The International Powered Access Federation last week said it is part of a working group of the Spanish standards institute, Asociación Española de Normalización y Certificación (AENOR), which is preparing a national standard on operator training for the use of mobile elevating work platforms.

Subcommittee 9 of AENOR Technical Committee 58 met in Madrid on Nov. 4 to start work on determining the criteria for MEWP operator training in Spain.

The Spanish Health and Safety at Work Act currently makes no mention of the basic requirements for sufficient and appropriate training of MEWP operators, which has created uncertainty and confusion in the Spanish market, where training courses are delivered to varying standards of quality.

IPAF, as the global organization dedicated to promoting the safe and effective use of powered access equipment, is actively participating in the AENOR working group by sharing its knowledge and experience from its MEWP operator training program that is certified by Technischer Überwachungs-Verein (TÜV), translated in English as Technical Inspection Association, as conforming to ISO 18878.

The AENOR working group includes national experts from the powered access industry, including distributors, manufacturers, training and rental companies.

IPAF is a not-for-profit members’ organization that promotes the safe and effective use of powered access equipment worldwide. For more information, visit www.ipaf.org.