The IPAF Global Safety Report 2022, covering data from 2012-2021, analyzes the main causes of serious injuries and fatalities occurring when using powered access machines to work at height.
This year's report has an expanded focus on falls from the platform and also profiles incidents occurring during rental company activities, including delivery and pick-up, maintenance, cleaning, maneuvering in depots, and loading or unloading of MEWPs.
In 2021, there were 603 reports from 28 countries. The incidents involved 628 people and resulted in 109 fatalities. That is 17 fewer fatalities than the 126 seen the previous year.
The U.K, submitted the most reports in 2021, accounting for 60.8% of the reports received. The U.S. submitted 18.7% of the reports, and the Republic of Korea entered 4.9%, a significant increase from previous years.
The sector reporting the most incidents was powered access rental, with 43%, followed closely by construction, with 29%. Facility management accounted for 9.8%.
Mobile boom-type lifts, MEWP (3b), were the most common type of equipment involved in incidents. They accounted for 29% of the reports. After that, came mobile vertical-type, MWEP (3a), machines at 23.7%, followed closely by static boom-type, (1b) MEWPs, at 21.5%.
The three-year data shows 1,351 reports from 32 countries involving 1,438 people and resulting in 303 fatalities. Of those reports, 60% came from the U.K., 22.4% from the U.S., with other countries accounting for only single-digit percentages. The sectors with the most reported incidents were construction, with 38%, and “rental activity,” with 37%.
This year, IPAF is able to look back over a full 10 years’ worth of data, as the federation began gathering incident reports in 2012.
Data from 2012-2021 includes 4,374 reports, including 4,462 lost-time incidents and 585 fatalities. The reports have come from 41 countries.
Lift & Access is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
