Posted By Chris Turner
IPAF are the recognised body in MEWP training. The photo card license issued will have the type of MEWP that the holder is entitled to operate and the expiry date.

Posted By Dave Wilson
Does there have to be a 'mandatory' requalification? I think is the question, I would like to know as all our Operatives have IPAF passes etc.

Posted By Steve Sedgwick
This is an interesting issue and I would like to open this up a bit.

Quote 1 PUWER reg 9
"Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. Regulation 9(1)
every employer shall ensure that all persons who use work equipment have received adequate training for the purposes of health and safety."

Quote 2 PUWER
"Self-propelled work equipment shall only be driven by persons who have received appropriate training."

Quote 3 PUWER
"You should provide refresher training if necessary. Skills decline when they are not used regularly"

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As far as I am aware there are no mandatory requirements to renew any licenses / certificates for any mobile plant drivers which have been supplied by a training organisation.

Also I believe that there are no mandatory requirements to use external training organisations for the training of new drivers.
HOWEVER, UNLESS YOU HAVE THE INHOUSE SKILLS TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE TRAINING FOR MEWP DRIVERS THEN ORGANISE THE TRAINING EXTERNALLY.

One method that you could apply is to select an existing driver who you consider has the appropriate ability to deliver training, give him some training skills, draw up a training manual, and keep him up to date by sending him / her on an external course every 3 years. Then let this person provide your in-house training and refresher training on that particular piece of equipment.

Regards
Steve
PS
The only equipment that I am aware of that requires training from a nationally recognised training organisation is for chain saw operators.

Posted By Steve Appleton
Although there is no mandatory re-qualification requirements for MEWP’s, as previously mentioned, the Employer has a duty to ensure those operating work equipment have adequate training.

As “adequate” can be very subjective surely it makes sense to train operators to a recognised standard. IPAF have already been mentioned as being the principal awarding body for MEWP training. (Incidentally, all the copies of IPAF MEWP competence cards I have on file are valid for 5 years).

In the past, once such a card reached it’s run-out date, an operator had to attend refresher training and pass an assessment from an approved trainer to be issued with a new card. This can be very costly and does not distinguish between the occasional & you would hope, more competent daily operator.

This is still the case with IPAF, but awarding bodies for other mobile work equipment such as CTA, NPORS & LANTRA (who have come together to form the Construction Plant Competence Scheme) require that operators accumulate at least 300 accredited hours operating the equipment before they will renew an expired competency card without the need for the operator to pass an assessment. Surely this is a move in the right direction as it takes account of experience with the equipment.

In the PUWER ACoP, it states that competence may be embodied in qualifications accredited by NVQ or SCOTVEC. Schemes such as CPCS have tied themselves in with these organizations & CPCS in particular require that operators achieve an NVQ for that equipment (if one exists) within 3 years of being awarded a competence card.

The CPCS scheme, which came into effect in July, is affiliated with the CSCS scheme, which many of the larger construction companies have adopted as proof of competence to carry out work on construction sites.

So having said all this, although there is no mandatory re-qualification requirements for MEWP’s or other mobile work equipment – if these enhanced competence schemes are available shouldn’t we as safety practitioners be utilising them in the interests of adopting best practice.