Whether working on towers, steps, podiums, or ladders, projects involving working at height require a risk assessment to determine the appropriate equipment and inspection. Take control of your work environment! Discover Scafftag’s selection of work at height equipment and learn how to ensure compliance and manage your structures.
Equipment tagging systems from Scafftag provide you with all the tools you need to inspect your ladders, scaffolding and other height equipment to improve safety in the workplace. Ensure all important inspection information is clearly displayed with inspection tags, inserts and holders.
Discover Scafftag’s visual tagging solutions for Working at Height!
Improve ladder safety with LADDERTAG from Scafftag
Laddertags increase effective communication by instantly showing the ladder is in date for it’s thorough examination, the ladder’s inspection period and a guide to the pre-use and in-use visual inspections to be carried out by the operative. Shop the complete range of ladder inspection systems available to control your ladder safety, inspections, maintenance and identification.
Laddertag is the original and industry leading status tagging system for ladders. Laddertag is a robust and highly visible system, instantly showing the ladder is in date for it’s thorough examination, the ladder’s inspection period and a guide to the pre-use and in-use visual inspections to be carried out by the operative. This clear system has been adopted by thousands of leading ISO 9000 companies. A complete range of ladder inspection systems are available to control your ladder safety, inspections, maintenance and identification.
The Yellow Book Ladder Inspection Records
The Yellow Book from Scafftag is the must have ladder accessory! Make maintaining safety of your ladders simple and compliant. Combining all the elements required to manage your ladders (steps, fixed, pole and hop-ups) in one protective binder.
It contains legislative and risk assessment guidance, ladder register, inspection reports and fault notifications.
- Scafftag’s Yellow Book helps you to comply with legislative requirements and good practices of:
- Conducting a risk assessment
- Inspecting and maintaining equipment at suitable periods as deemed appropriate by a risk assessment
- Maintaining a record of all timed, written inspections
- Maintaining the important Ladder Register
- Ensuring the life-cycle of the ladder is documented
Refills of ladder inspection reports, notification of fault reports and ladder registers are also available for. Several numerical combinations of holders and inserts are now available to accommodate all requirements – from just 1 ladder upwards (for management of multiple ladders, consider Safetrak – the electronic management system. Streamlining reporting and minimizing paperwork)!
Case study: Kew Gardens managing the unmanagable with Scafftag
Working at height is an everyday occurrence for the horticulturalists and maintenance staff at Kew Gardens. However, with a compliment of 3 glasshouses, 5 minor houses and 2 nurseries together with a variety of spectacular events and displays including the Summer Swing Music Festival, Summer Festival and Orchid Festival that occur each year, they have a challenge on their hands. How do you safely work at height around plants that do not grow uniformly, come in all shapes, sizes and weights and live in 200 year old glass houses that were not built with health and safety in mind? Phil Griffiths, Head of Glasshouses at Kew Gardens explains how he juggles safe working at height, health and safety legislation, unruly plants and a demanding public by working closely with equipment status management specialists, Scafftag.
The Health and Safety Executive’s message is clear – ladders should only be used for low-risk, short-duration work and can be used if, after assessing the risks, the use of more suitable work equipment is not justified because of the low risk and short duration.
Ladders can also be used for low risk work where there are features on the site that mean a ladder must be used. Phil embarked on a process of investigation for such a safe system and identified Scafftag as specialists in this field. Scafftag was already supplying other departments within Kew Gardens and once I saw the system my immediate thought was – I don’t need to go anywhere else. This is safe and simple and will do exactly what we need. Scafftag works with its clients to introduce systems and procedures that help manage and communicate the changing status of equipment regarding safety, maintenance and identity/location. As a general rule Scafftag advises that ladders, podiums and steps should be regarded primarily as a means of access and that if used, should only be used for short periods and when other suitable equipment is not appropriate.
However, the requirements at Kew Gardens are quite unusual and in some cases ladders are the only way to be able to carry out some of the work. So the horticultural department uses a variety of safety systems to clearly identify whether a ladder is safe to use or not. These include Laddertag which displays the latest information relating to a ladder’s class, inspection period and inspections due as well as a handy, quick-reference ladder inspection checklist; Microtag, an inspection tag for steps and stools; the Towertag system that ensures the latest status of mobile towers are instantly visible at the point of use – showing location and move references; and the Yellow Book that collates all the elements required to manage ladders onsite. Phil explains that the introduction of the range of Scafftag products enables people to ensure best and safe practice is maintained. The Scafftag systems put the onus on the person – they have to be aware of it and the responsibility is passed on to anyone using the equipment. The people using the ladders can vary day to day and the Scafftag products ensure that the inspection status of equipment is communicated at all times. And when audited, all the information is contained in one place and is up to date – it’s a neat little system.
Abi Piper, Sales Representative at Scafftag works with Phil and regularly visits Kew Gardens to make sure that everything is running smoothly as well as training any new staff so that they are fully conversant with the Scafftag products. Phil said of the service “It’s excellent. It’s really helpful to work with someone who knows the products and can give advice if needed. Abi explains and demonstrates the products to the team here and links the importance of the systems to the legislation we have to adhere to. This type of explanation helps people understand the importance of respecting the ladder safety systems and using them at all times.”
This new approach to safe practice when working at height that has been introduced at Kew Gardens with the help of Scafftag is a perfect example of how a risk, once identified, can be managed safely and effectively without interfering with or preventing the day to day activity that is essential to an organisation such as Kew Gardens.
Scafftag – A Brady Business
Tel 0845 089 4060