ALH Awards winners celebrate in Miami

The Access, Lift & Handlers Conference & Awards (ALH C&A) honored the year’s best during a sensational dinner and awards ceremony on Oct. 12 at the Marriott Biscayne Bay in Miami.

More than 200 attendees were present to celebrate the best people, projects, safety, equipment and more during the evening’s celebrations.

Organized by Access, Lift & Handlers magazine and its publisher KHL Group, the awards dinner was hosted by roaster extraordinaire, Kevin O’Shea, director of safety and training at Hydro Mobile.

“I would like to personally congratulate each and every award winner,” said Lindsey Anderson, ALH editor and fellow judge of the awards submissions. “It was a very difficult process ranking the entries, but after hours of deliberation, the judges and I were happy with the outcome. Thank you to my fellow panel for all of your hard work.”

Access Industry Employer of the Year

JLG Industries, Inc.

The judges were impressed with JLG’s exceptional record in safety. The company’s Shippensburg and Bedford, Pennsylvania, facilities have received OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program STAR Site certification. JLG is the first company in the access industry to achieve this recognition and it is one of just 2,217 facilities to have STAR Site certification, which is the highest VPP certification level awarded by OSHA.

Judges also said JLG’s focus on attracting and retaining its workforce through programs such as full tuition reimbursement, onsite college courses and flexible hours - which allows for team members to create 40 hour schedules to take a half day per week to attend to their obligations outside of work – were fantastic bonuses.

Access Project of the Year – Aerial Work Platforms

Genie and Dickie Moore Rentals for the New Champlain Bridge reconstruction

The judges said, “The challenge of working over the water can be quite hard to overcome, but the rental company, Dickie Moore Rentals, and Genie, solved that with the right boom choices in the SX-150 and SX-180s.”

Access Project of the Year – Mast Climbing Work Platforms

AGF Access Group for the New Champlain Bridge reconstruction

The judges said that fitting permanent elevators inside both legs of the main span pylon was something they had never seen before due to the pylon design that required its elevators to travel within a sharp corner; a design function that didn’t exist. They found it remarkable that the company designed the permanent elevators to follow the sharp curve inside limited space within the concrete opening of the pylon, without much space to maneuver, or turn, or change position.

Access Rental Innovation

Point of Rental Software - Inspection Application

Judges remarked, “This is a perfect example of the way technology is shaping the future of rental and rental software. The automation of inspection, maintenance and service processes – all from a mobile device – makes these activities faster, smarter and smoother.”

Safety Innovation Award

Haulotte Group for its Activ’Lighting System Safe Load

Judges said: It sounds so simple, but the extra lights just make all the difference. Dim lighting is a huge hazard that drivers deal with a on a daily basis – they’re here at 3 in the morning and 10 at night and it’s hard to see. These lights solve those issues. They are a fantastic contribution to safety.

Product Innovation – AWPs over 20 feet

Genie – SX-135 XC

This was a very tightly contested category with the judges praising all three as “top notch” entries.

For that reason, the judges presented a Highly Commended certificate to Haulotte Group for its Stop Emission System.

For the winner, judges said: “This gets the highest rank because of the 90 foot of side reach – we never have arms that are long enough and 90 feet get you out there.”

Product Innovation – AWPs under 20 feet

Snorkel – TM16E

Judges said: The full-size platform with extension deck that gives a greater working space makes this unit stand out. It’s also noteworthy that it has platform already has load sensing ahead of the ANSI standards changes that will require that.

Product Innovation – Telehandlers

Magni Telescopic Handlers – RTH 6.46 SH

Judges remarked, “There’s nothing as technologically advanced as the Magni. It is extremely impressive. This is what product innovation is – to introduce the next wave of technologies and products. The technology inside the cab is outstanding.”

Product Innovation – Vehicle-Mounted AWPs

ReachMaster, Inc – Ruthmann Eagle T108A

Judges said: “It’s a really smart piece of equipment. It’s ideal for the North American market, being mounted on a Ford F650 chassis and being only 32-feet, 8-inches long makes it easy to drive.”

Rising Star Award

Franklin Equipment LLC

The judges liked Franklin’s growth and fleet strategies; where equipment is on average 18 months old and aerials make up the majority of its fleet. The company has experienced rapid growth during its 4 generations of family ownership. The judges also noted that they liked Franklin’s approach to streamlining communication amongst its staff (company-wide) with its GroupMe app and the company’s approach to customer appreciation by holding events regularly. Franklin Equipment also regularly donates to charities.

ALH Person of the Year

Rick Smith – JLG Industries, Inc.

ALH Editor, Lindsey Anderson, said, “This individual is a pioneer of safety for our industry. He takes training very seriously and is continually looking for innovative ways to improve training. He has led teams to develop new training programs that feature blended approaches to learning.

He was instrumental in creating a hands-on training area that provides a safe environment where participants can apply theory learned in the classroom. The grounds feature mixed terrain, structures for placing and picking telehandler loads and several aerial work platform targets to simulate real-world applications. Participants maneuver equipment under and around obstacles, including simulated power lines, while moving up and down slopes and grades.

He also is passionate about new technologies and how those can cross-over into training. This led him to develop a virtual training simulator, which employs advanced gamification learning to familiarize operators with controls and operations of boom lift sand telehandlers.

He sets a high example to his peers about what safety is and what it can be.”

The ALH Conference & Awards will return in 2019. Stay tuned for updates.