Brian Parker has been announced as the new Head of Safety & Technical for the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF). He IPAF joins from AFI-Uplift Ltd and takes up post on 2 October, reporting to Peter Douglas, CEO and Managing Director.

A VR sim on which to demonstrate operator training, and several safety stations using a selection of MEWPs to illustrate the key risks involved in the most common causes of MEWP accidents will be among the main draws on the IPAF stand at SMOPYC 2021.

IPAF representatives will attend Dansk Liftmesse 2023, the first expo focused solely on MEWPs in Denmark, which will be held in Slagelse near Copenhagen on 11-12 May.

IPAF representatives are attending the Plantworx 2023 event on 13-15 June at the East of England Showground near Peterborough to promote its Safe Loading and Unloading campaign; alongside offering free safety and technical guidance materials.

A global safety campaign pointing out risks of working at height in the vicinity of power lines will be among the messages promoted by IPAF at the APEX event on 6-8 June.

Visitors to IPAF’s stand at bauma will be invited to take a safety quiz testing their knowledge of how to prevent falls from the platform in line with IPAF’s Don’t Fall for It! safety campaign.

A Global Safety Report created using the latest analysis of data gathered in IPAF’s incident reporting project and an overview of MEWPs for Managers training will be among the key pieces of technical guidance and safety information available on the IPAF stand at the A+A Trade Fair & Congress 26-29 October in Düsseldorf, Germany.

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.

IPAF used Vertikal Days 2023 at the East of England Showground near Peterborough to promote its current safety campaign – Safe Loading and Unloading.

A campaign emphasising the importance of planning ahead for safety when conducting temporary work at height using MEWPs has been launched by IPAF at Intermat 2018 in Paris, France. ‘Safety at height begins before you’ve even left the ground.’

Workers and managers using MEWPs to install and remove seasonal decorations and lights are being urged to download a comprehensive new technical guidance booklet that can help to avoid safety issues and to mitigate the key risks involved.

An agreement between IPAF and a local chapter of the National Safety Council of India will see the two organisations work together in the state of Kerala to spread awareness about key risks and mitigations when working at height.

IPAF has issued a further update in regard to industry concerns around the use of the platform emergency stop function in MEWPs following another meeting of its training, safety and technical experts, representatives of its Training Committee, International Safety Committee and Manufacturers’ Technical Committee on 13 December.

Mike Ashton is to take up post as IPAF’s new International Safety & Technical Advisor, bringing to the role expertise from his more than 25 years in industry technical, training and business management positions in the UK, the Middle East and Australia.

Workers and managers using MEWPs to install and remove seasonal decorations and lights are being urged to use a comprehensive technical guidance booklet that can help to avoid safety issues and to mitigate the key risks involved.

IPAF will officially launch its 2019 global safety campaign at the giant bauma construction equipment showcase near Munich, Germany, 8-14 April 2019. IPAF’s stand is confirmed as 711 in C4 hall of the exhibition site, and will also feature a sophisticated MEWP simulator, which proved very popular at IPAF’s events in 2018.

IPAF is supporting from The No Falls Foundation, the first and only UK charity dedicated exclusively to the work at height sector, urging workers to ‘Be Safe, Don’t Fall, Stay Alive!’, as lockdown eases and UK construction activity begins to increase.

A safety awareness leaflet has been issued to warn users of MEWPs about the catapult effect, which can cause occupants to be ejected from the platform, leading to serious injury and death, especially if occupants are not wearing the correct PFPE.

Information gathered in a worldwide project to report accidents and near-misses has informed a major update to IPAF’s comprehensive training course on how to load and unload MEWPs and other plant equipment safely from trucks or trailers.

A safety trail demonstrating the most common types of MEWP accidents, as identified by the latest analysis of data gathered in IPAF’s incident reporting project, will be the theme of the IPAF stand at Vertikal Days 2021 in Peterborough, UK, 22-23 September.

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.

Information gathered in a worldwide project to report accidents and near-misses has informed a major update to IPAF’s comprehensive training course on how to load and unload MEWPs and other plant equipment safely from trucks or trailers.

Intermat,is a chance to showcase IPAF’s new safety campaign for 2018-19. This outlines why operators and managers conducting work at height using MEWPs should plan ahead for safety; carry out proper risk assessments, choose the correct equipment for the job, conduct site and machinery inspections, use trained and familiarised operators under proper supervision and implement adequate segregation from other plant machinery and traffic.