North American Aerial Platform Owners Will See New Requirements for Load Sense and More

North American aerial platform owners should prepare for significant changes to the design of machines when new ANSI and CSA standards are introduced in 2017 and 2018, said Chad Hislop, Genie director of engineering, Terex AWP, speaking at the ALH Conference and Awards in Miami, October 11.

The new design standards, which will be introduced in 2017 with a 12-month compliance deadline for OEMs, are likely to lead to the use of platform load sensors, automatic envelope control systems, dual capacity ratings on booms, and a split between indoor and outdoor models for slab scissors and vertical mast machines.

The new standards will align US and Canadian requirements with current ISO standards used in the rest of the world, and will harmonize how OEMs treat issues such as wind, tilt and rated capacity.

The new design requirements for rated capacity will require the use of load sensors – as has been the practice in Europe for around 15 years – and will probably lead to the use of more sophisticated control systems and dual capacity machines with automatic envelope control.

“The standard 500-pound capacity rating [on booms] won’t cut it anymore," he said, “With load sensors people will not be able to do the work that they do today... I would expect to see full load capacities to go up, and I would expect also more secondary envelopes.”

He said it was likely that booms would operate with 660-pound capacities at the full outreach plus an additional 1,000-pound rating on a smaller working envelope.

The new ANSI A92 and CSA B354 standards are expected to be published in January 2017, with manufacturers required to comply within 12 months.

For more about new ANSI standards for aerial equipment...