2013 first half shows 28 fatalities globally on aerial platforms 04 September 2013

There were 28 fatalities worldwide involving mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs) in the first half of 2013, according to IPAF's (the International Powered Access Federation) accident database.

That is an increase of 65%, compared with the first half of 2012 which saw 17 fatalities reported. However, IPAF believes that the accident reporting project is capturing more data, not necessarily that there are more accidents.

Primary causes were: overturn (10), fall from height (nine), entrapment (five), electrocution (three), and impact with MEWP (one).

Thirteen of the fatalities involved booms, 10 involved scissor lifts and three involved vehicle mounts. In two cases, the machine type was unknown.

Thirteen occurred in the USA, two each in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK, and one each in Armenia, Canada, Ireland, Malaysia, Norway, Spain and the UAE.

While releasing these findings, IPAF also updated the 2012 preliminary results, following the report of a previously unrecorded fatal accident in Canada in October 2012. This brings the total fatalities in 2012 to 32.

"Findings from IPAF's rental market reports lead us to estimate that there are more than one million MEWPs in the world," comments IPAF CEO Tim Whiteman. "Every fatality is one too many, but these figures show that powered access equipment remains a safe way to carry out temporary work at height."

Brian Tinham

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