FEATURE


A head for heights


TOOLKiT takes a steady step into the world of access equipment


WITH the recent boom of vertical urbanisation, access equipment has never been more important.


For arborists and many in the construction sector, working at height is a routine part of their day, so it is essential they are confident that they are safe.


With the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reporting 25% of all fatal injuries at work through 2018/19 being caused by a fall from a height, it is clear to see why this area is a key target point for the HSE in reducing workplace injuries.


We spoke to Access Platform Sales Ltd (formerly part of IAPS Group) to discover the latest from the world of access equipment.


APS, Steve Couling, Managing Director


Let’s start with a crucial point: what is the main piece of legislation that controls the access platform market? That would be the Working At Height Regulations 2005 (WAHR). What’s interesting to note here is that if you go back about four years, there were important changes to the legislation. Work at height previously was regarded as anything over 6 feet off the ground; now it can be anything over 4


22


inches or 100mm off the ground. So really, everything is working at height.


When they changed the legislation they were basically saying ‘Is there a viable alternative to using a step ladder to gain access? And if there is, you should be using it!’


So over the last 3-4 years, there has been a dramatic drive towards low-level access equipment, replacing small step ladders and such. So that’s a corner of the access industry market that has seen a lot of growth in the last few years.


Would you say the market has been growing steadily throughout that time? It’s a little mixed. Some parts of the marketplace are booming; others, more related to the construction industry, are perhaps lagging a little bit. We found last year was frustrating because we were off to a really great start for the first half of the year but the second half was much slower.


This year has started off very, very well since the general election, there’s been a great deal of activity in machine sales. We represent about five different access manufacturers across the UK and Ireland and the construction industry is still struggling to get back to where it was previously although I think the signs are for this year it’s going to be very strong.


We are also the distributer to the UK and Ireland for Italian manufacturer Hinowa, who produce spider platforms among other things, and they started off the year extremely busy. It’s a bit of a mixture across the board but so far, so good!


So safety concerns are really driving market growth? Absolutely. One accident while working at height is one accident too many. It is an industry where you are putting people up in the air and if procedures are not followed there is potential for serious injury.


First of all, they should only buy from a reputable manufacturer. Everything has to be CE compliant in our marketplace and from a reputable source."


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