 Elevating safety standards
June 1st 2008
As well as supplying powered access equipment, AFI-Uplift also provides training such as IPAF-accredited Powered Access Licence courses.Cleaning Matters editor, Brendan Coyne, completed a one-day operator course at AFI's West London Depot
The Work at Height Regulations place responsibility on employers to ensure all work at height is properly planned, supervised and carried out safely.And the HSE comes down hard on those flouting the law - at least when they are caught. But by then, it's usually too late:A worker or member of the public is maimed or killed, and the employer is in the dock. By ensuring employees have the relevant training and qualifications – and requiring that supervised employees put the training into practice at all times – employers are demonstrating compliance with the regulations, and minimising the risk of accidents.
Theory
The operator training course began with a pre-training theory test paper on using mobile elevating working platforms (MEWPs). Most people familiar with health and safety/risk assessment requirements would probably answer most of the questions correctly, but there are some, such as which type of harness/lanyard is required, how to measure wind speed and operational procedures, minimum distance from power lines, arcing distances etc., that the layman would struggle to guess.
Following the pre-test, AFI training instructor, Lee Williams,went through all aspects of MEWP use, the various types of lift and platform and their suitability for any given job, and a rigorous set of do's and don'ts in terms of planning the job, checking the machines, ground and site conditions, and when carrying out the work at height.Candidates asked questions and discussed the situations and equipment, and Williams made sure everybody knew what they needed to.After the comprehensive programme, most candidates scored 100 per cent on the posttraining test.
Practical
After lunch came the practical session. First up was the mobile boom. Williams stressed the importance of first checking the ground conditions – whether it is compromised (wet, boggy, sloping etc.), whether there are noticeable dips or major potholes that, although minor to a driver at ground level, could potentially catapult an elevated worker from the basket.
Next,Williams demonstrated where to check for any machine faults:The basket welds, the wheels and tyres, the hydraulics etc.Then came an overview of the controls, which, although initially slightly confusing, took very little time to get a basic level of competence even for someone (like me) who had never used one previously. After the checks and control rundown, it was down to business. Suitably protected (hard hat, harness, short lanyard) candidates put the machine through its paces (checking blind spots and building hazards regularly) driving between cones and elevating the platform so that operators could reach a basket on top of another extended platform.The fact that this was done while lorries were returning to the depot gave the test some authenticity – it was a working site with real hazards.
Next up was a mobile vertical lift, used for tasks that don't require out reach.Again pre-checks were mandatory, checking ground, site and the lift itself.The controls were simpler (up, down, forward, back and steering) and the lift was pretty straightforward to use. Williams marked the practical tests, and following a debriefing, showing spectacular misuse of lifts, some with dramatic consequences (i.e. a video clip of how not to perform motorway gantry maintenance), issued candidates with a five year IPAF Powered Access Licence.
Now qualified to operate a mobile vertical and mobile boom, a change of career beckons should Cleaning Matters' publisher decide to get shot of the editor... More articles from Cleaning Matters: | 
