CPA Bulletin

40 CPA Bulletin > August 2021 www.cpa.uk.net SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS: 4 Stars of the Future As well as being Chair of CHIG and a CPA Council Member, Kirsty also has special responsibilities as a judge of the CPA’s Stars of the Future apprentice and trainee awards. Kirsty was a judge for the first time last year, and will be on the judging panel again for the 2021 awards. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony being hosted at the Heart of England Conference and Events Centre near Coventry on 14th September 2021. Kirsty said: “I was very proud to be a judge for last year’s Stars of the Future awards, as this was the first time that the new Hire Controller of the Year award was introduced. Having chaired the committee for the new Hire Controller Trailblazer apprenticeship, it was great to be involved. Stars of the Future is a fantastic opportunity for the industry to shine a light on their staff, showing credit where it’s due and enticing other young people into the sector. “Last year the number of candidates was overwhelming, and it’s so great to see so many amazing young people coming into an industry which many see as manual labour, dirty and male orientated. The hardest task was selecting the winners as they were all highly commended by both industry peers and colleges. Watching videos submitted by the nominees gave an insight into how proud they are of their work. “The winner of Hire Controller of the Year 2020 was Iveta Tomasevska of Flannery Plant Hire. She reminded me of myself starting out in the industry and I can see she will be a great asset. My only regret was not being able to meet the winners in person due to the pandemic, although the virtual awards were very well co- ordinated. I can’t tell you how excited I am to have been chosen to judge again this year, and look forward to meeting these wonderful young people in September at the awards in person. “I would never have picked this industry by choice as I didn’t know how many opportunities there are, and indeed how varied a career can be. I am so happy that more is being done to support education and training. It gives me hope for the future of construction knowing that these young people will have a profound impact on making the industry better all round.” pandemic, the last 12 months have still proved very productive. ‘CHIG 1101 - Maintenance, Inspection and Thorough Examination of Construction Hoists’ has been updated and provides guidance on daily pre-use checks, inspections, thorough examination and maintenance of hoists. A revision has also been completed of ‘CHIG 0501 - Transporting Scaffolding in Construction Hoists’. This is a joint document produced with NASC (National Access & Scaffolding Confederation) and it will be available for download on both the CPA and NASC websites. In addition, CHIG has been working closely with IPAF over the last three years to educate sites on the differences between hoists and mast-climbers, as there have been several reports of misuse. Kirsty said: “Whilst the equipment may look the same in many cases, hoists and mast-climbers are designed for very different purposes and have different regulations. Following on from this, IPAF and CHIG have formed a group to offer a Hoist Operator course in addition to the MCWP Operator courses currently provided. “One of the biggest safety concerns in our industry is untrained and inexperienced people carrying out installations. This is a huge worry as there is a lack of NVQ assessors due to the small number of specialist hoist hire companies. Even though we are seeing more companies adding hoists to their repertoire, this is not matched by the same volume of NVQ trainees and it takes up to two years to complete the NVQ Level 2 qualification alone. “We also need to raise more awareness about LOLER requirements and the interlocking of landing gates. Hoists have come a long way in recent years and CHIG has assisted a number of manufacturers on safety requirements for the UK market.” Kirsty tells us that the most important item on CHIG’s current agenda is the update of ‘British Standard 7212: Code of Practice for Safe Use of Construction Hoists’ to incorporate new guidance on Transport Platforms. CHIG’s business case proposal is currently with BSI for review and it will take approximately a year from approval to go ahead. On completion and publication CHIG will then be working on a revision of ‘CHIG 0901 - Working at Height on Construction Hoists’ and ‘CHIG 0401 - Safeguarding of Landing Gates’. A new Technical Information Note (TIN) is also being finalised on Rescue from Height. Kirsty told us: “It’s certainly going to be very busy for the foreseeable future and I’d personally like to thank everyone involved in CHIG. The input and time involved is phenomenal and truly appreciated.” Want to become involved with CHIG? All CPA members are welcome to get involved in CHIG. In the first instance, please email Kirsty Archbold-Laming ( kirsty@southernhoists.co.uk ) or the CPA’s Rob Squires ( rob.squires@cpa.uk.net ) and attendance can be agreed for the next open meeting. After which any interested parties can confirm their commitment and become a fully-fledged member on payment of the CHIG levy.