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  • IPAF can support safety professionals by providing a hub for safety, good practice, efficiency and technical know-how. Here you will find links to relevant documents, guidance, toolbox talks, and information to support you and your colleagues to work safely when using powered access.

  • 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.

  • The purpose of this document is to provide information, and good-practice guidance on means of reducing exposure to trapping and crushing hazards while using a MEWP.

    Added 2 Feb 2023
    Last updated

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  • The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) is gearing up for Intermat 2024, taking place between April 24th-27th at the Paris-Nord Villepinte convention centre, France. Situated at stand number F043 in Hall 6, IPAF invites industry professionals, stakeholders, and partners to engage with the team and delve into crucial discussions surrounding safety within the industry.

  • 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's mission is to promote and enable the safe use of powered access worldwide. This includes mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs), mast climbing work platforms (MCWPs) and construction hoists (CHs).

  • 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.

  • 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 use a comprehensive technical guidance booklet that can help to avoid safety issues and to mitigate the key risks involved.

  • 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 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.

  • 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.

  • Campaign

    Plan Ahead

    IPAF’s latest safety campaign highlights the main contributing factors to falls from the MEWP platform and how these can be avoided to ensure all those working with MEWPs plan for safety from the ground before work starts.

    Added 21 May 2018
    Last updated 30 Sep 2022

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  • 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.

  • Featured Campaign

    Stop Overturns!

    MEWP overturn incidents often result in serious injuries or fatalities. Instability leading to overturn is commonly among the top four causes of lost time incidents (LTIs) annually, according to global data.

    Added 5 Mar 2025
    Last updated 31 Mar 2025

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    Stop Overturns - Website header
  • 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.

  • Putting up and removing seasonal decorations can quickly turn into a festive hangover if those tasked with the work do not know how to select the correct type of MEWP, overlook the need to use professionally trained operators and supervisors, or if they try to save time or money by not following safe working practices, IPAF has warned