All Standards Articles

As the Tier IV and Stage IIIB regulations start to affect the access industry starting with telehandlers and very big booms, Maria Hadlow reports on how it is affecting the manufacturers and their customers.

The IPAF (International Powered Access Federation) AGM and Summit took place during the day at the Grand Krasnapolsky Hotel in Amsterdam on 14 April. With a new president in place the Summit speakers raised some challenging issues.

JLG Industries has announced that its CE - marked telehandler models are now equipped with EN15000:2008 - compliant control systems

Spanish standards institute AENOR has started work on the new standard for training of mobile elevating work platform operators.

The Ladder Association, the trade body dedicated to promoting the safe use of ladders and stepladders, has launched a new information resource for users. Called LadderSolve, it sets out to provide simple, straightforward information about the proper use of ladders in the workplace.

Following lobbying by IPAF to introduce a European manufacturing norm for transport platforms, a new Working Group 4 on transport platforms has been formed under CEN/TC 10, the European technical standards committee that covers lifts, escalators and moving walks.

By the end of the year the UK scaffolding industry should be fully conforming to the European Standard BS EN12811-1:2003 rather than the withdrawn British Standard BS 5973:1993.

IPAF has published three standard forms/templates with the aim of promoting safety and best practice in the use of MCWPs (mast climbing work platforms) on work sites.

Mobile access tower association PASMA is to technically evaluate the two most common methods of tower erection to provide an objective assessement of the benefits of each system.

NASC (the National Access & Scaffolding Confederation) has launched a new information brochure, which aims to explain to clients and main contractors how using only regulated scaffolding firms can help them meet their requirements under the CDM 2007 Regulations for competence.

The American National Standards Institute has approved a new standard, the ANSI/SIA A92.10-2009.

IPAF is opposing a draft proposal by the ASSE (American Society of Safety Engineers) and ANSI (American National Standards Institute) A10 committee of new standards that cover the purchase, rental, lease, maintenance, use and training in use of aerial platforms used for lifting personnel in construction.

Following an independent audit, IPAF (the International Powered Access Federation) can announce that it continues to meet the ISO 9001:2000 standard. The audit is carried out every three years - this year by David Willcocks from ISOQAR - no major and no minor non-conformities were found.

As of 1 January 2010, Midas Group will only use scaffolding companies who are full members of NASC (the National Access & Scaffolding Confederation) from their subcontractor database.

John Sisk & Son Ltd one of the largest construction groups in the UK and Ireland, has announced that scaffolding contractors on all of its UK projects must be members of NASC (National Access and Scaffolding Confederation). Sisk is certain this will reinforce its best practice approach to health and safety on its construction sites, and further improve its already impressive incident records.

IPAF (the International Powered Access Federation) has produced guidance for second party inspection bodies that carry out periodic, in-service inspections of MEWPs (mobile elevating work platforms).

Several manufacturers and dealers at the recent Scaffold Industry Association (SIA) convention and exposition in Denver, Colorado, were forecasting a rapid growth in sales of transport platforms in North America.

Safe use guidelines for users of MCWPs (mast climbing work platforms) in the US have been prepared by the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) and Kevin O'Shea of Mastclimbers LLC with input from a number of interested organisations.

The movement towards standards for safe design and use of mast climbing work platforms seems to be accelerating, as well as benefiting from the industry's international orientation and history. Access International reports.

The UK's National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) is encouraging its members to anonymously "whistle blow" on principal contractors who continue to opt for non-regulated scaffolding companies.