News
Easi-Dec Access Platforms - for safe working at height
For over 27 years, developing products for safe working at height has been the ethos of Easi-Dec Access Systems Ltd. Whether for roof line or lower level access, Easi-Dec has produced a range of products which comply with current regulations to deliver safe rapid access solutions for on-site working.
As a major provider of access systems to social housing maintenance companies, the products available from Easi-Dec allow working at height to be safely carried out. Whether this is the installation of replacement windows, or fascias, soffits or guttering, perhaps solar panels or even chimney repairs, there is a solution available. Easi-Dec has developed a series of access platforms to suit the particular task in hand but they all rely on the same fundamental design. An Easi-Dec 2m platform is a fully guarded work station providing access to roofs and facades which can be assembled and raised in 5 minutes and adjusted to suit the required height. A platform has only eight basic components which are locked together by captive pins and so can easily be moved by two people. Additionally, a 2m platform can be linked to a second platform by means of a cat-walk to give up to 10 metres safe working area and can be adjusted to cope with uneven ground.
Window Dec is a 2.5 metre wide purpose designed platform which incorporates a lifting mechanism for raising window panels up to the required height. The platform has a hinged opening which the panel is lifted through, so no unsafe leaning or stretching is required by the installers. The hinged opening is closed once the window is lifted onto the platform to maintain the platforms integrity.
Similarly, the Solar Dec, which is 2 metres wide and the Solar Dec System have a lifting mechanism in place and a hinged opening designed to accommodate solar panels.
There is also a range of versatile accessories designed to accommodate some more problematic installations, such as an End Support Frame for use where restricted access precludes the use of a standard 2 metre platform. Dormer and Double Dormer kits allow a standard platform to sit on a sloping roof.
Easi-Dec’s range of platforms has consistently proved to be a cost effective alternative to conventional scaffolding. Easi-Dec’s standard platform can be quickly erected by two people and can be ready for use in 5 minutes which gives it a huge flexibility advantage over scaffolding. Cost wise, an Easi-Dec platform will pay for itself in less than 20 installs when compared to the cost of hiring scaffolding and yet will last for years. Made of rigid aluminium construction it can easily be transported from job to job on the roof of a small van or estate car thus giving installers who use the system great practical advantages over their competitors. However most importantly, an Easi-Dec platform provides a safe, compliant working environment for anyone required to work at height.
Kee Safety announces the acquisition of Easi-Dec
Kee Safety Group Ltd, a leading global supplier of handrail, guard rail and roof edge protection systems has today announced the acquisition of Easi-Dec Access Systems Ltd, a UK supplier of access equipment for safe working at height. The Easi-Dec product range complements the existing Kee Safety portfolio and the acquisition brings into the group innovative product design and manufacturing skills.
Comments Chris Milburn, Managing Director of Kee Safety Group Ltd.
“The purchase of such a well established business as Easi-Dec Access Systems Ltd represents a major opportunity for us to expand our working at height product portfolio. We believe the Easi-Dec products have great potential both in the UK and in our international markets and we will continue to invest in developing creative safety solutions for the global market sectors being targeted by Easi-Dec. We are delighted to welcome such an experienced, professional team to Kee Safety.”
The purchase of Easi-Dec Access Systems Ltd adds a range of solar array installation systems, roofline and window access platforms, ladder safety equipment and industrial edge protection to the Kee Safety portfolio.
About Kee Safety Group Ltd.
Kee Safety Group Ltd is a leading global supplier of safety components and systems for a wide range of applications and industry sectors, through its subsidiary companies around the world in Canada, China, France, Germany, Poland, UAE and USA. Originally established in 1934, the Kee Safety business is focussed on four main areas; Safety Components, Safety Systems, Safe Access Solutions and Safe Fixings. Safety Components incorporates the top-selling Kee Klamp® fittings, the corrosion-resistant Kee Lite® range and DDA compliant Kee Access® fittings typically used to produce hand rails and guard rail. Safety Systems includes primarily KeeGuard® free standing roof edge protection, KeeLine® horizontal safety line system, Kee Walk® roof top walkway and Kee Anchor® portable deadweight man anchor system. Safe Access Solutions covers the industrial flooring and hand railing systems provided by the group’s British Standard Gratings business. Finally, in Safe Fixings the company offers the versatile BeamClamp® and BoxBolt® steelwork fixing solutions widely used in curtain walling and other secondary steelwork applications.
For further information visit www.keesafety.com.
About Easi-Dec Access Systems Ltd
Easi-Dec was formed in 1984 and has established a reputation for producing innovative solutions to problems relating to safe working at height. The company designs and produces equipment that is safe, simple and robust for use on site in compliance with all current regulations. The range encompasses solar array installation systems, roof access platforms including engineered walkways, Edge protection and ladder safety products. The business is based in Sandy, Bedfordshire.
For further information visit www.easi-dec.co.uk
Prolectric and Easi-Dec provide rapid, safe PV installs
Prolectric Services Ltd of Lympsham, Somerset has secured a £1.2m slice of a £10m contract installing solar PV systems. The huge project from Alliance Homes (formerly North Somerset Housing) is rolling out across North Somerset and Prolectric are setting the standard in safe swift installations to ensure the strict schedule is maintained.
