Werner and BoSS mark two years of stepping up to safety with mixing and matching message
Posted by: electime 25th September 2024
Two years on from the launch of its Stepping Up to Safety campaign, Werner and BoSS, leading access equipment specialists, are marking the date by reminding professionals of the dangers of mixing and matching access tower components.
Launching in 2022, the Stepping up to Safety campaign offers professionals a series of safety guides and practical advice for working at height. In just two years, the campaign has reached thousands of professionals, with its main aim being to help tradespeople feel more confident when approaching jobs that require working at height.
Guides include: An Employer’s Guide to Working at Height; Choosing the Best Ladder for the Job; and How to Inspect your Ladders, with new additions being introduced this year to mark the two-year milestone. The new guides include A Guide to Ladder Terminology, A Guide to Tower Training and A Guide on the Dangers of Mixing and Matching Access Tower Components.
The European Product Standard for towers (EN1004 -1:2020) which confirms the safety requirements, materials, design loads and dimensions that mobile access towers should adhere to, states that it is not the components that are approved according to the standard but the overall tower structure, which is comprised of the components. Therefore, mixing component brands can lead to a non-compliant access structure.
Given that, fatalities in the workplace are up from 123 to 135, according to the Health and Safety Executive, it is essential that professionals adhere to best practice when building and using access towers, especially as 40 of those incidents were directly related to falls from height.
Justin White, Managing Director for ProDriven Global Brands UK (formerly WernerCo) parent company of Werner and BoSS, says:
“Following research Werner conducted, we found that almost half of professionals had safety concerns when working at height. To help remedy this Werner introduced the Stepping Up to Ladder Safety campaign, two years on, we are pleased to see that this campaign continues to gain positive feedback.
“As a result of this success, we have extended the Stepping Up to Safety campaign to cover a broader range of working at height equipment, including access towers under the BoSS brand.
“The expansion aligns with our ongoing commitment to promoting safe practices and raising awareness of the risks associated with mixing and matching tower components.
“As a leading manufacturer it is part of our duty to promote best practice when it comes to the use of equipment. We hope that the campaign, complete with new guides, continues to help professionals improve their day-to-day working practices and increases their confidence when working at height.”
To view Werner safety guides, please visit www.wernerco.com/uk/ladder-safety
To view BoSS safety guides, please visit: https://www.bossaccesstowers.com
To find out more information on the range of access solutions and training available from Werner and BoSS, please visit www.wernerco.co.uk and https://www.bossaccesstowers.com
