Masonry Magazine December 2006 Page. 20
MAST CLIMBERS
O'Shea said, "erning the installation, maintenance, thorough examination and safe use of mast climbing work platforms in this country like there is in Europe. The training has created a much larger body of expertise. Mast climbers are now regarded as the safest system of powered access in Europe."
Just last year, 53,000 people received training and earned their PAL card in Europe, he said. Those companies expect the same level of training when working in North America.
O'Shea said, "What we're finding is European-based companies are working in the United States using mast climbers, and they're demanding the same training verification process that they are comfortable with. We're seeing an increase in the use of mast climbers, and the United States has a huge growth potential. It's estimated that there are around 7,500 units here, about the same number of units as there are in Singapore. Singapore is about 60 times smaller than the United States. Similarly, in more mature MCWP markets, close to 25 percent of those countries' fixed scaffold is now taken up by MCWPs"
In the United States, general contractors often don't have their own scaffolding, so they rely on specialty contractors, AGC's Powell said.
Powell said, "Part of the problem is the general contractor is not aware of the intricacies of the equipment coming onto the site. He's relying on the subs, who rely on the equipment manufacturer to train them. As a result, he [the general contractor) is getting the information second or third hand and is not as proficient as he should be."
While Powell advocates for education and training, he's not looking for contractors' safety managers to get involved in the set up and dismantling of the mast climbers. Instead, he wants them to understand how to use the equipment safely and be able to recognize potential problems.
Since mast climbers vary, Powell supports hands-on training by each manufacturer.
He said, "We're not trying to make the safety people the experts, but making them aware; when something doesn't look right, they'll have something from their training to back that up."
Since mast climbers vary, Powell supports hands-on training by each manufacturer. "Our interest is to bring in training consultants from the manufacturers," he said. "There's nothing like having training on the equipment itself."
Not coincidentally, that's exactly what the manufacturers are doing.
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18 Masonry
December 2006
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