Buying Guide, Assembly Tips & Safety Standards for
Mobile scaffold towers are indispensable for safe and efficient work at height across various sectors in Ireland, including construction, maintenance, and DIY projects. This comprehensive guide delves into the essentials of selecting, assembling, and using mobile scaffold towers, ensuring compliance with Irish safety standards and optimising performance.
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Understanding Mobile Scaffold Towers
A mobile scaffold tower is a freestanding, wheeled structure designed to provide a stable platform for work at elevated heights. Unlike traditional scaffolding, these towers offer mobility, making them ideal for tasks that require frequent repositioning.
Key Features:
- Mobility: Equipped with castor wheels for easy movement.
- Modularity: Components can be added or removed to adjust height.
- Safety: Incorporates guardrails, toe boards, and stabilisers.
- Versatility: Suitable for both indoor and outdoor use.
Choosing the Right Mobile Scaffold Tower in Dublin
When selecting a mobile scaffold tower, consider the following factors:
1. Compliance with Irish Safety Standards
Ensure the tower meets the BS EN -1: standard, which specifies requirements for mobile access and working towers made of prefabricated elements. Compliance guarantees that the tower has been tested for stability, strength, and safety features.
2. Load Capacity
Understand the weight limits of the scaffold tower. For instance, the King Kong Industrial Span 500 Scaffold Towers have a maximum load per platform of 250kg and an overall tower capacity of 700kg, including the tower’s weight.
3. Platform Height and Working Height
Determine the maximum platform height required for your tasks. For example, the Premium Mobile Scaffold Tower offers a platform height of 4.5m, providing a working height of up to 8.5m.
4. Tower Width
Choose between single-width and double-width towers based on the workspace and the nature of the task. Double-width towers offer more space but require more room to manoeuvre.
5. Ease of Assembly
Opt for towers that are easy to assemble and dismantle. Some models, like the folding scaffold towers, are designed for quick setup and are ideal for tasks requiring frequent relocation.
Safety Tips for Using Mobile Scaffold Towers in Ireland
Safety is paramount when working at height. Adhere to the following guidelines to ensure safe operation:
1. Training and Competence
Only trained and competent individuals should assemble, dismantle, or use scaffold towers. PASMA (Prefabricated Access Suppliers’ and Manufacturers’ Association) offers recognised training courses in Ireland.
2. Pre-Use Inspection
Before each use, inspect the tower for any signs of damage, missing components, or wear and tear. Ensure all parts are in good condition and properly secured.
3. Stable Ground Conditions
Erect the tower on firm, level ground. Avoid soft or uneven surfaces that could compromise stability. Use base plates or adjustable legs to level the tower if necessary.
4. Use of Stabilisers and Outriggers
Install stabilisers or outriggers as per the manufacturer’s instructions, especially when working at greater heights, to enhance stability.
5. Weather Conditions
Avoid using mobile scaffold towers in adverse weather conditions, such as high winds or heavy rain, which can increase the risk of accidents.
6. Safe Access and Egress
Use the built-in access ladders or stairways to ascend and descend the tower. Never climb the scaffold frames.
7. Avoid Overloading
Do not exceed the maximum load capacity of the tower. Consider the combined weight of workers, tools, and materials.
Assembling a Mobile Scaffold Tower Safely
Proper assembly is crucial for safety. Follow these general steps:
- Preparation: Clear the area of obstructions and ensure a level surface.
- Base Assembly: Assemble the base frames and install the castor wheels.
- Vertical Frames: Add vertical frames and secure them with horizontal braces.
- Platforms: Install the working platforms at the desired height, ensuring they are securely locked.
- Guardrails and Toe Boards: Attach guardrails and toe boards around the platform to prevent falls.
- Stabilisers/Outriggers: Install as per the manufacturer’s guidelines.
- Final Inspection: Conduct a thorough inspection before use.
Note: Always refer to the manufacturer’s instruction manual for specific assembly procedures.
Top Mobile Scaffold Tower Supplier in Dublin
When sourcing HSA compliant scaffold towers in Ireland, it’s essential to choose a provider known for safety, quality, and reliability. Dublin Ladders stands out as the only Irish-based manufacturer specialising in aluminium and fibreglass ladders, podium steps, and our industry-renowned TuFFTower systems. Proudly 100% Irish-owned, we serve construction, commercial, and industrial sectors with a strong focus on compliance and safety at height.
Whether you’re looking for the best mobile scaffold for Irish construction or need a tailored tower solution that meets scaffold tower weight limits in Ireland, Dublin Ladders delivers directly from factory to site across all 32 counties. Visit DublinLadders today to explore our full range and speak to qualified experts who can guide you in choosing the safest access equipment for your next project.
Conclusion
Choosing and using a mobile scaffold tower in Ireland requires more than just picking a platform—it’s about ensuring safety, compliance, and efficiency at every height. From selecting an HSA compliant scaffold tower to understanding how to assemble a scaffold tower safely in Ireland, this guide equips you with the knowledge to make informed decisions for both commercial and DIY projects.
For more information, please visit tube and clamp scaffold.
Thinking about buying a scaffold tower?
Buying the wrong tower could result in a waste of investment. Or worse. Someone could experience a severe injury or even die.
So, let’s get it right the first time by learning the four factors that we cover in this scaffold tower buying guide.
