MARKET REPORT
LOW-LEVEL ACCESS
PAS 250 for low-level mobile work platforms should be published by the end of the year.
Setting the standard
PASMA is helping to develop a new standard for low-level mobile work platforms, as well as highlighting the need for proper training. Alan Guthrie reports.
PASMA’s new DVD shows how low-level access equipment can be used safely and productively.
It is now five years since the Work at Height Regulations (WAHR) came into effect. Since then, a tremendous number of new products have been introduced to enable users to comply, especially when working at lower heights. Many people wrongly believed that the Regulations banned ladders and stepladders, but these can still be used in appropriate situations. Nevertheless, site managers and safety officers have actively sought new solutions and manufacturers have responded - as proved by the equipment launched at the Executive Hire Show in February, where low- level access products, both powered and non- powered, comprised the most well represented market segment.
PASMA (the Prefabricated Access Suppliers’ and Manufacturers’ Association) is emphasising the need for high standards to be observed, regarding both operator training and the manufacture of products like podium steps and folding room scaffolds. Many people perceive such items to be extremely easy to assemble and use, but the Association believes they are potentially just as dangerous in untrained hands as their larger tower counterparts. Everyone, it says, must accept that such products have their limitations and, as with any other work at height equipment, employers have a statutory obligation to ensure users are competent and aware of risks.
The Association has devised an additional module in its widely recognised training scheme, supported by a new DVD called ‘Accidents can happen even at low level’. This shows how equipment can be used safely and productively in the workplace. PASMA, which officially opened its new Glasgow headquarters in March, has also recognised a need for a set of minimum product standards for this equipment category. It is currently working with the British Standards Institution (BSI) to produce PAS 250, a Publicly Available Specification (PAS) in respect of mobile work platforms for low-level access under 2.5m.
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As PASMA’s Technical Manager Don Aers told EHN, “These products are outside the scope of BS2037 and EN131 (portable ladders), and EN1004 and BS1139 Part 6 (mobile working towers), since they are effectively a cross between the two types of equipment. PAS250 will cover, amongst other things, materials, design, side protection, access, castors/wheels and, of course, stability. Manufacturers have welcomed this initiative as providing a level playing field, and it should also prevent cheap, inferior products - with insufficient strength and stability - coming onto the market.
“Many products have been available for some time, and PASMA has monitored their progress since the implementation of the WAHR in 2005.We now know more about how and where they are actually being used. In many cases they are being used in different, and perhaps more aggressive, environments than originally envisaged. An operator might have equipment designed for applications such as changing light bulbs in offices, for example, but use it for work involved with fitting out an airport terminal. Unlike towers, which are disassembled before being re-located, something like a podium step can simply be wheeled to a new position. This means it could literally cover several miles throughout its working life, as well as being moved across concrete surfaces or up flights of stairs, so equipment has to be robust enough to be used in varying conditions and by different personnel. And above all, the issue of stability will be addressed.”
Once the draft of PAS 250 has been finalised by the joint PASMA/BSI steering panel, it will be
subject to peer review by experts from various stakeholder groups including manufacturers, suppliers, the hire industry, the construction industry, other user groups, HSE and trading standards authorities. It is expected to be published by the end of 2010.
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0845 230 4041 www.pasma.co.uk
HSE Chair Judith Hackitt, with PASMA MD Peter Bennett, officially opened the Association’s new Glasgow headquarters.
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