Is a MEWP the same as an aerial lift?
Yes. MEWP (Mobile Elevating Work Platform) is the current ANSI A92.20 term for what was formerly called an aerial lift or aerial work platform, including boom lifts, scissor lifts, and vertical mast lifts.
DEFINITION
A MEWP — Mobile Elevating Work Platform — is the current term for aerial lifts such as boom lifts and scissor lifts that raise workers to elevated work. The ANSI/SAIA A92.20 standards govern their design, safe use, and required pre-use inspection before each work shift.
ALSO KNOWN AS · aerial lift · boom lift · scissor lift · cherry picker · ANSI A92.20
Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWP) is the term adopted by the ANSI A92 suite in its 2018 revision to harmonize US practice with the international ISO 16368 family. It replaces the older 'aerial work platform' and 'aerial lift' labels and covers boom lifts (telescopic and articulating), scissor lifts, and vertical mast lifts. MEWPs are classified by group (A or B, based on whether the platform stays within the chassis footprint) and type (1, 2, or 3, based on how they travel when elevated).
The governing standards split into three documents: A92.20 (design), A92.22 (safe use), and A92.24 (training). Under the safe-use standard, a MEWP must receive a pre-start inspection and a workplace inspection before each shift or use. The pre-use machine inspection covers tires and wheels, the platform and guardrails, the boom or scissor structure, hydraulic hoses and cylinders for leaks, controls at both the platform and ground stations, the emergency lowering function, placards and capacity charts, and fall-arrest anchor points.
OSHA regulates aerial lifts under 29 CFR 1926.453 (construction) and 1910.67 (general industry), and accepts the ANSI A92 standards as the recognized good practice. Boom-supported MEWPs require occupants to wear a personal fall-arrest system tied to the manufacturer's anchor; scissor lifts rely on the guardrail system as the primary fall protection.
The distinction between a MEWP and a crane-suspended personnel basket matters: a MEWP is purpose-built to elevate people and is the preferred access method, whereas a crane personnel platform under 1926.1431 is a last resort used only when a MEWP or scaffold would be more hazardous or impossible.
AUTHORITATIVE · SOURCE
29 CFR 1926.453 — Aerial lifts (OSHA.gov)RELATED · CHECKLIST
Aerial Lift (Boom / Scissor) Inspection Checklist
FREQUENTLY · ASKED
Yes. MEWP (Mobile Elevating Work Platform) is the current ANSI A92.20 term for what was formerly called an aerial lift or aerial work platform, including boom lifts, scissor lifts, and vertical mast lifts.
Yes. The ANSI A92.22 safe-use standard requires a pre-start machine inspection and a workplace inspection before each work shift or use, covering controls, structure, hydraulics, guardrails, and the emergency lowering function.
RELATED · TERMS
A personnel basket is a platform suspended from a crane hook to hoist workers when no safer means of access exists. OSHA 1926.1431 permits it only as a last resort and requires the crane to be derated to 50% of its rated capacity for the lift, among other strict controls.
An OSHA competent person is someone capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions that are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to workers, AND who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them.
A preventive maintenance (PM) inspection is a scheduled check performed on a calendar interval or usage trigger (engine hours, mileage, cycles) to service equipment and catch wear before it causes failure — distinct from a regulatory safety inspection, though the two are often combined.
A critical lift is a crane lift that carries elevated risk and therefore requires extra planning, engineering review, and a written lift plan. Common triggers include lifts exceeding roughly 75% of the crane's rated capacity, multi-crane (tandem) picks, and any lift hoisting personnel.
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