Boost safety awareness

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.

IPAF head of safety & technical Brian Parker, 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 those 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 trends show we need to challenge ourselves as an industry: Is there more we could do to reduce these numbers? We hope 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.”

Awareness

A safety awareness leaflet has been issued to warn users of mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) about the catapult effect, which can cause occupants to be ejected from the platform, leading to serious injury and death, especially if occupants in boom-type machines are not wearing the correct personal fall protection equipment (PFPE).

A safety awareness leaflet has been issued to warn users of mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) about the catapult effect, which can cause occupants to be ejected from the platform, leading to serious injury and death, especially if occupants in boom-type machines are not wearing the correct personal fall protection equipment (PFPE). 

The leaflet, entitled MEWP Catapult Effect, has been created by IPAF’s Safety & Technical team as part of the federation’s ongoing Don’t Fall For It! global safety campaign, which is targeted at reducing falls from the platform. It’s available in English and is free to download via IPAF’s website at www.ipaf.org/resources, with translated and region-specific versions of the leaflet to follow. 

Brian Parker, IPAF’s Head of Safety & Technical, comments: “The previous IPAF Catapult leaflet was always very popular with members, particularly IPAF Training Centres, as it points out a specific effect that new and inexperienced operators of MEWPs in particular may be unaware of. We review all our guidance documents regularly and feel that this update offers really useful, practical steps to manage risk.

“We have condensed the key information needed to describe the catapult effect, what the main underlying causes are, and how to mitigate these. We’re confident that the new leaflet will be very helpful in raising awareness around this potentially dangerous situation that can arise when using MEWPs, and we are happy to offer this free of charge to end users as part of our ongoing Don’t Fall For It! safety campaign.”

The MEWP catapult occurs when stored energy or an impact to the MEWP’s structure causes a whiplash effect, which travels through the boom to the platform. Key advice on the new leaflet is broken down into three sections: Planning the job, including thorough site risk assessment and rescue planning, selecting the correct machine for the job, pre-start checks on the MEWP and ensuring operators are trained, familiarised and wearing the correct PFPE. 

The section on operating the MEWP advises maintaining continual observation around the MEWP at all times, using a banksman or spotter to identify hazards when driving the MEWP.

Parker adds: “IPAF will follow up the launch of this leaflet with other related guidance updates and will continue to support the Don’t Fall For It! campaign through the publication of new Andy Access posters and Toolbox Talks over the coming weeks and months.”