Working at Height
August 11th 2020
Scaffold towers are an incredibly useful piece of equipment when it comes to doing work at height. They provide a more stable, larger surface to do work from when compared to ladders. However, they are not always necessary – sometimes a ladder is all that is needed and with both of these pieces of equipment being so useful it can be hard to know when to use each. Let’s take a look at when a scaffold tower is best used, and how to use it ensuring your safety.
The advantages of a scaffold tower generally come from its size and surface area. Whilst ladders are a useful tool, a scaffold tower is much more suitable for certain larger tasks – it provides you with a solid workspace to make working at height much easier – with space to store your tools also. In addition to this, if there is more than one person working on the job, a scaffold tower has enough room for the both of you.
Ladders are a much more suitable piece of equipment for odd jobs or jobs which need to be done quickly as they can be put up and down quickly and moved with ease. Scaffold towers take some work to put up so are better suited to larger jobs where one location is needed for a long time. scaffold towers are particularly useful for jobs such as rendering and bricklaying as well as roofing – this is why they are favoured by professionals.
When using a scaffold tower, it is essential that you do so safely. Once erected scaffold towers are fairly straightforward to use, but make sure those using them are trained in working at height safely. Some things to bare in mind when using a scaffold tower are to avoid working at height in adverse weather such as high winds or heavy rain where surfaces may become slippery, do not ignore the safe work load – whilst it may be tempting to store more tools or have another person on the tower, if it exceeds the load it is incredibly dangerous.
Falls from height are one of the biggest causes of workplace fatalities and major injuries according to the HSE so it is essential all necessary precautions are taken when working on a scaffold tower and that those doing the work and trained to do so.
Lauren works in our Ecommerce Team, with over 6 years of experience at HSS. She brings product knowledge and is able to give her advice on the right tool for the job no matter how big or small.
Working at height is one of the leading causes of fatalities, as well as major injuries according to the HSE. In line with their definition, working at height refers to work in any place, where a person could fall a distance and attain personal injury. Due to the serious nature of this type of work it is essential that those carrying out work at height follow all necessary guidance and comply with all control measures.
Working at height is one of the leading causes of workplace accidents and therefore is one of the biggest health and safety concerns within the construction industry. It is always important to make sure necessary precautions are being taken when working at height. This is especially true as we are now fast approaching winter, which presents additional risks, therefore other factors need to be considered when working at height. Adverse weather conditions should be considered in risk assessments no matter what the season, however as the weather gets colder, adverse weather is even more likely.
Working at height refers to any kind of labour which could result in injury from falling, whether it be at or above ground level. It is one of the main causes of major injuries in the UK. It is essential to have the correct equipment for working at height and to be sufficiently trained to ensure that you are taking all steps possible to guarantee worker safety. As working at height takes place across a number of different industries, HSS Hire provides an array of working at height solutions and training courses to suit all needs.
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