The warning follows increased concern about cheap, inferior products now flooding the UK market, especially in the construction sector, which offer limited protection to users by not having an adequate guardrail system fitted as standard.
Since 2004, industry estimates suggest that some 50,000 of these work at height tools have been sold in the UK and Ireland and are most widely used in the construction industry by a multitude of finishing trades.
Comments PASMA's managing director, Peter Bennett, "In theory, these products provide a compact, lightweight and protected work platform that represents a safe method of working at height, especially at low heights of 2.5m and below.
"Unfortunately, whenever there is high demand for a product there is inevitably an opportunity for companies to offer deficient equipment which, in the absence of a minimum standard, can be marketed with impunity, thus exacerbating the already concerning accident statistics for low level work at height."
Against this background, PASMA's technical committee is seeking to establish a minimum quality standard and is working with the British Standards Institute (BSI) to draft a publicly available specification (PAS).
It has also developed an additional module in its training scheme devoted solely to low level access, and produced a new DVD/CD Accidents can happen even at low level.
Joy Jones, principal inspector, HSE Construction National Safety Team, says, "We share PASMA's concern over this issue and welcome PASMA's initiative. Our inspectors have come across workers using products that do not meet minimum health and safety requirements. Falls from height are a major cause of death and injury within the construction industry and duty holders must ensure they are complying with the law and protecting themselves and their workers."
(Jim Evans)
