Best Practices for Aerial Lift Tie Offs

This week on Dynamic Discussions Greg and David answer the question “When working in an aerial lift, am I okay to tie off to an outside pole or structure?” It’s important to first note that when working in an aerial lift, you should be wearing a full body harness and be using a short personal lanyard or self-retracting lifeline to work in fall restraint. Aerial lifts are most often equipped with tie-off points or anchors and most are for fall restraint but some can be rated for fall arrest. To answer this week’s question: No it is not okay to tie-off to an outside structure. You should be clipping onto the tie-off point inside the lift basket that you are working in. Why? If that lift moves and you’re attached to an outside structure, you could potentially pull yourself into a fall. Stay safe out there, folks!