27.05.2005

IPAF Summit review

This years IPAF annual General meeting was an all positive affair, with virtually all of the federations objectives having being met and strong progress on the international development of the PAL training and certification programme.

Managing Director Tim Whitman and president Pierre Saubot were both able to deliver glowing reports. As a result no contentious issues or questions were raised and the meeting moved on to lunch and the IPAF summit.
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The IPAF council, take a photo call after the Annual General Meeting

This years IPAF summit focussed on the new Work at Height directive, which came into law in the UK in April. The use of Harnesses while operating aerial lifts was a secondary but very hot topic.
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Tim Whiteman, MD of IPAF

In spite of a public holiday in many European countries, the last build up day for SED and the Safety & Health Expo in Birmingham, it was virtually standing room only at the summit. Well over a hundred industry professionals turned out to hear a number of speakers discussing the new Work at Height Rules and other powered access safety topics.

Chris Gallagher of the HSE safety unit,discussed the new Work at Height Rules covering the rationale and objectives behind them, how they apply and the key requirements. He also spent a good deal of time explaining how a proper risk assessment should be carried out and who should do it.
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Chris Galagher of the HSE

One point that he highlighted was the consideration that needs to be given to the installation of a safe working platform. An example being the erection of a special scaffold tower, he pointed out that while the final platform might be extremely safe, the risks of an accident while erecting it would probably make an aerial lift the safer choice.

Leigh Sparrow, managing director of the Vertikal Press, discussed how rental companies might look to profit from the new rules, and urged delegates to take a positive attitude to the way they promote compliance to their end user customers.

He suggested that the new rules were one of the rare directives that provide a “win win” situation for both suppliers and users. Rental companies can potentially increase the number of customers they serve, as more users move to safer forms of access, while also having an opportunity to add more revenue and improve margins by offering a range of additional services structured around the new rules.
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Leigh W.Sparrow of Vertikal Press

End users can also benefit, financially, he continued, by the adoption of safer methods of access which invariably improve productivity and quality of work. Not to mention the reduction of costly accidents and in the worst cases prosecutions.

Gil Male, HM principal specialist inspector at the HSE, then discussed the types of accidents that occur with Mobile Elevating Work Platforms. His main thrust was that while MEWPS are inherently safe, the adoption of the BS/EN280 standard has helped reduce technical failures since its harmonisation. He maintained that ongoing updating and refining of the standard would help improve equipment safety levels still further.

The main causes of accidents, according to Mayles statistics are as follows:

Scissor lifts: there were 19 accidents recorded for the period of 1997 to 2003
Of which 42 percent were due to overturning (many of which are likely to be narrow aisle units in kerb or pothole incidents)

On booms there were 46 accidents reported for the same period, of which 28 percent were due to overturning and 27 percent where operators were flipped out of the basket. (A high number of these two types of accident are likely to have been caused by vehicles crashing into truck or van mounted booms on the road and poor outrigger set up)

Other incidents included, users falling while outside of the basket, the failure of a cylinder and cage levelling failure,
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Gil Male of the HSE

Male then went on to look at the level and type of accidents per year over a four year period and noted the drop in technical failures, due he says, to the adoption of the EN280 standard which sets out minimum safety requirements. He also noted though that the number of accidents caused by operator error have proved to be far more persistent.

Moving on to discuss the use of harnesses, he stated that the use of a harness with short restraint lanyard was “the only way to go”. A fall arrest lanyard can impose at least a 600 kg load on the platform, sufficient to turn smaller boom lifts over, as well as requiring up to five metres of clearance to ensure a falling person does not hit the ground,. Not to mention the health risks if .rescue is not rapidly carried out,

Continuing with the Harness theme, Gordon Leicester, managing director of Facelift, the Hickstead based access rental company, discussed his views on the use of harnesses. His talk was supported by a great deal of personal research into accidents with MEWPS from around the world. He also included video footage of a simulated accident caused by the failure of the basket levelling system. The tests confirmed Gil Mayles assertion that fall arrest lanyards are not an option in MEWPS.

Leicester’s view, which he stresses is a personal one, is that the use of a harness when operating a boom lift should be mandatory. He also believes that a system to apply penalty points to the PAL card of those caught not using them, with the withdrawal of the card for persistent abuse, should be adopted.. In the same way as diving licence points work.

He used the department of transports statistics on the use of car safety belts to drive his point home. Prior to 1982 only 40 percent of UK drivers used seat belts, in spite of a long term and widespread campaign with graphic advertising messages. A year after the law made them mandatory; seat belt use was over 90 percent. Deaths and serious injuries from road accidents dropped substantially as a result.
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Gordon Leicester of Facelift

He also stated that he would like to see the use of harnesses banned when operating scissor lifts as he considers their use on such machines to be dangerous.

Based on his estimate that 110,000 people use aerial lifts every day around the world, he believes that at least 50 lives a year could be saved by the mandatory use of a harness with boom lifts.

Finally Leicester stated that his preferred lanyard solution is an inertia reel type, which Gil Mayle, the previous speaker had pointed out would not meet the relevant standards for restraint harnesses.

Following this presentation discussion and questions raised the use of elasticated harnesses and lanyards. One thing became clear; this topic attracts passionate views and a range of opinions and solutions.

John Robertson of Time consulting covered the subject of rope access and including the topic of rescue from elevated places, including rescue from the highest aerial work platforms.
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John Robertson of Time Consulting

Finally the audience was given a stirring talk by John Nichol complete with dramatic video footage of his time as a fighter pilot in Iraq during the first Gulf War...