Risk Analysis in Civil Construction Services Using Mobile Elevating Work Platforms

Abstract

The use of vertical transportation equipment in Civil Construction, such as Mobile Elevating Work Platforms - MEWP had optimized activities, avoiding wasted time and simplifying. However, brings in addiction to risks inherent to mechanical equipment, the height factor, increasing the probability of accidents occurrences. The aim of this work was to identify the risks of accidents and nonconformities with the Brazilian legislation present in the activities using MEWP, in order to propose measures of control and systematization of the actions, to integrate accident prevention in construction sites. For this purpose, a checklist was developed and applied in a large Construction workplace located in the Metropolitan Region of Recife-Brazil. According to the data obtained, a list of control guidelines and safety measures was elaborated, identifying the responsibilities of users and operators in services using MEWP. It was observed that the irregularities found are due factors related to operation, maintenance and use inspection of the equipment and significant occurrence of irregularities such as absence of work area isolation, daily inspections and electrical grounding in motorized MEWP. These facts need for improvements making improvements on training and inspections to ensure the fulfillment of the safety standards and an accident-free work environment.