To comply with international and regional safety standards, Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs) are fitted with platform and ground controls as well as emergency/auxiliary lowering systems.

Employers and users must develop a documented recovery and rescue plan that is specific to the task, the MEWP being used and the site. The plan should outline the procedures for executing emergency operations required to recover and rescue personnel either from within the platform of the MEWP involved in the incident, or from a suspended position following a fall arrest.

When MEWPs are selected to perform temporary work at height, there remains a potential risk of persons in the MEWP platform becoming stranded or requiring recovery or rescue due to operator error, equipment malfunction, entrapment, entanglement, ejection, breakdown, or a medical emergency.

The purpose of this document is to provide guidance for those planning and undertaking recovery and rescue from a MEWP. The document provides information on the more complex task of rescue using the platform-to-platform method while using a secondary MEWP, ensuring safe recovery and rescue operations for all involved.