Hire and Rental News - Access in Action - August 2018

30 ACCESS IN ACTION • AUGUST 2018 ACCESS in ACTION president's message AUGUST 2018 VOL 20 NO 1 ELEVATING WORK PLATFORM ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA INC ABN 32 545 830 419 EWPA BOARD OF DIRECTORS President: Doug Rawlings Tel: 08 9350 5700 Vice President:Tim Nuttall Tel: 03 9547 7700 Past President: Rick Mustillo Tel: 02 9817 7610 Chief Executive Officer: James Oxenham Tel: 0410 704 979 Operations Director: Nicolas Chiew Tel: 0410 468 468 NSW President: John Glover Tel: 0419 663 863 VIC President: Keith Clarke Tel: 0400 369 900 QLD President: Richard Gannon Tel: 0437 477 279 SA President: Jason Gaskin Tel: 08 8449 0500 WA President: Will Reilly Tel: 0408 474 261 TECHNICAL DIRECTOR – OPERATIONS Peter Davis Tel: 02 8796 50551 TECHNICAL DIRECTOR – ENGINEERING Peter Wenn Tel: 03 9568 7211 COMMITTEE Dean Halliwell Tel: 0408 403 783 Bob Mules Tel: 0402 982 999 James Nightingale Tel: 1800 457 145 TELESCOPIC HANDLER ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA (TSHA) PRESIDENT: Chris Taylor Tel: 0448 450 132 EWPA & TSHA PO Box 1304, Mona Vale NSW 1660 Tel: 02 9998 2222 Email: info@ewpa.com.au Web: www.ewpa.com.au Opinions published in Hire and Rental News do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the association or the Editor. The HRIA accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of any information contained in this magazine and readers should rely upon their own enquiries in making decisions related to their own interest. All rights reserved. ISSN 1838-1197 It’s exciting to report after the highly successful HIRE18 Convention in Brisbane at the end of May. Record attendances, exhibitor numbers and participation from our members made the week highly enjoyable. The EWP industry was heavily represented as usual. Global Access meeting On Tuesday 29 May, the day before HIRE18 started, the Global Access meeting gave our industry experts a chance to meet with each other and key stakeholders involved with Mobile Elevating Work Platforms (MEWPs), to discuss the latest industry issues including the progress the ISO Technical Committee 214 has achieved in researching the best way to standardise controls worldwide. Peter Wenn, Technical Director of the EWPA, gave a very informative presentation as did other presenters during the meeting. Andrew Delahunt from IPAF discussed the importance of accident data and analysis and encouraged the attendees to provide information through the EWPA on any incidents with MEWPs. This could be relayed to IPAF for a global analysis. Once trends and causes are identified, the information can be used to improve training, promote best practice and feedback to OEMs for research and development into machine design and safety. Manufacturers described their advances in Secondary Guarding on scissor lifts, which in the space of 12 months has gone from little or no options, to several OEM developments in this area. A representative from the CFMEU and Victoria Worksafe highlighted the issue of workplace safety and the need for suppliers to continue pushing hard to find the safest innovations for MEWPs. All OEMs recognised training and supervision play a major part in the safe use and operation of MEWPs. It was positive to hear from Chris Taylor, TSHA President and training consultant, who presented a summary of two new courses launched since the last Global Access meeting; the Advanced Boom Course and the Supervisor Course. Both courses answer industry needs in managing the more complex MEWPs on the market as well as supervise their use in the case of sites where multiple machines are required. Another new course, going live in Global Access meeting focuses on industry strengths July 2018, will be the online refresher training for Yellow Cards. This is aimed at operators who were trained post July 2013 whose cards have expired but who have had regular experience using MEWPs since their training. For anyone who has not maintained their skills and knowledge, the EWPA recommends a face to face course prior to their cards expiring. We also heard from the State Regulators who have been working closely with industry on guidance material to promote the safe use of MEWPs in the workplace. An update was provided from Singapore on the work they have been doing around safety, thanks to Access Solution Industry Association Singapore. Hearing from these people and the knowledge they have brings comfort, as I know our industry is being guided in the right direction for the right reasons. Excellence Awards I would like to congratulate all award winners this year. My personal highlight was presenting the Dave Single Award for Services to the Access Industry. Dave could not attend so I was honoured to present the award on his behalf. Dave Single has been a mentor for myself and many others in the EWP industry. His generosity with his time and knowledge has improved the industry and the people in it for over 40 years. It was my great pleasure to present the first Dave Single Award to John Glover. John is another hard working, selfless industry committed person who has also made huge contributions to the EWPA and the MEWP industry as a whole. In closing I would like to thank James Oxenham and all the EWPA and HRIA staff. You all did a fantastic job. I would also like to thank the sponsors and exhibitors for making the event possible and of course all the attendees that I met fromAustralia and abroad during the week. Thank you, Doug Rawlings EWPA National President Doug Rawlings