Hire and Rental News

40 | ACCESS

ACTION | MAY 2012

ACCESS in ACTION

NEWS IN BRIEF

WH&S ACTS AND

HARMONISATION

The new nationally harmonised WH&S

Acts started to come into action in

January. NSW and QLD have been very

active with plenty of material available

to read and supporting help lines.

Queensland have a couple of easy to

read summary guides on how the new

Act works and the differences, plus one

on ‘Due Diligence’. These can be viewed

at: www.worksafe.qld.gov.au

NSW also have a Practical Guide to

Understanding the New Act. It is a two

page summary and can be downloaded

from - www.workcover.nsw.gov.au

In addition the NSW Business Chamber

are running seminars all over NSW

during March and April on the changes.

There is a small fee payable, but check

out the venues and dates at:

www.nswbusinesschamber.com.au/

Home and click on ‘Events’.

WEBPAGE GUIDE

We now have what we believe is a user

friendly guide to the EWPA Webpage. It

can be found under ‘Information Sheets’

after clicking the Member Services tab

on the top of the homepage.

The guide takes you through sections

and sub-sections and should help you to

navigate to what you are after. Please

remember that you need your password

to get into the members area - but there

is a “Forgot Password” button that

requires a valid email and a password

will be sent to you.

LOST YELLOW CARD

From 1 February 2012 we have

introduced a small charge of $30 for

replacing yellow cards that have been

lost by the operators. Please note newly

trained operators have up to 60 days

to let the EWPA know if they have not

received their yellow card. After 60 days

a $30 fee may be charged to reissue

the card.

Therefore it is essential to get the

original white copy of the Trained

Operator Application form posted to

the EWPA office as soon as possible

after training. It can take between 14

to 21 days to receive, process and send

out the new card to the operator. In

theory plenty of time! The website also

has a new page called ‘Lost Yellow

Card’ where operators can order a

replacement card online.

For queries, email: lostcard@ewpa.

com.au

As part of the ongoing

development of careers in hire

the Hire and Rental Industry

Association (HRIA) is pleased to

announce it will soon be able to

offer an apprenticeship in EWPs.

This has been made possible

with the relationship between

the newly formed Auto

Skills Australia (ASA) and

the Elevating Work Platform

Association (EWPA).

Auto Skills Australia is

the body responsible for

the development and

maintenance of nationally

accredited automotive training

qualifications in Australia.

The EWPA has spent the past

18 months developing content

for the first apprenticeship

designed specifically for

EWP mechanics. The draft

apprenticeship qualification

is now in its final stages of

approval with the ASA and

the EWPA is anticipating its

finalisation by the end of

this year with first courses

to be offered by TAFE and

apprenticeship training centres

for the start of 2013.

The access industry driven

training program arose from

industry demand for trained

First EWP Specific Mechanic

Apprenticeship

and competent

persons

responsible for

EWP maintenance.

“Currently

there are three

or four relevant

mechanical

qualifications, but

none specific to

EWPs,” EWPA NSW President,

John Glover said.

John, who is also the National

Service Manager for Force

Access, has been working on the

draft apprenticeship program

with EWPA Training Director,

Phil Middleton and EWPA

Executive Director, Phil Newby.

“Mechanics training to service

EWPs can currently undertake

training as a Plant Mechanic;

a Mechanical Fitter; Heavy Off

Highway Vehicles Mechanic; or

Light Vehicle Mechanic.

“Elevating work platforms

are highly specialised pieces of

equipment and being classified

as high risk equipment, include

many safety features which

require expert maintenance

knowledge,” John said.

“It is very clear our industry

needs a more focused

apprenticeship that is relevant

and specific to EWPs.”

The draft

apprenticeship

program, Certificate

III Automotive

Technology -

Elevating Work

Platforms, draws on

training or learning

modules relevant to

EWPs from existing mechanical

qualifications.

“The EWPA would like to take

this opportunity to thank the

team at the ASA with a special

thank you to Stephen Wrathall

for taking on the challenge of

creating an apprenticeship for

our industry,” John said.

“This means our industry

specific EWP apprenticeship

program will attract welcome

government funding, making

it more affordable for our

industry to train and employ

fully qualified EWP mechanics.

“Being able to offer an

apprenticeship helps to make

our industry more attractive

and is a huge step forward for

our careers in hire program,”

John said.

Contact EWPA Training

Director, Phil Middleton on 02

9622 6060.

The Italian Health and Safety

Act 81/2008 has been updated,

defining training requirements

for workers using machinery

that is considered potentially

dangerous under Italian law,

including mobile elevating work

platforms (MEWPs).

IPAF has been involved for

nearly two years in discussions

with the Italian Ministry of

Labour and other institutions,

both in the drafting of the

regulations and in examining

how the IPAF training program

meets the Italian requirements

Updated Italian regulations for MEWP training

and how IPAF-approved

training centres in Italy can

be accredited under the

regulations.

According to IPAF, the new

regulations set out qualitative

and quantitative criteria on how

training should be carried out.

Training should consist of a

legal, a technical and a practical

module.

The regulations also specify

the type of entities that are

eligible, subject to accreditation,

to provide training.

“I am pleased to confirm

IPAF training meets and

sometimes exceeds the Italian

requirements and all training

delivered retains its validity and

high standards,” IPAF CEO Tim

Whiteman said.

“I am glad the collaboration

with the Italian institutions has

led to the implementation of

a recognised national training

system that will go a long way

in improving safety on work

sites.”

For more information visit: