Representatives of the International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) at the Association of Professional Foresters (APF) Show in Warwickshire have launched an updated leaflet entitled Safe Use of MEWPs to Manage Trees and Vegetation.
Richard Whiting, IPAF’s UK Market General Manager, who was among the delegation on stand 720-730 at the three-day event, comments: “This is the first time IPAF has attended this show, which is aimed at those engaged in the tree care, arboriculture and forestry sectors.
“It is an ideal platform for us to reach out to regular users of MEWPs for tree and vegetation management – I’m sure anyone who picks up a copy of this new leaflet will appreciate the work that has gone into the updated guidance, which focuses specifically on the risks associated with such tasks.”
The leaflet is an update of existing guidance, and aims to reduce risk from the following task-specific hazards:
- Inadequate planning, including site and risk assessments;
- poor ground conditions;
- over-reaching/standing on guardrails;
- failing to wear appropriate PFPE or failing to attach lanyard to designated anchorage points;
- contact with or arcing of powerlines;
- being struck by falling objects or materials;
- being struck by passing traffic;
- pedestrians entering work zones;
- wind/weather conditions;
- injuries from cutting or pruning equipment;
- wildlife, such as nesting birds, wasps or bees.
Whiting adds: “In addition to launching this updated guidance at APF, our team used the APF show to talk through all the work IPAF does to promote the safe and effective use of powered access, including certifying quality training, incident reporting including via the ePAL app, and the IPAF Rental+ quality assurance scheme for MEWP hire members
“We spoke to many users and operators of MEWPs for tasks in the tree care and related industries, and all those who visited our stand were very appreciative of the full suite of free resources we had to offer aimed at making work at height as safe as possible. I’m sure this event will help IPAF build engagement among this important category of powered access end-users, and we look forward to attending again in 2024.”
● Visit www.ipaf.org/trees to view or download the new IPAF guidance leaflet.
