28.02.2025
HSE withdraws Emergency stop letter
The UK’s Health & Safety Executive has written to IPAF withdrawing the wording in a letter it sent to manufacturers in late January which seemed to issue a mandate regarding Emergency Stop buttons on aerial work platforms. See:
HSE letter re: emergency stops
The letter stated
”This means that: ‘Activating the emergency stop on a MEWP must not disable the safety related parts of the machine’s control system such as overload monitoring, inclination monitoring, stabiliser/outrigger monitoring, and associated alarms.’’
The demand implied in this statement was totally impractical and came as a surprise to everyone involved in discussions regarding this issue in relation to future standard updates.
A letter sent by the HSE earlier today to Brian Parker of IPAF states that the HSE has withdrawn the offending statement and will continue to work with IPAF and other parties to develop the standards and safety protocols relating to the isolation of sensors when the emergency stop button is activated.
The letter is published in full below.
Date: 28th February 2025
Dear Brian
RE: Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWP) Industry Response
Thank you for your letter dated 18th February 2025 setting out the response to HSE’s recent
letter to manufacturers and suppliers of MEWPS.
The constructive feedback we have received reflects that we all have an interest in managing
the ongoing need for compliance with product standards for access equipment. We are
committed to engaging with industry representatives and we are happy to work with IPAF and
its industry partners to clarify matters.
In view of the response from contributors to the letter to HSE, we withdraw the wording:
“This means that: Activating the emergency stop on a MEWP must not disable the
safety related parts of the machine’s control system such as overload monitoring,
inclination monitoring, stabiliser / outrigger monitoring, and associated alarms.”
As explained during our most recent engagement with IPAF, this wording was intended to
convey a generalised example of what might be checked, and was not intended as a
reinterpretation of the standard. We apologise for any confusion caused and would
encourage you to make your members aware of this information.
After careful consideration, HSE do not feel that it would be beneficial to issue revised letters
as this may lead to further confusion. Instead, we are willing to work with you to minimise
confusion through verbal discussions.
HSE acknowledges that IPAF and its industry representative partners support the broader
intent of the letter which was that the emergency stop function should not impair the
effectiveness of other safety functions.
The requirements in the letter relate to new machines being placed on the market in Great
Britain. The responsible person must ensure that the applicable essential health and safety
requirements (EHSRs) of the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 (or the
Machinery Directive) are satisfied. Compliance with standards is a means of conforming to
EHSRs.
The current designated standard is EN 280-1:2022. As mentioned in our letter, the
presumption of conformity only applies if the requirements of the normative references
referred to in the text have also been followed.
We would welcome the opportunity to work with you to draw up a document similar to
DPN060723 in relation to EN 280-1:2022 to provide your members with greater clarity in
relation to the requirements of the standard.
HSE also remains committed to its longstanding involvement in relevant safety standards
workgroups.
Yours sincerely
Product Safety and Market Surveillance Unit
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