ASSOCIATION NEWS
DESPITE MANY CHALLENGES OVER THE PANDEMIC YEARS, IPAF HAS RETAINED THEIR STATUS AS LEADERS IN PROMOTING THE SAFE USE OF ALL POWERED ACCESS MACHINES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND FURTHER AFIELD… IPAF IrishCouncil Chair taking it to the next level in 2022
A career in the construction industry spanning 30 years has secured IPAF’s new Chairman, David Meeke as the ‘go to’ professional to further IPAF’s growth across the UK and Ireland. A stalwart in engineering, David is perfectly placed in his role as Chair of IPAF’s Irish Council and his position on the UK Country Council which is now in its second term. Training Manager at Balloo Hire Centre, David was elected at the end of October 2021, taking over from his predecessor Peter O’Riordan of Loxam Ireland. Tapping into the different markets that use powered access is what David aims to focus on for 2022. He wants to ensure that those who are using powered access have access to safety information and training, as and when they need it. Speaking to Ireland’s Electrical Magazine about what his new tenure means to him David said: “We are looking forward to getting out and meeting people this year. We want to reach the length and breadth of the country to push our message forward and work with organisations such as CEF NI and hold discussions to promote training and safety messages right across the board.” David began his career in 1992 working in the access industry as an apprentice engineer with Highway Plant based in Dunmurry, Belfast. He served his time there as an engineer and quickly progressed to become one of the first CAP engineers in the UK, a role he is very proud of. Carrying out thorough examinations on access platforms within his role, David went on to become an IPAF instructor in 2002.
IPAF’s new Chairman, David Meeke.
David is currently the only CAP assessor in Ireland, both north and south, a role he qualified in back in 2010. From being a CAP engineer and using his engineering skills and knowledge, he was qualified by IPAF to become an assessor for the CAP programme. Speaking about his role as Irish Chairperson David said: “We sit as an organisation to promote the safe use of platforms in Ireland and that is our mantra. We get together with a lot of other competitors, north and south, and for those two or three meetings per year we put our competitor hats at the door and get together to really push and promote the safe use of access platforms in our country.” Dealing with the challenges the
pandemic brought to the whole of the construction industry, David explained that there are big plans afoot this year to rectify curtailed activities. IPAF will be EXHIBITING at the BUILDEX trade shows in Cork, Dublin, and Belfast, and he is looking forward to reacquainting and forging new relationships within the industry. T: +44 (0)15395 66700 E: info@ipaf.org www.ipaf.org
“Health and safety has changed dramatically over the years, and IPAF has been at the heart of driving safety forward.”
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IRELAND’S ELECTRICAL MAGAZINE | 53
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