At a recent meeting of its Health & Safety Sub Group, the UK Contractors Group (UKCG) agreed that it would encourage steel erectors and net riggers working on UKCG sites to hold an IPAF PAL+ qualification from Jan. 1, 2013. It also agreed to extend this to other trades for specific projects, on a risk-assessed basis.
PAL+ is an optional, additional one day of category-specific training for mobile elevating work platform (MEWP) operators working in higher risk or challenging environments.
“UKCG members will encourage their supply chains to adopt the PAL+ training for key trades such as steel erectors and net riggers, and on a risk basis for specific projects, from January next year,” said Mark Atkinson from Clugston. “PAL+ is a positive development. Candidates will need to be experienced operators and they will have over five hours of practical assessment on MEWPs.”
IPAF developed the PAL+ training course in response to demand for training that better prepares MEWP operators for work in higher risk or challenging environments. PAL+ focuses on practical training and includes a short, compact theory session. It is intended to be more advanced, challenging and extensive than the PAL operator course, which meets all requirements for basic operator training.
PAL+ training is open to operators who hold an existing PAL Card (Powered Access Licence) qualification in the relevant category. Upon successful completion of the theory test, practical test and interview, operators will have the relevant categories added to their PAL Card, e.g. Static Vertical (1a+), Static Boom (1b+), Mobile Vertical (3a+) and Mobile Boom (3b+). More information on PAL+ is at www.ipaf.org/palplus
Lift & Access is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
