Access Platforms

Why do we need access?

Improved Heath and Safety

Recent changes in the working at Height Legislation hold the employer responsible for providing the safest methods of working for their employees. Whilst the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations Risk Assessments and Method Statements for any task that could involve a risk to an employee's or a member of the public's health. look at the employer's responsibility to prepare

Access Platforms are considered in most cases to be the safest way to place people to work height... After all, that is what they are designed for!

Improved Productivity

Unlike other methods of working at height access platforms require very little set-up and repositioning time, are driveable at full height and do not require an additional person to drive the machine.

All in all, access platforms can make the individual and the application much more productive.

Reduced cost

Over the duration of ownership an access platform can save you money in the following ways:

Savings through increased productivity (as above), for example if you use a forklift with a cage you are using two people, with an access platform you would only need to use one person.

Savings made vs hiring a platform. Each time you hire you are spending money on transportation.

Savings made as a result of preventing an accident from occurring - each time a makeshift or insubstantial method of access is used, people are put at risk. Accidents are very costly!

Providing the right equipment and training can really help keep the costs downThe Current Legislation

All Tasks required to be carried out at height must be assessed (Management of Health and Safety of Work Act)

Employers are responsible and will be held accountable for their employee's welfare whist at work (Health and Safety at Work Act)

Non-intergraded platforms on forklift trucks are not permitted for anything other than emergency use. They should not be used for any routine or planned work (The PM28 Guidance Note)

Although you may think that the working at height guidelines have many 'grey areas', consider the consequences you would face should an accident occur and you had not been adhering to them!

Also

Operators of access platforms must be provided with adequate training, delivered by a competent person (Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations)

Access platforms must be serviced and thoroughly examined twice annually (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations)

What's available?

A range of quiet, clean, efficient and user-friendly access platforms and stock picking units from 3m - 18m platform height:

Vertical Personnel Lifts - Ideal for one-man, overhead applications such as cleaning and general maintenance.

Stock-picking Lifts - Ideal for small stock picking and checking applications

Mast Boom Lifts - Ideal for applications that require outreach in tight spaces - such as maintenance over machinery or through racking.

Electric Scissor Lifts - Ideal for overhead / side-on applications that require higher capacity , for example dry - wall installations.

Electric Boom Lifts - Ideal for applications that require outreach and access into tricky areas.

Further sections

Aerial Work Platforms