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Accident reporting
IPAF Powered Access 2022
IPAF’s analysis of data from around the world enables accidents to be avoided
“Mistakes are the portals of discovery,” James Joyce is often misquoted as saying. What he actually wrote was: “A man of genius makes no mistakes. His errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.” That was in Ulysses, a famously impenetrable read, so little wonder the quote has been simplified. However, it has long been understood that we learn from our mistakes – and for users of powered access there can be no better place to learn than IPAF’s accident reporting portal. IPAF launched its accident reporting project in January 2012 to enable the industry to log and pool their experiences of accidents and near misses to enable a collective learning far greater than previously possible. With a decade of data now gathered, and a smart phone app to make anonymous reporting easier than ever, the portal is now established as a fount of wisdom for industry training. When originally set up, it had two main focuses: gathering reports from incidents worldwide, anonymously if preferred; and compiling reports from rental companies using MEWPs with their own staff – incidents during maintenance and delivery, for example. IPAF members worldwide are strongly encouraged to report all incidents, indeed companies in some countries are mandated to do so as a condition of IPAF membership, explains Chris Wraith, formerly safety and technical executive at IPAF. Wraith joined IPAF from hire firm Nationwide Platforms, where he
What causes powered access accidents? IPAF’S ACCIDENT REPORTING PORTAL IS PROVIDING RICH INFORMATION ON THE CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS IN THE POWERED ACCESS SECTOR AND WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THEM. PHIL BISHOP REPORTS
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