PAR2007 - IPAF

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COURSES Staying on course Three new courses will soon be available from selected IPAF training centres. The first test IPAF training course for telehandlers with integrated platforms was successfully completed in August 2006. The first PAL Cards for the Telehandler Platform – Integrated (TPI) category were issued to two employees of Taylor Woodrow Construction Ltd. “The course is aimed at experienced and certified telehandler operators who may need to operate access platform attachments from within the basket rather than from the cab of the telehandler,” said Peter Grant of Merlo UK. Grant chairs the IPAF Telehandler Committee and has been working closely with IPAF in developing this course. Grant explained, “Basic working platforms, without any controls, are still widely in use in the UK, although they are designated ‘inappropriate’ by the HSE for use on telehandlers capable of lifting above 6m. Many telehandler manufacturers now offer fully integrated platform attachments, complying with the requirements of EN 280. The telehandler/platform combination becomes, in effect, a mobile elevating work platform and requires training additional to, and not covered by, standard telehandler operating courses.” Authorities in countries throughout Europe such as Switzerland, France and Italy are increasingly restricting the use of ‘dumb’ baskets in favour of ‘smart’ baskets with integrated controls. The IPAF course will become available worldwide. The first one-day course, covering theory and practical on-site training, was given by Brian Parker of Peter Hird Ltd, an IPAF senior instructor and member of the IPAF Training Committee. The two trainees, Alan Rae and Ryan McCue, were able to test the telehandler to its full lifting height of 25m at the site with high-rise apartments. “At first we thought there was too much emphasis on the MEWP side of things,” said veteran telehandler driver Rae. “But after the practical training we both now feel completely confident in the machine – all the way up to the full height.” Look out for these new IPAF courses MEWPs for Managers Loading/Unloading Telehandler Platforms - Integrated The first test course for telehandlers with integrated platforms was successfully completed at the Taylor Woodrow Western Harbour site in Edinburgh. ACCESS TRAINING UK LTD Established 1990 CONSTRUCTION AND INDUSTRIAL SAFETY AND TRAINING PROVIDER MEWPS HARNESSES TELESCOPIC HANDLERS OTHER CATEGORIES Tel: 01842 879999 Fax: 01842 879111 Email: atuk@accesstraining.co.uk www.accesstraining.co.uk Heathcote, Methwold Road, Cranwich, Thetford IP26 5JR 30 IPAF POWERED ACCESS REVIEW 2007
HARNESSES Strap yourself in People are increasingly familiar with the demands of using powered access, but when and how to wear harnesses and lanyards remains something of a mystery. Paul Howard investigates. Strap yourself in. Or don’t. This is the conundrum faced with increasing regularity by those using powered access. “There are a lot of people on site who haven’t the slightest clue how best to use harnesses,” says Rupert Douglas-Jones, IPAF international training manager. Help is at hand in the form of advice developed by the Powered Access Interest Group, a joint committee of IPAF and the Construction Plant-hire Association, with representatives from hire companies and the Health & Safety Executive. Should harnesses be used? The answer, when it comes to booms, is clearly yes. Reports from around the world reveal a significant number of accidents involving people falling out, with various causes: booms working at the side of roads being hit by passing vehicles; machines being moved while the boom is raised and hitting a kerb/bump of some sort; even just the jolting of unloading a boom from a low-loader. The common factor is the catapulting effect of being in a basket a long way from the machine’s centre of gravity, a force which is not to be underestimated. “I was conducting a test in a boom and we went, deliberately, over a kerb,” says Douglas-Jones. “Even though I knew it Waist belts can cause severe internal damage, thus the recommendation to use full-body harnesses. was coming I couldn’t keep my feet on the floor and I lost my mobile phone from my pocket.” The argument for wearing harnesses on vertical lifting machines (scissor lifts and vertical personnel platforms) is less clear