EXECUTIVE REPORT
Users should ensure that towers conform to the appropriate standards.
Components of safety
WernerCo, whose brands include Boss towers, wants to raise awareness of safety implications arising from mixing parts from different manufacturers when building mobile access platforms.
Many factors are considered when manufacturing and designing towers, such as the strength of materials and performance of the systems and their components. However, many people may be unaware that mixing different makes of components when building towers will mean a structure will be non-compliant to specific standards, typically EN1004:2004.
“Although it may seem like all structures are similar in appearance and are constructed in the same way, the different manufacturing processes mean the strength and performance of such components can be compromised when mixing elements,” Sophie Ellam, Product Manager for Boss, told EHN. “It is not common practice for manufacturers to share performance and strength data, which means rigorous testing, calculations and manufacturer assessments would need to be carried out in order to determine the safety and reliability of every conceivable component mix. Not only is this impractical, it is not something Boss carries out, meaning liability will lie with those who authorise the build of the towers if a fault was to occur, rather than the manufacturer.
“It is always advised that towers used conform to the appropriate standards. In the UK this is either EN1004:2004 or BS1139:6, which is the European Standard ensuring builds meet minimum safety requirements. Both these standards give approval to the overall tower structure, rather than the individual components. When combining components from different manufacturers, a new structure has been created that has not been tested to EN1004:2004 and, therefore, does not comply.
“Mixing tower components is a practice that is strongly advised against, as the safety of the structure cannot be guaranteed. Most brands will offer product liability insurance on their components, and by mixing different elements this may cause it to become invalidated.”
Sophie Ellam says that it is also important to ensure that anyone who will work with towers is competent to do so. One way of demonstrating this is through PASMA training, and many construction sites now require users to have undertaken such training before
37
they can commence work. Courses are available that cover a wide range of towers and configurations, and they are not specific to particular manufacturers.
Interestingly, a significant number of hirers have noticed this trend in recent years and have established dedicated training operations to enable their customers to learn more about tower safety.
PASMA’s Technical Director, Don Aers, told EHN that “When a manufacturer’s designers make calculations concerning a tower, they obviously do so based on the data and properties of their particular system. If components from different manufacturers were used, both suppliers would have to agree that they would still meet the standards for a safe tower in the myriad of potential designs and applications that it might be used for. Specific user guides would also have to be written.
Some hirers may have mixed tower fleets, perhaps through acquiring another business, and the best approach would be to ensure that components from different systems are always kept separate, and that, ultimately, one make is selected to standardise on.
PASMA offers theoretical and practical training. WernerCo is a PASMA-accredited training centre
and offers the Towers for Users Course, which is suitable for those who will be responsible for specifying, assembling, dismantling, using, altering, moving and inspecting access towers. Throughout the one- day course, users are given theoretical and practical sessions that explain tower legislation, the PASMA codes of practice and the hazards associated with using such equipment, including various issues to avoid.
As well as working with standard towers, PASMA offers more advanced courses for builds where structures have to be modified to create a more complex solution that meets specific requirements, but which still comply with BS1139-6:2014. These might include cantilevers, end linked towers and towers on stairs.
• 01621 745900
www.bossaccesstowers.com/uk
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60