Te prototype Smart PAL Card is designed to stop untrained workers using MEWPs
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PAF is testing and developing a Smart PAL Card (Powered Access Licence) that could make the industry safer by
controlling access to MEWPs and preventing untrained workers from using them on site. Imagine a system where a MEWP will only
start if a trained operator is at the controls, where site managers can designate authorised operators to use specific MEWPs, and where they can track who has used which machine and for how long. These are just some of the possibilities opened up by IPAF’s prototype Smart PAL Card that can be used to control machine access and improve site safety. The system has two parts: the card and the
reader. The prototype card’s unique identifier lets hirers and users access operator training details held at a remote, secure database. The card works with systems that meet the security requirements defined by IPAF. “How the technology is used will depend
on specific requirements of contractors and rental companies,” explains IPAF director of operations Giles Councell. Guy Ritch of project partner Furness
Internet says: “A card reported lost can be disabled at the database. If someone picks up the card and tries to use it, the reader identifies the attempted unauthorised use, the MEWP can be blocked from starting up and the incident can be tracked.” Card readers that are mounted on MEWPs complement the Smart PAL Card. It will not
be called up in line with client-specific needs.” The prototype card is being tested at
locations including venues for the London Olympics and a number of rental companies are planning to trial it on live sites. “The system is fantastic because it can be
set so that no one else can use your MEWP,” says Andrew Baulch of SJP Contracts. “It’s not unusual when you are working on a site with other companies for someone else to use your MEWP when you’re not there.” SJP contracts director Mark Pniewski
adds: “When you are hiring plant, you don’t want someone from another company using your machine and diesel, possibly damaging it and risking injury to themselves and other people because they have not had the appropriate training. This system will prevent that.” In the long term, the Smart PAL Card
could also be used, in conjunction with the IPAF training database, to track machine familiarisation and to act as an electronic logbook of operator experience. “There’s lots of potential in the system,”
says Sean Rath, integrated management systems adviser at Carillion, which is using up to 250 MEWPs in the construction of the media hub and catering village at the Olympic site. “If a MEWP operator goes from one site to
another, we could use the system to check with the database that he has had the training
SITE MANAGERS CAN DESIGNATE AUTHORISED OPERATORS FOR A MEWP AND TRACK WHO HAS IT AND FOR HOW LONG
be compulsory to use card readers, as the PAL Card will continue to have the relevant data printed on it. Readers can be programmed to prevent unauthorised use according to individual site requirements. For instance, an MEWP can be set to start only after an operator has been verified as trained to use that category of MEWP. “The health and safety benefits are
immense because site managers can ensure that the right people operate MEWPs,” says Mike Dibley, business development director at site access control systems provider Infobric. “Information in the database can
and familiarisation for the MEWPs he would be operating on the next site. We can also keep a log of all the work and familiarisation he’s completed on a site.” Councell stresses that this is a system that
needs to be thoroughly tested, which takes time. “Our priority is to have no safety issues,” he says. “There will be further testing and development, keeping systems as open as possible and designing access requirements around them, as more IPAF members are keen to trial it. The Smart PAL Card is an enabler with the potential to improve site safety and security.” n