Bob Backer

Bob Backer is vice president of marketing and product development for New Morgan, Pa.-based Blazing Technologies, Inc., an engineering and manufacturing company specializing in electric- and hydraulic-powered utility vehicles and custom-engineered equipment. Backer has more than 35 years experience in construction equipment product development, including hydraulic cranes, forklifts, and telehandlers at Pettibone and aerial work platforms at Grove Manlift. Backer is also an AWPT accredited instructor for both self-propelled scissor lifts and boom lifts. He can be reached at bbacker@blazingtech.net.

 

February 10, 2006 — Safety and training is paramount for aerial lifts specialized for the airline industry. In my opinion, it is just as important as providing training for self-propelled scissor lifts and boom lifts in the construction industry. Due in part to the impact 9/11 had on the airline industry and related budget constraints, membership and participation for upgrading the ANSI A92.7 standard has been minimal, to say the least. It's time to bring this standard to the forefront and bring it up to date.

 

Becoming involved

Blazing Technologies, (BTI), New Morgan, Pa., has been an active participant in the ANSI A92.5 and A92.6 subcommittees for self-propelled boom lifts and scissor lifts, for a number of years. It wasn't until the company was commissioned to design and develop an all electric, self-propelled, four-wheel drive tractor module with a scissor lift for the airline industry that made it apparent that BTI should have a more active role with the standards in this specialized industry. BTI joined A92.7, the subcommittee for vertical lifts used in the airline industry for maintenance, catering, and baggage-luggage handlers. Soon after, the spot for chairperson became available, and I volunteered for the position.

 

Change of venue, change of attitude

In the past, the A92.7 meetings were held concurrently with the main A92 meeting in the fall, but membership is low and participation has been minimal since 9/11. However, after I visited the Aviation Industry Expo in October 2001, I realized that combining the synergy of the exposition with the potential for both active and potential members in attendance would increase participation in the standard subcommittee. At the exposition in March 2005, the first meeting outside of the main A92 meeting took place.

 

A focal point of the 2005 meeting was recognizing that the standard had most recently been renewed in 1998 without any real changes since 1990. To gain some real meaning to the agenda, the newly developed A92.6 standard for self-propelled scissor lifts became the basis for discussion. The theme was to review this associated standard to adopt the most current “boilerplate.” At the same time, the current A92.7 standard was contrasted to identify those unique items that needed to be included or upgraded.

 

With the assistance from the Scaffold Industry Association, the secretariat for ANSI, a productive meeting for the A92.7 standard was held. Prior to and after the subcommittee meeting, I scoped out the show and acquainted myself with a multitude of attendees with the potential to become prospective members. A total of 12 people, consisting of current A92.7 members as well as airline associates attending the show, participated in the meeting. From my perspective, holding the meeting during the Aviation Industry Expo was an overwhelming success.

 

 

Key objectives for 2006

Based on the success of the 2005 meeting, the ANSI A92.7 subcommittee meeting will be held once again at the Aviation Industry Expo on March 29, 2006 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The objectives for the March meeting are as follows.

• Improve the attendance from 2005 • This will begin by contacting last year's participants, as well as contacts made between 2005 to now. I also will spend the first day of the Expo interacting with key companies attending the show. If you are interested in participating in the ANSI A92.7 subcommittee meeting, please email me at bbacker@blazingtech.net.
• Increase the A92.7 membership • By improving the attendance and contacting qualified companies prior to the show to make them aware of the subcommittee's activities, increasing the membership for A92.7 is the next goal.
• Develop a working agenda with corresponding assignments • To lend even more credence to the updating process, it is imperative to have on-going assignments. There are unique subsets to this standard need to be emphasized more clearly, as well as the related standards for the airline industry mirror the efforts that A92.7 is addressing. The broad base of participants can bring these applicable points to the table.

 

Raising the bar

I recently attended the Aerial Platform Safety conference in Houston. At this conference, I became a certified instructor for self-propelled scissor lifts and boom lifts via AWPT. In addition to the training, sessions were held involving technical innovation, safety, litigation, and accident prevention. But a light bulb emerged after attending the conference • although A92.7 resembles the A92.6 standard in the fact that both equipment are vertical-type lifts, there are airline specific issues that need to be addressed both in the standard and in training.

 

Two major issues differentiate the standards. First, equipment under A92.7 includes jet blasts, which can impact the safety of the operator. The other issue is the introduction of larger planes that require upgraded or newly designed equipment to accommodate their needs, such as the Airbus A380. Regardless of these nuances, it is important to discuss, promote awareness, and implement better safety training programs specific to the airline industry, which also will be a major area of discussion within this year's agenda.

 

With the objectives in place for the A92.7 subcommittee meeting, the only thing we are missing is you. Please contact me for additional information • I hope to see you in Las Vegas on March 29!