The International Powered Access Federation (IPAF) has has updated one of its most widely used global safety stickers for use on mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs), launching a redesign of the sticker that is applied to machines to indicate where the auxiliary ground controls are located in case of emergency.
The sticker was developed by IPAF after the company’s CEO Tim Whiteman observed an experienced supervisor had difficulty in finding the emergency lowering controls while carrying out a pre-use inspection. Despite the fact this particular operative had carried out thousands of inspections before, a temporary ‘blind spot’ meant he was forced to consult the owners’ manual in order to find the controls.
Andrew Delahunt, IPAF’s Technical & Safety Director, said: “The new design has been developed in consultation with IPAF members and safety experts to provide an easy-to-comprehend and clearly visible reminder to managers or supervisors of MEWP operations of where the lowering controls are in case of the operator in the platform becoming incapacitated. The sticker has been subtly improved and continues to be aligned to international safety standards; we urge manufacturers, dealers, distributors, rental companies and owners of MEWP equipment to update the machines in their fleets with this updated sticker at their earliest convenience.”
