Working at Height award winners

North America’s access and rental industry celebrated its finest on the evening of 20 November, with six winners receiving top honours at the inaugural Working at Height Conference & Awards.

  • IPAF is pleased to be able to announce Peter Douglas as its new CEO & Managing Director, following a thorough recruitment process that attracted almost 50 applicants from around the world. The new CEO & MD will take up post on 1 December 2019 and will be based in the UK.

  • Senior representatives of IPAF have given more feedback to the UK All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) of MPs looking into falls from height in the workplace at a recent meeting in Westminster, including a review of IPAF’s accident reporting project.

  • The first edition of Elevation Portugal, has successfully been hosted by the IPAF at the Centro de Formação Profissional da Indústria da Construção Civil e Obras Públicas do Sul (CENFIC), Lisbon , on 15 October 2019.

  • MEWPs and technological advancements in the powered access industry can help to enhance safety and efficiency and aid people in their work, rather than replace people altogether, according to speakers at the Europlatform 2019 conference in Nice, France.

  • Andy Studdert, interim CEO and MD of IPAF, has used his closing remarks at the Europlatform 2019 conference in Nice, France, to pay tribute to departed IPAF President Brad Boehler, who stepped down after leaving his role at Skyjack recently.

  • Norty Turner has been named as the President of IPAF, after Brad Boehler decided to step down having recently left his role at member firm Skyjack. Karin Nars of Dinolift becomes Deputy President and Karel Huijser of JLG is named as Vice President.

  • The first training candidates have successfully passed IPAF’s PAL+ advanced MEWP operator course in a virtual reality (VR) environment using MEWP simulators, with the first certifications taking place at AFI-Uplift’s IPAF Training Centre near Leeds, Yorks.

  • Leading manufacturers have signed a pledge to ensure that all operators of boom-type MEWPs are provided with a full-body harness and correct lanyard at a special event hosted by IPAF during the BICES event in Beijing, China.

  • Tony Groat, North America Regional Manager for IPAF, has been honored as Person of the Year at the ALH Awards 2019 in San Diego, California, for his work to promote MEWP safety and training and in developing new US and Canadian standards.

  • All rental/hire members of the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) in the UK have “levelled up” to the IPAF Rental+ minimum standard, which assures people seeking to hire mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) that an IPAF member company will conform to the highest industry standards of safety and professionalism.

  • IPAF is pleased to announce that Cramo, one of the leading European equipment rental services companies has joined as a member as of August 2019, bolstering IPAF’s rapidly growing membership in northern and eastern Europe.

  • More than 50 delegates attended the first ever IPAF workshop on training and safety standards to be held in Oman, answering demand in the country to establish robust standards to improve operator safety and technical inspections of MEWP machines.

  • Attendees from all levels of the powered access industry participated in the second annual IPAF Innovate workshop, presentation & award event in Chicago, IL, which benefitted from a change in location and date from last year’s inaugural event.

  • OHSSAI has amplified calls from IPAF to increase take-up of comprehensive MEWP operator training in India, to help eradicate unsafe practices such as using ground controls to elevate untrained personnel to carry out work at height.

  • Tim Whiteman has stepped down from the position of Managing Director and CEO of the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) after 15 years in the position. Former IPAF President Andy Studdert will act as interim CEO to provide continuity as Tim Whiteman hands over and while the search for a new CEO is conducted.

  • The full line-up of industry thought-leaders confirmed to lead the topic-specific work groups at Innovate 2019 has been announced, with the second edition of the new workshop, challenge and award-format event hosted by IPAF in Chicago, July 16-17.