IPAF MEWP Operator study guide
IPAF MEWP Operator · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The IPAF MEWP Operator Training Course is the International Powered Access Federation's operator programme for mobile elevating work platforms (MEWPs), covering boom, scissor, 1B, 3A and 3B categories of machines. IPAF itself does not provide training: courses are delivered through a worldwide network of more than 845 IPAF Approved Training Centres in 80 countries and regions, each regularly audited by IPAF. The programme is aimed at operators, but the wider classroom and eLearning range also addresses service technicians, delivery drivers, managers and supervisors, demonstrators, installers and instructors. IPAF's MEWP operator training is certified by Bureau Veritas as conforming to ISO 18878, the international standard for mobile elevating work platform operator (driver) training. Topics on this exam: Mobile elevating work platforms (MEWP) categories: boom, scissor, 1B, 3A and 3B, Mast climbing work platforms (MCWP), and Construction hoists (CH). The IPAF MEWP Operator study guide has 3 sections and about 3,108 words.
01Boom MEWPs: working envelope, capacity and restraint
Boom MEWPs are the articulated and telescopic machines in categories 1b (static boom) and 3b (mobile boom). The exam tests how the boom envelope, load chart, stability and platform access interact, and whether you can explain why a machine that is within its platform placard can still be overloaded at a particular outreach.
488 words, about 2 min02Scissor lifts: stability, pothole protection and deck loading
Scissor lifts are vertical-lift machines, usually category 3a. The exam tests their stability, pothole protection, deck extensions, crush and entrapment risks, and floor loading.
470 words, about 2 min031B static boom: set-up, outriggers and fixed-base operation
Category 1b covers boom platforms whose base is not designed to be moved while the platform is elevated, such as trailer-mounted, vehicle-mounted or fixed-base booms. The exam tests set-up, outrigger loading, level, load-chart selection and the rule against travelling with personnel elevated.
2,150 words, about 11 min