ANSI A92 standards delayed

The upcoming ANSI A92 suite of standards are facing yet another hurdle. What was supposed to an effective date of December 2019 has now been pushed to March 1, 2020, following a meeting with A92 main committee members Oct. 27-30 in Kansas City.

Originally approved in November 2018, the standards faced two appeals in May 2019, which caused setbacks. Tutus Solutions and the American Rental Association (ARA) appealed separate parts of the standards, with the ARA opposing the Manual of Responsibilities (MoR) portion and Tutus Solutions opposing that additions to a mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) cannot be made without the manufacturer’s persmission.

At the meeting in Kansas City, language within the standards was called upon to be changed, causing another delay. 

According to the Scaffold & Access Industry Association (SAIA), which serves as the secretariat for the A92 Committee: ” A decision by the ANSI Board of Standards Review (BSR) regarding appeals submitted on ANSI/SAIA A92.20 and A92.22 resulted in a limited revision on language that violated the ANSI Commercial Terms Policy. These limited revisions were balloted and approved by the ASC A92 Main Committee and are currently out for public comment until November 10, 2019.”

Information on the call for public comments can be found at ANSI Standards Action.

Following the close of the public comment period, the A92 main committee will go through a 30-day recirculation ballot and a 30-day appeals period before submitting the final proposal to ANSI. Once the ANSI BSR has received the final submittal, the appellants will have an additional 15 days to submit an appeal to the ANSI BSR.

”The SAIA and the A92 Chairmen will continue working with both appellants during this process,” SAIA said. ”Actions being taken in an attempt to resolve the continued issues include forming a Commercial Terms Violation Ad hoc, providing more guidance on the ANSI Lack of Dominance Policy, instituting additional policies and procedures for the A92 sub-committees, adding three licenses agreements on the SAIA Manual of Responsibilities (MoR), and reporting on A92 Standards and MoRs financials.”

The new standards will cover: 

• A92.20-2018: Design, Calculations, Safety Requirements and Test Methods for mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs)
• A92.22-2018: Safe Use of MEWPs
• A92.24-2018: Training Requirements for the Use, Operation, Inspection, Testing and Maintenance of MEWPs

Manufacturers, associations and rental companies have spent the majority of the past 12 months preparing for the standards’ implementation. Please see related stories for more.