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16/12/24 - We caught up with George Lopez PCQI, PASMA’s lead auditor, to learn about his career in the access industry, his work helping PASMA uphold high standards and the unique path that brought him here. George’s career in the access industry began in the early 1990s when he joined HSS Tool Hire as an assistant branch manager. “I don’t know why I got into tool hire,” he admits. “Before that, I worked for William Hill, the bookies, and after being held up at knifepoint, I decided I didn’t want to do it anymore.” What started as a way to leave the betting industry turned into a lifelong career. Over the next decade, George worked for various tool hire companies before spending 10 years with Hewden Stuart, where he became the access manager for London. It was there that he discovered a passion for mobile access towers. “In the mid-90s, I became an instructor under the Instant Upright scheme for towers and mobile elevating work platforms,” he recalls. The scheme was a precursor to official PASMA training within the Hewden Group. “After a couple of years in the access manager role, I moved back into general operations, but it just wasn’t for me.” In 2003, George was contemplating buying a tool hire company when a colleague at Hewden’s phoned him asking what he thought about getting back into training full-time. With training members now being accepted into PASMA, the market was growing exponentially. “So, I became a PASMA and IPAF instructor,” he says.

Becoming a PASMA lead instructor

A few years later, PASMA invited all instructors, including George, to Nottingham for refresher training to confirm their competence. It meant that for the first time, there was an official register of PASMA instructors. There was a new training programme for novice instructors too. When George first became an instructor, it was simple. Have a quick chat, pay an invoice, send off a few bits of paperwork and away he went. Now, new instructors were spending up to five days in training. For George, it highlighted the rising standards surrounding the PASMA training programme. And when PASMA also introduced a certification scheme for lead instructors, who help train new instructors and act as mentors for them, George was among the first six to take on the new mentoring role. “When PASMA launched the lead instructor programme, I applied—and to my surprise, they accepted me,” he explains. As a freelance PASMA lead instructor, George trained new instructors worldwide, delivering courses in the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Oman, the UAE and Qatar. “I’ve been to some interesting places,” he recalls. “Including military bases, MOD offices, AW Aldermaston and the Lotus car testing facilities, where they wouldn’t even let me take a camera inside.” He also trained access equipment users, including towers, on film sets for Harry Potter, Star Wars, Batman and Peter Pan. “I can actually say I ran across Neverland!”

A shift to auditing

By 2014, George decided it was time for a change. When PASMA advertised an auditing position, he applied for it and was hired as a freelance auditor covering the Southeast of England. “Initially, auditing was all about training centres and unannounced instructor audits,” he explains. Over time, PASMA expanded auditing to other tower industry categories like hire & assembly, manufacturers and, most recently, hirer/dealers. “It’s all about upholding the reputation of PASMA-accredited members as trustworthy.” George officially joined PASMA as a full-time auditor in 2022 and has since been instrumental in shaping the association’s auditing processes. His background in both tool hire and training has played a key role in refining PASMA’s audits to make them more supportive and empathetic. “Auditing shouldn’t feel like a test,” George explains. “It’s about understanding the challenges members face and helping them address those challenges in a constructive way.” He has also earned lead auditor qualifications for ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001 standards, applying this expertise to improve auditing at PASMA. George reflects that both roles—lead instructor and auditor—share a common purpose: supporting others in getting things right. “Whether you’re training instructors or performing audits, it’s about ensuring safety and quality through guidance and feedback,” he says.

Supporting members through audits

One of George’s key messages on auditing is that it’s about more than compliance. “We prefer to call them support visits,” he says. “It’s not about catching people out—it’s about helping them get it right. We’d rather support our members than wait for something to go wrong.” PASMA’s auditing team now conducts over 400 audits annually, covering training centres, manufacturers, hire & assembly and hirer/dealer members. “It’s a lot of work, but we’ve grown the team and introduced part-time auditors to share the load,” George explains. The future of auditing is also set to evolve with PASMA’s digitalisation efforts. “We’re working on streamlining processes, which will allow us to conduct more audits remotely and focus on unannounced visits and support,” George notes.

Life beyond PASMA

Outside of work, George has been a school governor for 15 years, a role he compares to PASMA’s council. “It’s about holding people accountable and ensuring the school runs as it should,” he says. He’s also a passionate Star Wars fan, with a keen admiration for Darth Vader. “I’m a fan of the one true Lord,” he jokes. As for hobbies, George confesses, “I’ve had a set of golf clubs for six years and still haven’t played a round. It’s on my to-do list, though!”

Looking ahead

Reflecting on his career at PASMA, George feels a sense of pride in the association’s growth and the impact of its work. “The fundamentals of auditing haven’t changed, but we’ve expanded so much. It’s all about maintaining the integrity of the PASMA name—that being PASMA-accredited means something,” he says. He also holds fond memories of his long-standing working relationships with Chris Smith and Karen O’Neill, who head PASMA’s auditing and training departments, respectively. “I’ve known them for a long time,” he says. “Started working with Chris in 2005, and still can’t get rid of him!” Looking ahead, George is focused on passing the baton for instructor training to the next generation, allowing him to dedicate more time to auditing. “I want to help develop the systems and processes that will take us into the future,” he says. With his experience, dedication and vision, George is well-placed to continue leading PASMA’s auditing efforts for years to come.