29.11.2010

The 'unswiss' Swiss

Spotted in Zurich airport by a regular reader of Vertikal.Net last week – a trailer lift being used within the terminal that breaks most of the work at height rules.

The first glimpse is encouraging the man has properly set the outriggers with proper nylon mats under the pads – but that is probably more to do with not damaging the floor rather than for safety reasons.
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Working in the airport but not as it should be done

After that it goes rapidly downhill.

The operator had no harness on the machine was set up in a public area with people passing underneath the platform - no attempt to cone it off- in spite of the fact that the machine has been supplied complete with cones which have been left on the machine.

To add insult to injury the lift is plugged into the mains electricity with the power cord trailing across a pedestrian walkway, with only a half-hearted attempt to even prevent a trip hazard.
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The work was spotted during a quiet period but the shops were still open

The lift has been rented in for the work from Pronto of St Gallen whose main business is cleaning. The lift, an Omme, is clearly well equipped with stowage points for the outrigger mats and even a set of cones, just sad that the user has not bothered with them.

In his defence the work appears to be going on during a quiet period, BUT the shops are all open and people are in the area.

We normally expect perfection from Switzerland with everything done to immaculate perfection… all too often though this national generalisation does not apply to working at height.

Additional comment

A trailer lift is also possibly not the best lift for indoor working such as this, it has its advantages, with a light weight for its height but takes up a lot of space... If the height is needed a spider lift would be better, especially one of the new battery powered models.