IPAF launches enhanced accident reporting dashboard

Members and non-members who log data in the IPAF accident reporting portal (www.ipafaccidentreporting.org) are now able to access improved dashboard functions that allow them to track their own safety statistics against the wider industry, following extensive work behind the scenes to enhance and updated the portal’s user interface.

Brian Parker, IPAF Head of Safety & Technical, comments: “Until now, IPAF offered a limited interface for viewing reports via the portal, with logged-in users only able to view charts ranking the incidents reported by company as a proportion of the total, which allowed rough benchmarking against overall industry trends.

“However, after extensive development work, we are pleased to announce that those using the incident reporting dashboards can now apply multiple filters that will give a snapshot of member company incidents entered against all database entries, which of course are completely anonymised so no company or individual can be identified.”

Falls from the platform, electrocution and platform overturns are the most common type of incidents leading to serious injuries and deaths over the past ten years, according to the latest Global Safety Report, containing analysis of anonymised data collected via the portal.

“IPAF’s accident reporting has been going for ten years; currently we are receiving around 600 reports a year from more than 40 countries worldwide – a leap forward from where we were in the early days,” Parker says. “By offering a quick and simple way for member companies to tailor their own database read-outs, we hope this will assist in making those activities safer, giving something back to our members in the rental industry who have been enthusiastic supporters of IPAF’s accident reporting since day one.”

Peter Douglas, CEO & Managing Director of IPAF, says: “We use the incident database to inform all the work we do at IPAF – including updating our globally recognised training and forming the basis of our worldwide safety campaigns, such as the current Don’t Fall For It! initiative aimed at reducing falls from the platform.

“The latest trends show we need to challenge ourselves as an industry: Is there more we could do to reduce these numbers? We hope that powered access stakeholders around the world read the annual IPAF Global Safety Report (www.ipaf.org/accident), now available in all core IPAF languages, to understand key trends and benchmark their own safety actions.

“We need more data from across all sectors of industry, from as many countries as possible; especially via easy on-the-spot incident reporting through the ePAL app. We hope this empowers people to report accidents and near-misses, which too often go under-reported.”

Mark Keily, QHSE Director at Sunbelt Rentals UK and Chair of IPAF’s International Safety Committee (ISC), which helps verify and analyse the anonymised data, adds: “These new tailorable incident dashboards along with the IPAF Global Safety Report allow industry stakeholders to review their own working practices to ensure they have robust safety systems and adequate risk control measures in place. They’re useful tools in the box for IPAF members.”