Peter Douglas to chair IPAF UK Country Council

Peter Douglas, executive director of operations at Nationwide Platforms, was elected chairman of the newly formed IPAF UK Country Council at its first meeting on 19 September 2012 in Edinburgh. Ben Hirst, joint managing director of Horizon Platforms, and representing the Access Alliance, was elected vice-chairman.

“This new UK Council will devote itself to UK issues and will be a force to help the UK powered access industry move forward,” said Mr Douglas. “IPAF has grown internationally over the last few years and there has at times not been enough resources dedicated to UK-specific issues. The forming of this Council will change that.”

“The forming of the UK Council is extremely significant for IPAF and something that we have been working towards in the last years,” said IPAF CEO Tim Whiteman. “The move is intended to make sure that today’s international IPAF is still fully relevant to the needs of UK members. It was a pleasure to attend this first meeting.”

The IPAF UK Country Council has 22 members, with a range of industry experience and a wide representation of rental companies, manufacturers, training centres and suppliers. It aims to represent the industry and IPAF’s UK members by working with the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), government and contractors, by driving operating standards, by improving safety in the industry and by ensuring that members are kept up to date with any legislative, technical or other changes that could affect them.

“Our first meeting was very productive,” said Peter Douglas. “We agreed to a full review of member benefits and to develop a two-year formal plan for the very popular IPAF regional meetings. There was a lot of positive energy at the meeting and vice-chairman Ben Hirst and I need to ensure that we retain this, that issues are kept relevant, and that we make some good decisions as a group.”

The next meeting of the IPAF UK Country Council is planned for 5 December 2012. Details will be posted at www.ipaf.org/events. IPAF UK members with any issues for discussion should contact Peter Douglas, Ben Hirst, or IPAF directly on info@ipaf.org