PASMA is the abbreviated name for Prefabricated Access Suppliers and Manufacturers Association. For those of us who have no idea of what this means in short applies to working on scaffold towers or access towers.
PASMA scaffold tower training started back in 1974, originally access tower training was only available to the manufacturers of alloy towers, with the original objectives of the training were to ensure safe usage, these training courses however were limited only to the manufacturers.
It soon became apparent that this did not target the primary users of the equipment and therefore was not satisfactory. In 1980 training courses were launched for all users, this meant that thousands of people would now learn the relevant skills training to ensure the use of access towers was to be as safe as possible. From this point onwards PASMA became an industry recognised standard.
PASMA scaffold tower training had to comply with the amended work at height regulations 2005, these regulations apply to any employer, self-employed or employees who work at height. It dictates that any person associated with the assembly, dismantling or alteration of Mobile Access Towers should be competent in doing so with, having achieved the recognised safety training standard, or if being trained, under the supervision of a competent person.
As with all regulations PASMA scaffold tower training is regularly revised and updated. It maybe scarcely known but statistics of 2005/06 show that falls from height accounted for well over 3,000 major injuries and nearly 50 fatalities remaining the biggest cause of deaths and major injuries in the workplace.
A Standard Pasma scaffold training course will include both theory and practical assignments, all assignments have to be passed before the recognised certification and card are provided. The various modules which are covered during training include component identification, assembly criteria, stability, hazards, safe use, maintenance and inspection, candidates will also be asked to erect and dismantle a mobile access tower discuss the alterations which can and can't be made, carry out an inspection and sit a test paper.
Only upon sufficient completion of all these disciplines will a candidate become a certified PASMA member regarded as a competent person working at height.
Other areas of where certification for working at height is required are working with MEWPs (Mobile Elevated Work platforms) Mewp cover a whole range of work platforms such as scissor lifts, cherry pickers and boom lifts. This is covered by a separate training scheme called IPAF, but still requires compliance with working at height regulations.
PASMA training is most commonly associated with use in construction and related trades, although applications for Mobile Access Towers spans many industries, these include, telecommunications, railway and networks, to aerospace industries to name a few. Fundamental changes to the membership criteria were introduced in 1999, this is when training was opened to not only manufacturers of scaffold towers but also dealers of, hirers of, and companies accredited to provide full PASMA scaffold tower training.
Nowadays PASMA scaffold training course pertaining to the safe erection, inspection and dismantling of Aluminum and Fiberglass Mobile Access Towers will be carried out over a one day period, with instructors providing a full day's theory and practical training as an intense course with a test at the end of the day to gain the relevant certification. There are also opportunities to further your qualification by taking the supervisors course or the advanced course if required.
Author Resource:-
Anna Stenning investigates the need for
PASMA scaffold Tower Training industry recognised certification when working at height on mobile access towers.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.articlesinsight.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