cut, however. “First, by wearing a harness and restricting your movement you can create quite a large blindspot through the platform itself and this can have its own dangers,” Douglas-Jones explains. “Second, the size of some decks on vertical platforms means that if you did want to be free to move over the whole area while still wearing a harness you’d need a very long lanyard. This could easily become tangled, especially if there is more than one person on board, again leading to its own problems. Finally, if you need to lean out, you’re using the wrong machine.” What to wear? What sort of harness – and lanyard – should be worn? “Waist belts are banned for use in fall arrest in the US because of the internal damage they can cause, so use of a fullbody harness is the recommendation,” says Douglas-Jones. There are two basic types of lanyards. “Restraint lanyards are the simplest option, designed to stop you getting into a position where you can fall in the first place,” says Douglas-Jones. The second type, fall arrest lanyards, come in many shapes, sizes and configurations. “You may get a 2m lanyard for work at 4m and think it’s fine but if it’s got in-built shockabsorption then you could end up falling the length of the lanyard, plus the length it extends to slow your fall, plus your own length – that could easily be 5.5m and you could have broken legs, or worse,” he explains. “What’s more, a shock-absorbing section implies the harness/lanyard is designed to be used for fall arrest which, under the work at height hierarchy, should be your last resort. Avoidance, then restraint, then position, should come first.” “The most important thing to remember is that the need for a fall protection system will be the outcome of a job-specific risk assessment undertaken prior to work commencing. In certain circumstances – most notably low-level work over water with the associated risk of drowning – this may override the general advice to wear harnesses in boom type platforms. “We don’t recommend the use of inertia devices, like those used in car seat belts, because the mechanisms can break. People should also know that lanyard damage can seriously compromise performance, especially abrasion. You’d think nicks and cuts might be more serious, but abrasion is the biggest risk and it doesn’t take much. Also, you must be very careful with the connectors you use: karabiners, for example, must be oriented the right way (longitudinally, not laterally),” advises Douglas-Jones. “Finally, don’t attach any harness or lanyard to something outside the basket of the boom – unless you want to be left hanging around when your work mates go home at the end of the day.” ■ See IPAF’s H1 leaflet on the use of harnesses at www.ipaf.org. A clean, comfortable, properly adjusted harness can save lives and is a sign of a professional, skilled platform operator. Safety sticker! Free with this magazine is a decal for use in boom type platforms, which tells the operator to use a full body harness. Additional copies from www.ipaf.org. IPAF POWERED ACCESS REVIEW 2007 31
Page 1 and 2: Powered Access Review 2007 Take con
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS Powered Access Review 2007
Page 5 and 6: Your powered access expertise + IPA
Page 7 and 8: NEWS 250,000 PAL Cards boost safety
Page 9 and 10: APPROVED TRAINING CENTRE FOR ALL YO
Page 11 and 12: “We are trying to influence attit
Page 13 and 14: “IPAF’s MEWPs for Managers cour
Page 15 and 16: Access Safety Training WE OFFER IPA
Page 17 and 18: “My vision is that a day will com
Page 19 and 20: TRAINING Training faces IPAF’s mo
Page 21 and 22: Multi-trade Access Curtain Walling
Page 23 and 24: IPAF RENTAL+ Wheat and chaff Hire c
Page 25 and 26: HIRE KESTREL ACCESS 0845 604 0143 V
Page 27 and 28: CASE STUDIES Access all areas Const
Page 29: On the prowl for a better national
Page 33 and 34: MAST CLIMBERS MCWPs go sky high IPA
Page 35 and 36: WWW.NOOTEBOOM.COM
Page 37 and 38: MEWPS MEWPs for managers: Are you i
Page 39 and 40: INTERNATIONAL Experts on hand with
Page 41 and 42: IPAF TRAINING DIRECTORY IPAF traini
Page 43 and 44: HSS Hire Service Group Ltd Leeds/Wh
Page 45 and 46: Tel: 08700 771709 Fax: 08700 771609
Page 47 and 48: Fax: 00 31 43 35 00 656 info@omnita
Page 49 and 50: MEMBERS Manufacturers’ directory
Page 51 and 52: access machinery for sale ● New a

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