixed quote once the scope is clear.
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Clear reports. You get a written report that records the defects and the date the next examination is due.
MEWP Risk Assessment and LOLER Thorough Examinations
A mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) lifts people, so it needs a LOLER thorough examination by a competent person at least every 6 months, or under a written examination scheme that person has drawn up. Before it is used, the work also needs a risk assessment that covers how the MEWP will be selected, used, supervised and rescued from.
Based in the East Midlands, PULO Compliance specialises in statutory inspections, including MEWP LOLER inspections, to help businesses stay safe and compliant.
