News

A major consultation is to be launched as the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) sets out to establish the possibilities for powered access training and safety guidance afforded by new technology such as virtual reality and platform simulators, involving the more than 1,000 accredited IPAF instructors around the world.

The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) has been shortlisted as a finalist in three categories of the European Association Awards 2018, being nominated in the Best Provision of Industry Information and Intelligence, Best Association Conference (under 225 delegates) and Best Association Partnership or Collaboration categories.

Rigorous inspection and maintenance regimes are vital to the safe operation of Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs), IPAF, the leading voice of the powered access industry, has said, after a rental company manager was jailed for two years over safety failings that led to the death of one construction worker and seriously injured another.

A webinar and updated white paper aimed at helping companies to become compliant with new North American standards on the design, safe use and training of Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs), formerly known as Aerial Work Platforms (AWPs) have been published by the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF).

A selection of 3D virtual Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs) and Mast Climbing Work Platforms (MCWPs) is now available in the National Building Information Modelling (BIM) Library with more to follow thanks to the efforts of experts from the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF).

Across 2017, IPAF’s Back to Basics safety campaign focusing on identifying and mitigating typical risk scenarios when operating Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWP) equipment worldwide has actively inspired and informed safety messages and key industry events from Las Vegas and Amsterdam to Shanghai and Abu Dhabi.

The IPAF Summit and the International Awards for Powered Access (IAPAs) is a perennial highlight of the powered access calendar, and in 2018 the event returns to Miami, hosted at the Hilton Miami Downtown, Florida, US. Don’t miss out on the access industry’s most important annual celebration, combining great educational and networking opportunities, with the traditional IPAF networking event on the eve of the conference on 7 March, the Summit and IAPAs gala dinner on 8 March, and fascinating site visits on the morning of 9 March.

IPAF is pleased to announce Matt Fearon, President of Terex AWP, the global manufacturer of Genie® branded Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs), will be its headline speaker at the organisation’s annual ElevAÇÃO conference, on 5-6 February 2018 in São Paulo, Brazil.

Andy Access, the larger-than-life safety mascot of the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF), has made a stunning debut in Portugal with a first public appearance at Vertentes e Desafios da Segurança (VDS), the nation’s leading health & safety expo in Leiria.

IPAF welcomes the forthcoming introduction of updated British standards regarding the safe use of Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs) and Mast Climbing Work Platforms (MCWPs). The new British Standards (BS) 8460 and 7981 supersede the 2005 and 2002 versions respectively, which will be withdrawn, and are published on 31 October 2017.

The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) keeps up its safety push in China and wider South East Asia this week by taking a stand at the first ever edition of APEX Asia, which runs 31 October-3 November in Shanghai. Visitors to the first ever Asian edition of the popular APEX expo event hosted every three years in Europe by Industrial Promotions International (IPI) will find IPAF on stand G4-1 in hall N1 of the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC).

A special Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWP) control test rig has been travelling the world since its debut at the APEX 2017 event in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in May, and most recently has been on three major UK construction sites to gather data to help the global standards body make recommendations as to the best way to standardise MEWP controls worldwide.

IPAF has made a senior management appointment to head up its global Technical & Safety department. Andrew Delahunt will join from a major global Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWP) manufacturer, where he is currently the Worldwide Safety and Homologation Manager. Andrew will be based in IPAF’s office in Basel, Switzerland, and will take up the post from January 2018.

A dedicated representative for the global Mast Climbing Work Platform (MCWP) market has been appointed by the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF), in a new role created by the organisation to reflect the growth and influence of its MCWP membership base and activities.

The fatal injury rate (FIR) for mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) declined in 2016, despite the fact that the total MEWP rental fleet and the number of rental days worldwide increased significantly over the same period.

The global Mobile Elevating Work Platform (MEWP) fleet grew strongly in the past year, with the US market exceeding expectations and steady growth throughout Europe for the first time since the economic downturn, driven mainly by a resurgent construction industry and falling unemployment, according to the latest annual global rental market report from the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF).

More than 300 delegates from across Asia and further afield used their attendance at the IPAF Asia Conference in Changsha, China, to affirm their commitment to safety in the powered access industry by signing a pledge to equip all operators of boom-type Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs) with a safety harness.

There are three new posters in the Andy Access safety series: "Danger, keep well clear"; "Do not jump out of the platform"; and "Register pre-owned machines".

Demand for IPAF training continued to rise in 2016, and almost 160,000 Pal Cards were issued across the year as a whole. IPAF training take-up saw pronounced growth in the Gulf States, New Zealand and Switzerland. In the UK and Ireland, nearly 10,000 more people completed IPAF training than in 2015.

Chris Wraith, IPAF Technical & Safety Executive has been named as a RoSPA 2017 Guardian Angel for making a demonstrable difference in the world of health and safety and accident prevention, through personal initiative, diligence, enthusiasm and commitment.