Safety Standards is the Most Important Factor in this Scaffold Tower Buying Guide
First and foremost, you must buy a scaffold tower marked with “EN” or “BSEN.” This is a European standard that the UK continued to uphold following Brexit. Therefore, it’s a legal requirement that employers provide workers, including contractors, with a BSEN-marked scaffold tower. PASMA explains EN in more detail.
You may wonder what the difference is between a mobile access tower marked EN and one that isn’t. With regard to safety, the differences are stark.
Differences Between a Marked and Non-Marked Scaffold Tower
Work Platforms
Firstly, marked towers have purpose-built stable platforms with a safe trapdoor for entry and exit, whereas a non-marked tower uses loose scaffold boards or a DIY platform. The difference is that the loose board and DIY platform aren’t secure, which significantly increases the risk of falling.
Integrated Ladder
Secondly, marked towers have purpose-built access, like an integrated ladder or stairs. On the other hand, non-marked towers don’t, which requires workers to climb the frames or find other ways to access the unsecured, loose scaffolding boards.
Again, it significantly increases the risk of falling as workers ascend or descend the tower. With the integrated ladder on marked towers, workers climb from the inside of the frame, which can reduce the extent to which a worker can fall by reaching for other parts of the frame.
Stabilisers
Thirdly, marked towers are supplied with the correct size and number of stabilisers, compared to non-marked towers, which often don’t come with any at all. Stabilisers significantly increase the stability of scaffold towers as it increases the area coverage and even weight distribution.
Guardrails
Lastly, marked towers are supplied with guardrails, in the correct quantity, which are spaced according to the manufacturer. Non-marked towers have very few, if any, which makes falling as easy as stepping of a curb onto the road.
Steps to Ensure You Purchase a BSEN Scaffold Tower
Before making the purchase, you should carefully read the description for the tower to understand whether or not it’s marked with BSEN or EN. Having said that, some unscrupulous suppliers will lie.
So, thoroughly check their reviews. Some customers may have found out that the tower wasn’t marked later on and experienced significant fines.
At LEWIS Access, we’re the UK’s leading manufacturer and supplier of BSEN scaffold towers, so save yourself the research and just buy it directly from a British manufacturer.
Quality Over Price
Most buyers will assume that a BSEN marked mobile access tower is a sufficient definition of quality. While that stands true for the most part, there’s more to it. This includes the supplier or manufacturer’s reputation, the warranty, and customer support.
Manufacturer’s Reputation
Starting with the manufacturer’s reputation. It’s important that you review the feedback from customers across multiple platforms like Google Reviews and Trustpilot, for instance. What’s the overall feedback? Overwhelming positive, or alarmingly negative? Perhaps the supplier doesn’t have any reviews, or very few. How long have they been established. We began over 20 years ago in a garden shed.
Warranty Period
Moving onto the warranty period. Some suppliers and manufacturers will make bold claims about “lifetime warranty” or a “lifetime guarantee“. It’s often false because the term, i.e., how long is the lifetime, is never specified. For all buyers know is that it’s 1 year because the supplier or manufacturer doesn’t expect the mobile scaffold tower to last any longer.
At LEWIS Access, we have a 10 year warranty period. So, if there are any defects with our aluminium scaffold tower, we’ll repair it or replace it. This doesn’t include standard wear and tear, but spare parts can easily be purchased from our website.
Customer Support
Finally, let’s discuss customer support. To support you make the right decision, sometimes it’s very helpful to ask questions regarding a scaffold tower you’re thinking about buying. Likewise, once you’ve purchased it, you may have follow-up questions.
At LEWIS Access, we pride ourselves in the support we offer to potential, new and existing customers before, at the time and after buying an aluminium scaffold tower from us. But don’t take our word for it; read our reviews.
Intended Use
In August , an employer hadn’t supplied the right size scaffold tower (it was too big for the space intended) for installing a roof light window. Consequently, it led to workers building their own makeshift tower, which resulted in a worker falling through the roof, and fracturing multiple bones in their back. The employer went on to be fined £12,000 due to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations . They also had legal costs to pay on top of this fine.
Access towers come in different sizes in terms of heights and widths. From single to double width and up to 8 metres for outdoor use and 12 metres for indoor use. Not only that, there’s a range of scaffold towers. These include 3T industrial, AGR, 250, Miniscaff Solo, Trade Folding and Lift Shaft Towers.
It can be a challenging decision to make with regard to choosing the perfect scaffold tower that’ll be versatile for your use cases. Whether that be for painting and decorating, installing air conditioning units, or live events. Going back to quality over price, call the manufacturer and ask for their advice. We’re more than happy to help.
British Manufacturing
Last but not least, you should choose a British brand that uses up-to-date manufacturing methods and high-quality aluminium that will not easily deteriorate. Not only will these towers be more likely than imported towers to comply with health and safety regulations, they’ll prove to be a trusted piece of access equipment that’ll protect your workers and members of the public. We’ve been manufacturing different types of portable scaffold towers since , which makes LEWIS Access one of the most trusted brands on the market today.
Summary
We hope this scaffold tower buying guide has helped you to make the right decision. In summary, the four key areas to consider are whether the scaffold tower meets safety standards, prioritises quality over price, is suitable for the typical intended use, and is made by a British manufacturer. Above all, should you need any assistance, get in touch with our well-trained team, who can answer all of your questions.
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