All Standards Articles

In an industry where trained aerial platform operators are a must, a 1999 ANSI standard on familiarization is making head waves

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

OSHA, the US government health and safety body, has advised the US mast climbing industry to develop its own standard for the design and use of mast climbing work platforms.

Kevin O'Shea, who leads the training activities of Mastclimbers LLC in Atlanta, Georgia, US, draws parallels in the US mast climbing market to that of the UK 10 to 12 years ago. "We have a weak design standard coupled with weak regulation for implementation. Unregulated use is dangerous," he tells AI.

Having participated in a working group which focused on trapping accidents, Balfour Beatty has issued a document about the procurement and operation of MEWPs (mobile elevated work platforms) which IPAF (International Federation of Powered Access) feels is misleading.

The next few years will see a significant impact of regulatory requirements on access equipment. Tim Watson, Technical Director at Powered Access Certification Ltd, explains the impact on manufacturers.

Is the access industry doing enough to attract the talented engineers it needs to sustain competitive advantage? Paul Adorian managing director of Powered Access Certification Ltd (PAC) challenges the market to invest in the future.

If you want to know where the big potential access markets are, you could do worse than follow RIWAL. The Netherlands companyis targeting Brazil and at the vanguard of its new enterprise in Curitiba, is Jim Röest, newly arrived from his previous base in Europe.

Mixing scaffold components is an age–old issue, and becoming more so with the increasing influx of cheaper products from Asia. Patrick Hill talks to scaffold manufacturers and users in Europe and North America about the dangers of mixing.