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Our thoughts and condolences go out to the victim of the recent tragic accident involving an access platform in Buckinghamshire. Access platforms are the safest means of working at height just as aircraft are the safest form of travel, however, an accident usually has major consequences and the very strictest of procedures must be maintained to ensure safety Every responsible operator will have rigid, auditable and documented processes that ensure the machines in their fleet are as safe as it’s possible to be Here is ours: At the point of “off hire” the process starts. A “three part” NCR inspection form is prepared as part of the return / collection paperwork. When the machine is collected or returned the machine is subject to the first round of checks, anything that may have occurred while the machine was on hire. We call this a T1. If there are issues then a maintenance process starts involving the use of a second form we call an MTR, if there is a “live” MTR from a T1 inspection the form cannot be split until the MTR is complete and documented as such. Once the T1 is complete and any MTR’s are resolved the form can be split, the bottom copy (T1) and any associated MTR’s filed with the invoice bundle closing the hire The machine is then subject to a second round of checks looking for routine wear and tear and issues not associated with the previous hire. We call this a T2. If there are any issues the MTR process kicks in again and the T2 inspection cannot be completed until any MTR’s are completed first. With complete T1 & T2 inspections the machine is ready for hire to the next customer who receives the second part of the NCR form with delivery of the machine; the first part is retained with our copy of the hire contract. At the point of off hire the process starts again. Each hire contract is linked to the next one in continual process; the off hire of one is the start of the next. In addition to the off hire / pre hire inspection procedure access platforms are subject to mandatory Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 (LOLER) examinations every six months. These are a legal requirement and must be carried out by a competent, certified engineer. Some operators do these “in house” ATP uses totally independent 3rd party inspectors, they are not employees of ATP. When you hire a machine from ATP you can have confidence that this process will be followed, the instruction manual will be in the box on the machine, the current LOLER inspection will be with it, there will be a PDI form with your contract and it will show the previous hire contract on it. Cummings Engines recently insisted on a history of a machine before allowing a contractor to use it on their site, using the process above we readily were able to show an audit trail of checks and inspections from contract to contract, more details are in the news section of the website. This is what goes on before you turn that key….. Simon Richards
Managing Director
ATP Plant & Equipment Hire Ltd |
With healthy and safety demands becoming increasingly extensive, we are having to fully comply to all of our customers requests and question. The customer that we provided this paperwork for, Cummins Diesel Engines, are a global power leader that design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies (including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems). Their health and safety regimes are very strict and we went out of our way to ensure that they had all of the relevant equipment and information, to ensure that everything would run smoothly throughout the hire.
We provided an access platform to Ken Hill House in Snettisham. This listed building dates back to the 1800s and is a beautiful rural building. We provided a lift last week for some general maintenance on the building, they were very happy with our service.
We recently provided lifts right across the other side of the UK in Scotland for a couple of our regular customers. One of the jobs was over 500 miles away from our yard, yet we provided the company with two quality 1930 scissor lifts to assist with the work that they were doing in Alness. Another company were working in Inverness and required a HR12 Boom Lift which we were able to arrange. Our customers were over the moon with our lifts, which are quality pieces of equipment and arrived on time, despite the distance! 
We recently provided access equipment to two different ports around the UK.
This week, we provided a TZ34 to Tolethorpe Hall in Stamford to help The Royal Shakespeare Company with setting up their equipment. Tolethorpe Hall has origins going back 800 years to the early 11th century when the first manor house was built on the site by a Norman family who came over from France. The setting of the hall overlooking classic English parkland in attractive Rutland countryside has changed little over centuries.
