Aluminium Scaffold Tower Guide

Protecting others while you work from the tower scaffold, Never allow other people to work below you, or within six to ten feet of the scaffold tower, even a small object falling from the top of the tower can cause severe injury.

Use cones and bunting to section off an area around the base of the tower scaffold so that others will not be placed in danger by materials that may fall from the tower., note that bunting is useful in areas where there are few if any pedestrians around, if you are using a tower scaffold in a busy area use fixed barriers that can’t be simply moved.

If you leave the tower scaffold up overnight or move away from the tower leaving it unattended, remove any lower ladders or thoroughly block any access point to prevent children or others climbing up the tower scaffold.

On any working platform hand rails and toe boards should be fitted

Other things  to avoid when using aluminium scaffold towers!
Using a hoist, Don’t even think about it.
Sheeting up the sides, you’ll get blown over.
Using the tower on soft ground, the scaffold tower will probably fall over.

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When buying, hiring or using a scaffold tower always ensure it meets the European Committee HD1004 standard for industrial use.

Check all the tower scaffold fittings, check the tower stage sections for breakage or damage, hired tower scaffold gets a lot of abuse, when people dismantle them sections of the tower  are often dropped from the top of the scaffold tower resulting in damaged spigots and joiners or worse dented tube.
If the  scaffold tower tubing is dented to any great degree  do not use it, especially if you are going to place work materials on to the tower, dents in the tube will create weak points which could result in the tower collapsing.

Never stand on the top level of a tower scaffold without guard rails
Never try to erect a tower scaffold on your own, it can be done however if you fall or have an accident there  may be no one around to call emergency services.

Always make sure all recommend braces and tower stabilizers are correctly fitted, even if stabilisers are not recommend it’s much more reassuring working at the top of a scaffold tower knowing it’s not going to topple over!

Always use the access method as recommended by the manufacturer, staying within the tower scaffold when going up or down is always the safest way, climbing up the outside may be quicker and easier but the risk is simply not worth it.

Never exceed the manufacturers recommended safe working height, make sure the tower is upright and vertical, as you build the scaffold tower use a boat level several times as you go to check it for upright.

Make sure the wheel brakes are applied
Never climb up the outside of the tower scaffold unless it has a built-in ladder for the purpose.
If you have to fit a ladder to the outside contact the manufacturer or supplier and check to see if it is safe to do so.

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Working with, and on tower scaffolds at height is a serious business, if you’re going to use an aluminium tower scaffold make sure you receive full training, don’t underestimate these beasts, between 2003 and 2004 in the UK, tower scaffolds were responsible for 67 fatal accidents at work and nearly 4000 major injuries.

Aluminium scaffold towers are widely used and provide an effective and safe means of gaining access to work areas at high levels, however it is extremely important that the scaffold tower be erected correctly and according to the manufacturers instructions, whether you are buying or hiring a scaffold tower the supplier has a duty to provide you with a full instruction manual which explains in detail the sequence of erecting the tower, never rush the job or cut corners when working at height!

Note. Erecting an aluminium scaffold tower will always require a minimum of two people.

Before you start, be aware that the scaffold tower is made from a conductive alloy, make sure that there are no overhead cables where you are erecting the tower  so as to avoid electrical shock.

There are two methods recommended by the Health and Safety Executive, the first being the advance guard rail system which uses temporary guard rails fitted from the level below, this provides effective fall prevention, the upper level of the scaffold tower should never be accessed without these in place, this system greatly reduces the risk of the scaffold erectors chance of a fall.

The second method for Aluminium scaffold towers is for the erector to position himself halfway through the trap door, from this position he can safely add or remove guard rails before moving on to the next stage of the tower scaffold.

Stability of the Aluminium scaffold tower
The tower must be erected on hard, level ground, never use pieces of timber or brick bats wedged under the wheels!
Stabilisers or outriggers should be fitted at all times to ensure maximum stability, all fittings should be tightened securely, when moving up or down the tower always use the integral ladders in the centre of the scaffold tower, never use an extension ladder to gain access to the top as this will adversely effect the stability of the tower scaffold.

Moving the tower scaffold
Always check that there are no overhead power cables that the tower scaffold can come into contact with, before moving the tower reduce the height to below four(4) metres.
Never move an Aluminium scaffold tower when there are materials or people on any of the stages.
Always check that the ground where you are moving the tower to is suitably hard and level.

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