IPAF members are usually organisations that own or operate mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) or other forms of powered access. The new membership category is aimed at individuals.
Benefits of the new member package include free participation in safety events with speakers from the powered access industry, access to a private LinkedIn group to share knowledge and safety good practice, and access to the members鈥 area of the IPAF website and the IPAF accident reporting portal members鈥 dashboard.
Brian Parker, IPAF鈥檚 head of safety & technical, said: 鈥淭his new category of membership is aimed at health & safety managers, supervisors or officers, indeed for anyone engaged in a safety role concerning the use of powered access and general issues concerning work at height safety.
鈥淚n my previous role at a large IPAF member hire and training company, I was tasked with managing and leading on health & safety strategy and protocols, and this category of individual membership would certainly have appealed to me and been a great help in my day-to-day work, not least in conveying safety messages to colleagues and the reporting and analysis of industry accident data.鈥
IPAF chief executive Peter Douglas added: 鈥淭his is something quite a few people have mentioned to me since I took up post in 2019, with many industry contacts saying they would like us to create a special individual membership category tailored to health & safety professionals within larger companies or perhaps suitable for those working on a consultancy basis within powered access or work at height safety.
鈥淲e believe that the new category is a great way for such individuals to keep up to date with the latest industry developments, safety information and guidance in the world of powered access, and to engage directly with IPAF and its members, whether that be receiving industry news, sharing advice on safety practice, assisting with the IPAF global accident reporting project or serving on an IPAF committee or working group.鈥
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