PASMA – Prefabricated Access Suppliers’ and Manufacturers’ Association
IN THE BEGINNING
Following publication of the Work at Height Regulations
in 2005 with its hierarchy of measures – Avoid, Prevent,
Mitigate - some would say a golden age of access product
development began.
Amongst other things, the new Regulations generated
a demand for low-level work platforms - products with side
protection (guardrails) to prevent falls and intended for
individual use as an alternative to step ladders. These work
platforms (commonly referred to as pulpits or podiums)
were quickly developed to meet that demand and came into
the market thick and fast.
For others, this was not a golden age, but a rather
difficult one. Reports of podiums overturning and
failing, resulting in injury, came to PASMA’s attention.
When products are developed rapidly in the absence
of an applicable product design standard, there is no
mechanism for sharing good practice around design,
testing and verification, which can, and did, result in dire
and unforeseen consequences. It was so problematic that
the Ministry of Work and Pensions went the distance and
banned certain products on their sites.
While most of the products that came onto the market
did provide a safe solution to low level access, it was clear
that some aspects of some products could be improved by
adherence to relevant and specific design criteria.
THE FAST TRACK
The problem then led to the question