11.11.2026

IPAF's Working at Height Conference

The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) recently held its Working at Height Conference & Awards at the DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando in Florida at SeaWorld. The event drew 120 delegates from equipment rental, manufacturing, technology and safety management.

The conference speakers were as follows:

• Steve Hawkins, chief operating officer at FDR Safety, talked about moving from a ‘have to’ safety culture to a ‘want to’ culture.
• Cris Shell and Jason Brewer of AT&T covered how to turn company policy into a consistent aerial work platform safety programme.
• Federico Rio, senior vice president of product and pricing at Trackunit, discussed how equipment usage data, access information and pre-use checks can support safe working.

• Drew Gaskins, safety director at Gilbane Building Company, spoke on hazard recognition and decision making.
• David Swan of Geotab presented case studies on fleet data and predictive safety models.
• Nicole McGregor, managing principal at Ducker Carlisle, gave an overview of the North American access rental market.

• Ben Taft, vice president of sales North America at Palazzani, spoke about atrium and spider lifts in applications such as indoor maintenance and tree care.
• Tony Groat, IPAF’s North America regional manager, gave updates on the ANSI/SAIA A92, CSA B354 and ISO standards.

• IPAF’s Peter Douglas, Giles Councell and Don Satterfield gave updates on the federation’s global activities, its North America Regional Council and its safety campaigns.

IPAF chief executive Peter Douglas said: "The discussions throughout the conference highlighted that, while technology, equipment and standards are important, it is ultimately people, leadership and a shared commitment to doing things safely that make the difference."

The Working at Height Awards were presented at the end of the event with the winners as follows:

• Technology Innovation - Skyjack for Skyprotect and Skyprotect+
• New Product - Boom Lifts - Skyjack for the 45ft SJ45 AJN and SJ45 ARJN battery-powered slab booms
• New Product - Scissor Lifts - Haulotte for the 63ft HS6395 E PRO
• New Product - Atrium/Compact Crawlers - Palazzani for the 52m XTJ 170+ ECO
• Safety Innovation - OEM/Supplier - DICA for its LevelRight adjustable outrigger pads
• Safety and Culture Leadership Excellence - Rental Industry - National Lift Truck
• IPAF Person of the Year - Bart Krzysztofek for his work on standards development, best practice guidance, education and the North America Regional Council
• IPAF North America Member of the Year - Mastclimber LLC