18
| ACCESS
in
ACTION | FEBRUARY 2013
ACCESS in ACTION
On 30 November, JLG Industries held a
MEWP (mobile elevating work platforms)
safety features awareness day for a group
of Inspectors from Workcover NSW.
The event was organised by David Single,
the Product Parent at JLG Industries and
Prasad DeSilva, State Coordinator - Plant
Compliance from Workcover NSW.
According to Dave Single, the
introduction of the new Standard AS/
NZ1418.10-2011 for Australian and New
Zealand MEWP manufacturers has seen
significant changes, especially around new
safety and system devices.
“
This has triggered a need to provide
guidance to Workcover Inspectors
regarding Load Sensing Systems, Enhanced
Overload and Stability, Fall Arrest
Overturning Test and changes in
functionality for MEWPs delivered into
Australia after the publication of the
Standard,” Dave said.
This was the eighth product
familiarisation event for regulators
organised by David Single.
“
The format was changed this year to
include interstate technical representatives
from three other manufacturers, the rental
industry and the EWPA. Feedback from
Safety Features Awareness Day for MEWPs
the Workcover group indicated
it was the best event to date,”
Dave said.
The additional representatives
included: Mike Randle,
Engineering Manager, Genie
Australia, Brisbane; Bruce
Maclean, National Product
Support Manager, Snorkel
Australia, Melbourne; Andrew
Delahunt, Product Safety
Engineer, Haulotte Australia,
Melbourne; and James Oxenham, National
Operations Manager, EWPA Sydney.
“
Invaluable and reliable assistance on the
day was also offered by Peter Davis, E2E
Technical Manager, Coates Hire, Sydney;
and Arron Cooper, Product Manager, JLG
Industries, Sydney.”
Genie, Haulotte and Snorkel provided
additional equipment including: Genie GRC-
12
vertical lift; Haulotte Compact 10 Scissor
lift with outriggers; and Snorkel MHP13
trailer mounted platform.
James Oxenham provided guidance
regarding the operator training program
maintained by the EWPA and its accredited
trainers.
“
Peter Davis and Arron Cooper assisted
the safety feature ‘hands on’ awareness
presentations with their experience and
knowledge, and also provided a ‘balanced
approach’ to indicate existing machines
in the market compliant to the previous
Australian Standard are still valid alongside
machines compliant to the changes in the
new Standard.
“
Manufacturers’ ability to work with
regulators, rental companies and the EWPA,
our industry’s ‘peak representative body’, is
a testament to the effort and cooperation
of the representative group involved in this
Safety Features Awareness Day,” Dave said.
For more information contact the EWPA
on: 02 9998 2222 or visit:
www.ewpa.com
.
au or David Single or Arron Cooper at JLG
on 02 8718 6300 or:
www.jlg.com.au
HR
Oldfields Advance Scaffold has relocated
its scaffold manufacturing facility to China.
Managed by General Manager, Allan
Wan, the relocation came in on time
and on budget with no disruptions to
production.
The new plant is located in Shunde,
Guandong and is significantly closer to
major infrastructure, including suppliers
and ports, than Oldfields’ previous
location, Mr Wan said.
“
It will resolve the difficulties faced
in the past attracting high caliber
manufacturing workers and managers.
Oldfields relocates manufacturing to China
This is now alleviated due to the more
central location, allowing access to a
greater pool of people.
“
The relocation had been planned for
some time and a suitable facility was found
in August with negotiations starting at
that time. Detailed planning took place
to ensure the best possible layout of
the factory to allow for a smooth flow
of production from the receipt of raw
materials at one end of the plant to the
dispatch of finished products at the other.”
For more contact: 02 8708 4501 or visit:
www.oldfields.com.au
HR
Grange Resources together with
pitt&sherry received the WorkSafe
Tasmania Award 2012 for the
Best Solution to an Identified
Workplace Health and Safety Issue.
The Merlo Remote Explosive
Blasting Unit delivers an innovative
solution to keep mine personnel
safely away from the hazards of
open pit mining.
The WorkSafe Tasmania
Awards recognise Tasmanian businesses,
organisations and individuals leading the
way in workplace health and safety.
“
Having our work recognised by
WorkSafe Tasmania is a great honour for
pitt&sherry and Grange Resources. Mining
fundamentally takes place in a harsh and
often hostile environment, making safety
a priority,” Dan O’Toole, Director/National
Manager Mining, pitt&sherry said.
By conducting a Workplace Risk
Assessment and Control analysis the highest
risks in open pit mines were hazards related
to rock falls and slope failures.
The Merlo Remote Explosive Loading
Unit represents a significant improvement
in OH&S procedure and was recently
accepted into the minerals processing
The ‘Merlo’ wins WorkSafe Award
unit (MPU) code
of practice that
recognised the
safety advantages
of the equipment,
allowing it to be
used as a minerals
processing unit.
Any mine or
quarry with either
high-wall operations or rock-fall hazards
stands to benefit greatly from the Merlo
Remote Explosive loading unit technology.
“
There is increasing pressure on the
mining industry to improve safety and
productivity, while reducing costs. Robotic
machine guidance technologies such as the
Merlo are providing attractive alternatives
to traditional mining techniques,” Dan said.
For more visit:
www.pittsh.com.au
HR
The safety features awareness day crew