09.08.2006

Panther gains IPAF Rental +

Panther Platform Rental Plus has become the latest company to achieve the IPAF Rental Plus quality standard. The company is only the fourth to pass the tough series of audits that served to confirm that it meets the highest quality levels in the industry.

A good number of companies are now going through the audit process required to achieve the standard, which is based on an independent assessment of all of the fundamental elements of a rental company and the standards of service the company provides. As part of this, IPAF closely monitors customer service, safety, staff training and machine inspection procedure.

“It is not easy to attain IPAF Rental+ and Panther Platform Rentals is to be congratulated on having completed this first audit, indicating that the company’s platform hire operations conform to the highest standard in the industry,” said Giles Councell, IPAF chief auditor.

“When hiring any powered access equipment I’d always insist that the provider meets the standards set out under the IPAF Rental+ scheme. As one of the leading names in provision of safe working at height it seemed obvious for us to apply for accreditation to give our customers this confidence,” said Brian Fleckney, Panther joint managing.

“Having passed with flying colours, the benefit to our customers is clear – they know they’re getting the best service, advice and equipment for all their working at height needs.”

Vertikal Comment

While Brian Fleckney would say that, now that Panther has been approved, the IPAF Rental + programme is likely to become a “must have” for the better access rental companies and will serve to identify the best companies in the field.

When IPAF first started, few, if any, minimum standards were established for members, as a result the only thing that membership of IPAF tells a potential customer is that the company is not criminally bad.

As more and more companies attain the Rental + status, it is likely to become a valuable guide to the better companies to deal with and force up industry standards overall. The threat of loosing the Rental + status for safety and quality infringements is also likely to help keep standards at a high level.

Hopefully the programme will gather pace and be taken up in more countries than just the UK.