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- New Kitchen Maitland
The old rules for erecting scaffold towers have for a long time been a sticking point for your regular self-employed handyman, setting up a scaffold structure was lots of trouble. Scaffold was heavy duty and required a big truck in order to move it from one site into the next. It required additional personnel (or perhaps a group of individuals depending on the size of the project) who were trained to construct access systems. These expert scaffolding workers didn’t come cheap, and the expense of installing a scaffolding tower frequently inflated the initial builder’s quotation so an extent that it would discourage clients from getting the work done. To overcome this problem lots of building contractors, anxious not to pass-up business opportunities would conjure up some Heath Robinson method to avoid the need for scaffold altogether. This very dubious activity as you can imagine, led to numerous major mishaps involving falls. This in turn led health and safety agencies to enforce new regulations for working at height at the work place.
These new revised laws and regulations combined with the advancement in access tower design have contributed substantially to scaffold safety. Today’s modern alloy access towers are incredibly light as well as being much easier to construct. Thus alloy tower systems are now widely used by both amateurs and professionals alike and provide a fantastic substitute for professional scaffold installation.
It must be remembered however, that employing an access tower system as part of a DIY restoration or perhaps repair job, it’s very important to know the safety guidelines and observe them diligently. You’d also be wise to treat the job at hand as if it was a place of work.
The Work at Height regulations 2005 advises that an assessment of the methods to be used has to be executed to make certain there isn’t any alternative to operating at height or more suitable apparatus. This is especially valid when operating in an industrial area where cherry pickers are often available and could offer a significantly less dangerous alternative to scaffolding. This quick evaluation really should be carried out for any task necessitating a raised working platform.
Following the evaluation, if a scaffold tower is considered to be the ideal equipment to do the job, one must learn the right way to erect the tower system safely.
There are two main licensed procedures that are commended by the prefabricated aluminium scaffolding manufacturers association (PASM) yet probably the most trusted is the 3T (through the trapdoor) method. The 3T method necessitates the setting of trapdoor platforms at intervals of 2m using 2, 3 or 4 rung frames in the base depending upon completed height.
This means that you are able to climb through the trapdoor and also sit on the working platform to complete guard railing at each phase of erection.
This technique insures you are always protected against falls while the tower system building is in progress. If you have hired or acquired your own private equipment the majority of manufacturers have got a responsibility to provide guidance manuals that clearly shows the scaffold erection sequence which will include bracing requirements to ensure the end result is a dependable reliable platform.
The recent innovations in scaffolding design has resulted in a huge increase in the number of consumers and in my view, if producers guidelines are followed diligently, a good quality modern-day access system or combo ladder is by far the most safe option available for operating at height.
Article Source: sooperarticles.com/home-improvement-articles/diy-articles/scaffolding-towers-56357.html
About Author:
Ray Evans is a director of RK Access Towers Ltd, a British based stockist of Youngman combination ladders and Boss scaffold towers. His company possesses many years practical knowledge in offering access products for the construction sector and is well regarded throughout the market.Author: Ray Evans