Can anyone use a scaffolding tower?

There are a wide variety of scaffolding towers on the market, from simple DIY towers to more complex structures for trade use. For the home DIY enthusiast, mobile scaffolding towers are easy to use and do not require any expertise. 

However, if used for professional purposes and the tower is large in scale, the Working at Height Regulations require that any person working at height must be competent in the use of the relevant equipment and needs to be able to demonstrate their competence. At BPS, our scaffold towers meet the needs of homeowners looking for a ladder replacement and professional tradesmen who need a scaffold tower for their daily work.

When should I inspect a scaffold tower?

Anyone using a scaffold tower should inspect it as often as necessary to ensure its safety. On towers with a potential fall of 2m or more, you should inspect them after assembly or major changes, before use, and after any event that could affect the stability or structural integrity of the tower.

For towers with a potential fall distance of less than 2m, inspection requirements are slightly different. They should be inspected after assembly and before use, after any event that could affect their stability or structural integrity, and at appropriate intervals depending on how often you use it and the conditions of use.

Do you need to install stabilizers on a scaffold that is 2.5m or less in height?

This depends on the manufacturer's instructions for the height of the tower you are building. The traditional 3:1 tower height to base size ratio rule no longer applies to determine the stability of a scaffold tower. The basic dimensions are now determined by a complex calculation in EN1004 that takes many factors into account. The only way to know if a stabilizer is required and what size stabilizer you need to use is to look in the manufacturer's component description sheet. It is important to remember that you will need to install stabilizers at the first opportunity in the build sequence and remove them at the end when they are removed. 

What should you do if your tower needs extra height or if you want to reduce the height?

Usually the only way to increase or decrease the height of a mobile scaffold tower is to use the correct end frame height. 

In general, yes, anyone can use a scaffolding tower, but it depends on how they will use it. If you are looking for a tower that you can use DIY at home, you can follow the detailed instructions. However, if you need a larger scaffolding tower for more advanced use, you will need to have the ability and experience to use a scaffolding tower and have some prior training.