MEWP safety day emphasises tested rescue plans

The session was delivered at the request of Sigma M&E for senior members of the M&S Continuous Improvement Group (MSCIG) and took place on an active Marks & Spencer fit-out site in Putney, London. Attendees included site, project, Health and Safety and construction managers and directors from multiple contractors working across M&S projects nationwide.

Although experience levels varied, a consistent theme emerged during the session: many of those responsible for planning, supervising and approving MEWP use were not regular operators themselves, and rescue arrangements were rarely rehearsed.

The safety day combined standards and guidance, MEWP selection and management, rescue planning and risk reduction, followed by a practical on-site rescue exercise using live equipment. Participants were required to work through a realistic rescue scenario, including the identification and use of ground and emergency controls.

One of the key findings was that while most projects had rescue plans in place, these were often lengthy, difficult to locate and impractical in some scenarios. In several cases, nominated ground rescue personnel had rarely practised a rescue and were unfamiliar with the specific control layouts of the different machines in use on site.

The session also reinforced the ongoing issue of machine familiarisation. While MEWPs may appear similar, operational logic and rescue controls vary significantly between manufacturers. During discussion, a few attendees were surprised to learn that identical control inputs can result in opposite movements on different machines, a critical consideration during an emergency.

Matt Fray, head of retail sales at Horizon Platforms, said: “What we consistently see is that rescue planning exists on paper, but the people expected to carry it out often haven’t had the opportunity to practise it on the machines they’re actually using. When you introduce real equipment and real site pressures, the gaps in familiarity and confidence become very clear.”

To support the practical exercise, Horizon Platforms introduced a simplified MEWP rescue process flow chart, allowing participants to follow a clear, structured sequence of actions rather than relying on written procedures embedded within method statements. Feedback from the group suggested this approach was more effective in supporting decision-making during simulated emergency conditions.

Delivering the session within a live site environment also highlighted the real-world constraints that affect rescue planning, including congestion, multiple trades operating simultaneously, mixed levels of competence and competing operational priorities.

Sonia Jamieson, SHEQ manager from Sigma M&E added: “From a delivery perspective, it’s important that managers understand the reality of what happens on a live site, not just what’s written in a procedure. Bringing Horizon in to run this session helped reinforce consistent expectations around supervision, rescue readiness and machine familiarity across the project team.”

Marc Simpson, construction and global sourcing office safety manager at M&S continued, “The M&S Continuous Improvement Group was set up to ensure standards of health and safety across M&S sites remain high. So, we were pleased when Sigma asked Horizon to come to Putney to upskill contractors on MEWP use and safety”.

The session concluded that effective risk reduction relies not only on operator training, but on competent supervision, appropriate machine selection, regular familiarisation and practical rescue rehearsal, particularly for those expected to operate ground and emergency controls.

To support ongoing competence development, attendees were provided with access to Horizon Platforms’ online MEWPs for Managers course, enabling them to revisit key principles around selection, supervision and rescue planning as part of MSCIG’s wider continuous improvement programme.

For more information, visit www.horizonplatforms.co.uk