LADDER FEATURE
Long-standing British Standards for ladders partially withdrawn
THE British Standards Institution (BSI) has confi rmed that the standards for Class 1 Domestic and Class 3 Industrial ladders (BS 1129 and BS 2037) have now been partially withdrawn.
The standards previously covered portable ladders, step ladders, trestles and stagings.
However, this partial withdrawal only aff ects the specifi cations for portable ladders and stepladders and the specifi cations for trestles and stagings in BS 1129 and BS 2037 remain current and valid.
Portable ladders will now be required to meet criteria set out by the recently revised European standard for all ladders, BS EN 131.
Ladder Association Technical Manager, Don Aers, commented: “As the lead industry body representing all aspects of the ladder industry, we welcome the revisions to BS EN 131 as they improve product strength, rigidity and durability and, most signifi cantly, enhance safety.
“The withdrawal of the ladder specifications in the two British Standards is the next step in positioning BS EN 131 as the main benchmark for ladder design.
"However, Standards are not retrospective,
so if your current ladders or stepladders comply with the old British standards or the previous version of the European standard, then you can continue to use them providing they are in good condition.
"However, you should continue to carry out the appropriate checks and recorded inspections so that you know if they are fi t for use.
"When they need replacing, purchase a ladder or stepladder that comes with a third-party product
conformity certifi cate verifying it meets the current EN 131 standard.”
As a member of the BSI B512 committee, which represents the UK in CEN TC93 - the European Committee for Standardisation’s (CEN) committee for ladders -the Ladder Association continues to participate in the revision of ladder standards.
The Ladder Association supports any move to help make ladders even safer – from the development of standards to promoting training and competence. It is also keen to highlight that while ladders may not be a fi rst choice, they can be a sensible and practical option for low-risk and short-duration tasks.
The Association has published several guides to keep users, specifi ers and those responsible for occupational safety up to date on changes in the industry. These include a helpful guide to the main changes to EN 131 and telescopic ladders, which came under the spotlight following a product recall.
To access safety information on site, download the Ladder Association app – available at the Apple and Android stores.
www.ladderassociation.org.uk Tower body advances height safety
PASMA – the international not-for- profi t authority for the mobile access tower industry - has led signifi cant developments in HE sector and the work at height community at large to advance height safety.
An All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG), supported by PASMA, was formed towards the end of 2017 to investigate the number of serious injuries and fatalities resulting from falls from height and falling objects in the UK workplace.
Chaired by Glasgow Central MP Alison Thewliss, the APPG launched its first official inquiry, which called for evidence submissions from interested stakeholders until 2nd March 2018.
The APPG will consider this evidence and produce a report with recommendations on how the frequency of serious injuries and fatalities can be reduced.
In the last five years nearly 200 fatalities and 28,000 injuries resulting from a fall from height were reported to the Health
16 TBH July-August, 2018 & Safety Executive (HSE).
PASMA and the 11-member organisations of the Access Industry Forum (AIF) believe there are a range of issues that urgently need to be addressed to help reduce these alarming figures.
EN 1004 revision
These include better collection of statistics relating to workplace falls, more in-depth investigations, raising awareness of the dangers of working at height, and the need to choose the most appropriate piece of access equipment for the task at hand.
The draft for a revised EN 1004, the standard which sets the criteria for the design of mobile access towers, was sent out for official enquiry after being approved by an internal ballot of TC53 - the CEN European Technical Committee for standards relating to temporary works equipment.
Each of the CEN member states must make the draft available to their
stakeholders and the public for review, in which they can vote on whether or not to adopt the standard and submit comments until August 1st 2018.
The PASMA Technical Committee have submitted their views via the British Standards Institute (BSI)’s web portal.
CEN TC53 WG4, the working group revising the standard, will then hold a comment resolution meeting to review the results, which must be submitted via the National Standards Bodies (e.g. BSI in the UK) to decide if any changes to the draft are required.
PASMA will continue to provide updates on the status of the work and will then produce guidance on the revision once the changes are finalised.
Alongside the work on EN1004, the most recent meeting of TC53 WG4 progressed the draft for a revision to EN 1298 – the standard which sets criteria for the content contained in instruction manuals for mobile access towers.
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