The 12-point hangar access audit

Nothing here needs a consultant, a purchase or a safety budget. It needs one walk and an honest set of eyes. Print it, or work down it on your phone.

Improvisation — look for what people built themselves

1. Planks or boards spanning standsUnengineered work surface. Note the job it serves; that job needs a platform.
2. Ladders standing on decksAlmost always means the deck is at the wrong height for the work above it.
3. Stands parked at an angle or against the airframeThe equipment does not reach, and somebody has decided to make it reach.
4. Anything with a strap, a chock or a wedge holding it in positionImprovised stability is the last step before an incident report.

Fit — look at where equipment meets aircraft

5. The gap between deck and aircraftHow wide, and what is guarding it? A gap you step across is a fall exposure that nobody wrote down.
6. Contact pointsIs anything that can touch the airframe soft-faced? Look for the scuffs, they will tell you the truth faster than the spec sheet.
7. Landing versus sill heightEspecially at cargo holds. Anyone stepping up into a hold is a specification failure.
8. Reach and posture at the workAre people reaching overhead, leaning over rails, or standing on the mid-rail? Photograph it. That photo is what gets a budget approved.

Condition and consistency — look at the equipment itself

9. Do the stairs in your fleet share a rise?Mixed rise heights across similar stands break the muscle memory that makes stairs safe.
10. Casters and brakesDo they lock, do they hold on your floor, and can one person move the unit loaded?
11. Guardrails, toeboards and handrail continuityDoes the handrail run all the way to the landing, or stop at the top tread?
12. FOD and dropped-object pathsWhat falls through the deck, and what is underneath it? On an open airframe that is the most expensive line on this list.

Note. This checklist is general guidance for identifying access problems worth a closer look. It is not a compliance inspection and does not replace your own safety review or your obligations under OSHA 29 CFR 1910 subpart D.