INTERVIEW
believe in setting objectives high; if we don’t
quite achieve it but we come somewhere close
that will still be a fantastic achievement - I
know there is a lot of hard work in trying to
make it happen.”
This was the first time the Summit had been
held in the US, and the overwhelming response
from delegates was that it was a great success.
“I was a little bit nervous about bringing the
event to the US, out of what is comfortable
territory in the UK and Europe, but we had a
huge turnout of USA member’s and everybody
seemed to take the information on board.”
Many in North America will know IPAF by
its US training wing American Work Platform
Training (AWPT). In recent months, however,
it has become the subject of a rethink, and as
Mr Couling explains, it may be on the verge of
revision.
“When we first started AWPT it was
because we thought people in the US would
not recognise IPAF. But I think that’s changed,
and it’s certainly changed since the Summit. So,
I think the sooner we can change AWPT to
the more general IPAF USA, or another similar
name, the better.
“With hindsight, which is always a great
thing, AWPT wasn’t the right strategy, but
part of being clever is to recognise that. I think
the change will happen relatively quickly, it is
certainly high on our agenda.”
While this potential change is under
discussion at IPAF, the Federation has made it
clear that no decision had yet been made on the
subject.
The rest of the world also offers great
opportunity for expansion, but as Mr Couling
says, the way to success is to tread carefully. “I
think, for example, we are looking at the same
sort of challenges in South America; a huge
landmass with people very keen on eLearning.
It’s a huge economy that’s growing very rapidly
and its perfect timing for IPAF to introduce
safe working practices there.
“You have to be careful though. Yes, of
course, we want to grow, get new members,
open training centres, but IPAF is a not-for-
profit organisation. I remember when we first
moved into the US, people saw IPAF as a
threat to the training programmes they were
trying to promote. But there is no reason for
anyone to see IPAF as a threat; and I think the
reason they saw it that way was because they
thought we were trying to make a profit. It’s
incredibly important for us to stress that to all
the markets we are active in - the motives of
IPAF are pure; it exists to try and make the
access industry safer.”
Presidential goals
Apart from spreading eLearning
internationally, Steve Couling has laid out two
other specific goals for his presidency.
One of them is to promote more Country
Councils, which are formed by IPAF members
to promote unique causes in their countries.
Brazil, for example, already has one, but there
are many opportunities for more in the likes of
Eastern Europe and Turkey, says Mr Couling.
“I have come to realise that as we have spread
into new territories, they all have their regional
queries, legislation, health and safety issues,
and I believe the right thing to do is to have a
forum so that they can discuss things between
them, and lobby for legislation in their local
regions.
“For example, we have a very strong Country
Council in Italy, which has been absolutely
essential when it comes to their economy. It’s
really important that those guys have stuck
together and found a way through it.
Looking East towards Asia, Mr Couling
continues, “I can see the time will come for
a regional council, an Asian council, but I
think what’s necessary initially is to get some
strong membership and you evolve from there,
particularly as rental becomes stronger.The
whole concept of access comes from people
understanding that it’s available and then
people providing that through rental.”
The third topic on Mr Couling’s hit list, and
one very close to his heart, is increased training
for vehicle mounted platform operators. Mr
Couling believes this specialist area throws
up some unique hazards which should be
addressed separately.
“It can be a little bit more complex to
understand them technically and some of the
applications are unique to that equipment.That
side of things can be so specialist that it just
requires some specialist training.
“If you are operating self-propelled
equipment on a construction site, most
responsible sites these days have health and
safety policies, there are people marshalling that
on site, whereas vehicle mounts are operating in
the public highways where you haven’t got that
level of scrutiny really, and to a degree you are
relying on the operator following procedures
– human nature is that people cut corners
sometimes to do the job quickly.
“So I am looking at training for working
on highways and understanding special needs
of that particular application and how they
should be managed. Perhaps we could look at a
specialist training module for those particular
applications.”
The goal, says Mr Couling, is a legal
requirement for anyone operating access
equipment in the UK to have a recognised
training qualification, preferably a PAL Card.
From there, the ultimate dream is to see that
spread worldwide.
“It might take three years, it might take five
years, but if you can’t hold up an IPAF card
then I believe that you should not be using
access equipment, and I think that should be
one of our major objectives.”
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access
INTERNATIONAL
JULY-AUGUST 2013
Steve Couling (centre) with former IPAF
president Wayne Lawson (right) and IPAF
chief executive Tim Whiteman
The assembly plant at Versalift
UK headquarters in Kettering,
which specialises in vehicle
mounted platforms
