Safe and Sound: What You'll Learn at Your EWP Course
Even if you've been working with elevated boom platforms for years, studying for an EWP license is valuable for your professional development. You legally need this license to work if you use equipment with a reach over 11m — but it's so much more than a necessity. You'll learn a lot more than the standard operating procedures for using the machines themselves. Here's just a sample of what you'll learn about during your EWP training course.
Safety
Any machine that operates at height poses some degree of risk and can even be dangerous if you're not prepared and able to use it safely. On the course, you'll learn how best to protect yourself and others around you against these risks. This includes the checks you should conduct before and after the equipment is used. While safety can sometimes seem like a secondary concern in the face of completing a job, it should really be the first priority of every person on site. Reinforcing all these safety procedures will help you and your colleagues to remember that every time you encounter an EWP on site.
Planning and Strategy
Although it's impossible to learn years of experience over the length of a short program, your course will introduce some ways of planning around EWPs to ensure you get the most efficient use out of them. Effective forethought and planning may mean that you only need to place the EWP once and that you won't encounter any unexpected issues or problems once you or your colleagues are already at height. This can save a whole lot of time, effort, and frustration on any project.
Setup and Take-Down
Rather than just learning how to use the machine once it's already set up and positioned, you'll learn how to get to that point yourself. This will give you an overall knowledge of the machine and its components, which will enhance your understanding of EWPs as a whole. If this is something that interests you, then you may wish to undertake further training in the maintenance of these machines; this part of the course will be a good 'taster' to give you an idea whether or not this is for you.
Your license will expire every five years, so you'll need to renew your training to ensure you're still legally covered every time you work. If you approach the training as the beneficial program it is rather than a five-yearly chore, you'll really reap the rewards from it.
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