INTRODUCTION ‘THE LIFTING EQUIPMENT ENGINEERS ASSOCIATION Founded in 1944 as the Chain Testers Association of Great Britain, the Association adopted its present title In 1988 in order to reflect, more accurately, the present day activities of its members. In the United Kingdom there are over 300 member organisations operating from over 700 locations, each offering a wide range of products and services in the field of lifting equipment. The Association has also developed a strong international membership with over 450 member organisations operating from over 600 locations in more than 59 countries on every continent. The members’ strength derives from their accumulated expertise and from the adoption of the Association's technical requirements, These are published in a document reference LEEA 042 together with guidance notes as an aid to implementation. The technical requirements demand the highest standards of equipment, personnel, procedures and records. Full members are subjected to regular technical audit by LEEA. No organisation is admitted as a Full Member unti it has met all the requirements. Besides the sale or hire of lifting equipment, members offer a complete service of periodic examination, testing, repair, recertification and general servicing. Some also offer training courses for the responsible person in liting operations and in-service inspection. Many are members of the LEEA acoredited training scheme and offer courses whose content and delivery have been audited and accredited by LEA. Many large organisations, including government agencies, electricity generators, oll and gas producers, port authorities, chemical plants, steel producers and dockyards are Associate Members. ‘The Association makes a substantial contribution to the preparation of standards and codes through its membership of British, European and International Standards bodies. It also works closely with the UK Health and Safety Executive and with other bodies concerned with safety. ‘The Association provides comprehensive training courses for member personnel engaged in the testing, examination and certification of liting equipment. These can be delivered in several ways. Either as hands on practical courses at our specially equipped training centre in Huntingdon, England, ‘on-site’ worldwide or as distance learning courses delivered online through our web based training portal or by conventional mail. The courses include safety in use and legal requirements. Successful entrants in the Association's specialist examinations qualify for a diploma. An engineer who is employed by a LEEA member and has qualified may apply for the Association's TEAM Card which provides evidence of the holders’ qualifications. The TEAM Card bears a photograph of the holder, their name and that of their employer and states the subjects in which they are registered. Over 90% of the Association's activites are devoted to quality, safety, training and the development of products and services at the highest level of integrity. ‘The benefits of the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association are not confined to its members. When Gealing with member companies the user can be confident that he is dealing with organisations that are capable, have adequate facilities for the work they undertake and that the personnel concerned are qualified to do their jobs, Ecition 8 — April 2014