Legislation on Working at Height has been aimed at improving safety and reducing casualties. This has inevitably meant moving away from the use of ladders to the use of more stable structures such as scaffolding and access platforms. However there are a number of advantages of Access Platforms over scaffolding.
- Less preparation time
- Improved security, as an access platform is on site for the minimum time reducing the vulnerability of upper floor windows.
- Self-powered with the use of an onboard engine or battery powered for indoor use. Caterpillar tracks reduce the load on made-up surfaces while the use of boards spreads the load on softer surfaces.
- No requirement to make good surfaces into which the scaffolding has been keyed.
In addition access platforms can easily be levelled and have inbuilt stability protection. For example, the bucket cannot be moved beyond the point of balance of the platform.