|
The firm
won what proved to be a fiercely contested category with
its PlusGard system for erecting, dismantling and
altering scaffold structures.
The firm’s
bold claim is that PlusGard gives the operative who
works at height the same level of protection as the
person who uses the finished building. The specific
problem that PlusGard was designed to tackle was falls
from less than 4m; harnesses are ineffective below this
height, yet 55% of falls occur at 4m or lower.
Essentially the system works by installing an “advanced
guardrail”, which provides protection from the base
level all the way up and down.
It works
not only when building, but also while dismantling and
altering the arrangement of the scaffold, and because it
avoids the need for a harness it removes the possibility
of death or injury from the suspension trauma. If this
system were taken up across the industry it would be
guaranteed to improve the industry’s safety record at a
stroke.
|
