Standards Development

Scope

This document specifies the special safety requirements for Mast Climbing Work Platforms (MCWP) which are temporarily or permanently installed, are powered by electricity, are used to move persons and their equipment and materials to and from a single boarding point, are designed to be used to carry out work from within the confines of the work platform, and is controlled from the work platform during normal use.

This document is applicable to work platforms elevated by rack and pinion and guided by and moving along their supporting masts, both where the masts require lateral restraint from separate supporting structures and where they do not, and where the mast is supported from beneath by a surface.

This document is applicable to any combination of the following alternatives:

• One or more masts;

• Mast tied or untied;

• Mast of fixed or variable length;

• Single or multilevel stack options;

• Modular or fixed deck configuration;

• Masts vertical or inclined up to 30° to the vertical in any direction;

• Mobile on a chassis or static on a base frame;

• Towed, or electrically self-powered ground travel on site, excluding road traffic regulation requirements;

• With or without hanging or supplementary work platforms;

• With or without a platform extension used at the working height, to bridge a gap between the work platform and work position;

• With or without a Falling Object Protection Structure (FOPS);

• With or without extendable platform extensions.

This document identifies the hazards arising during the various phases in the lifecycle of such equipment and describes methods for the elimination or reduction of these hazards and for the use of safe working practices.

This document does not specify the requirements for dealing with the hazards involved in the manoeuvring, installing or dismantling, fixing or removing of any materials or equipment which are not part of the MCWP. Nor does it deal with the handling of specific hazardous materials.

This document does not cover the use of a MCWP as a means of transferring a load from another external lifting device onto a structure.

This document does not apply to:

• Lifts according to EN 81-20:2020, EN 81-3:2000+A1:2008; EN 81-43:2009:

• Builders’ hoists according to EN 12158-1:2021 and 12159:2024;

• Transport platforms according to EN 16719:2018;

• Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs) according to 280-1:2022 and 280-2:2022;

• Suspended access equipment according to EN 1808-2015; or

• Lifting tables according to EN 1570-1:2024.

Purpose

The state of the art has evolved, and a revision of EN 1495 is necessary to reflect current technology and ensure alignment with the Machinery Regulation (EU) 2023/1230.

CEN/TC 98/WG 8 has been working on updating EN 1495. The original Work Item, launched under the Machinery Directive, was withdrawn with the intention to complete the revision under the Machinery Regulation. This approach ensures that the updated standard can support presumption of conformity under the new legal framework.