The family-run business has 18 years of experience in intelligent electrical systems and expanded into the renewable energy sector in February of this year. Their proven skill-set is in high demand, and their logistical efficiency enabled them to secure the contract with Alliance Homes.
There are many challenges facing PV installation teams none more so than the need to access, install and leave site on a strict schedule whilst ensuring that health and safety is maintained. Prolectric have been able to overcome this with the use of the specialised Solar-Dec Access System from Easi-Dec. Since becoming MCS accredited in February this year the company has purchased equipment for both of their fitting teams and have established a close relationship with the access specialists.
Prolectric’s Paul Beecham (Managing Director) says; “We already used towers and had good scaffolding contacts for other work, but neither of those are as flexible or convenient for fitting PV. With the Solar-Dec we’re in charge of our own destiny – we just turn up with it in our standard vans, get set up in about half an hour and we’re good to go. The problem with scaffolding is that it generally sticks an extra day or two onto a job and greatly effects profitability. You can come and go as you please and it keeps the end user happy. For example, I had an email at 6pm last night cancelling one of today’s installations but I was immediately able to reassign my team to another install – I couldn’t have got scaffolding in that quickly. I’ve just saved us a wasted day. We just love the system.”
The Solar-Dec telescopic platform can be used independently or with further platforms and Cat-Walks to provide a limitless modular working platform withedge protection. For smaller jobs Prolectric use a 2 metre dec on its own with the addition of clever Winged Gates which provide an extra 1.8 metres of edge protection. Paul goes on to say “The winged gates are really really good because on the smaller jobs it takes us only ten minutes to get up to height”.
“We’ve formed a great relationship with our Easi-Dec contact Mike Slasor. We’re pretty clued up as to how to tackle tricky access jobs now, but if ever there’s something we’re unsure about we can just give him a call. Obstructions like porches or dormers are not a problem – the system will even span a conservatory.”
Paul believes that they have been able to use the Solar-Dec Access System on 99% of the installs they’ve done this year. The system copes with sloping ground, most narrow access scenarios, and can be lifted and shifted to cope with multiple installs. The system is available on an interest-free hire-to-buy scheme, and there is a discount structure to suit businesses as they grow in this developing market.
So the future’s very bright for Prolectric as they look to recruit more fitters as their schedule ramps up into the New Year, and with the inevitable increase in the renewables market in general. Paul’s confident that they can hold the pace, and looks forward to a continuing relationship with Easi-Dec Access Systems.
For further information on Prolectric you can visit their website www.prolectric.co.uk or call 01934 750338.
Easi-Dec Access Systems provide free demonstrations and can be contacted on 01767 691812. Alternatively visit their website at www.easi-dec.co.uk.
Cost Savings in Social Housing Repairs
For over 21 years local authorities have been saving huge amounts of money in scaffold hire charges by using a range of access equipment purpose designed for ‘hit & run’ housing repairs. Easi-Dec has long been the preferred method of access for the following reasons:
Cost Savings: Almost total independence from the need for scaffold hire on external work which would often have cost more than the value of the work being done
AND no invoices to authorise payment for.
Independence: Means having the facility to draw the correct equipment out of your stores at a minutes notice, pop it onto your van and be out on site and working in no time at all AND have your own team erect full elevation access in less than 30 minutes.
Fast pay back: OK, we’ll all agree it’s quite expensive but its the best you can get and the average payback period compared to scaffolding hire is between 12 and 15 jobs depending upon size. See our website for painless payment options and like Easi-Dec they’re purpose designed for local authorities.
Peace of mind: Got grumpy tenants? Not with Easi-Dec you haven’t. Unlike scaffolding, our system takes only 10-15 minutes to remove or relocate. As we all know, scaffolding is hugely unpopular with tenants from both the security and safety aspects. Easi-Dec is gone in a few minutes and so have potential problems like these.
Safety: It’s all taken care of when you use purpose designed equipment and training provided by Easi-Dec. Our systems are so simple to use we can train your staff either at our factory in Bedfordshire or better still, on site. Training takes about 4 hours and is free on site. Certificates of competency are award to your staff upon training.
Product quality: All Easi-Dec products are manufactured to the ultimate quality and are guaranteed for three years. Our nationwide Sales Engineers offer free inspections on a site monthly basis to all our customers. Where relevant, all Easi-Dec products are manufactured to both British and EU standards.
This article was originally published in HA Magazine in August 2011
Review of Painter’s-Mate product
Painter’s-Mate from Easi-Dec
Light, Safe and Ingenious
An independent review by Peter Brett, of Tool Business + Hire Magazine, June 2011
There are some who decry “Elf and Safety” as a waste of time, money and effort. While this may be true for some things, I think the Working at Height Regulations are a genuine step towards protecting workers who have to get off ground level. This may have something to do with the personal experience of falling off a ladder about ten years ago, but I also think that the regulations have enabled some innovative companies to come up with a range of amazing (and much safer) ways of working at height.
The Painter’s-Mate from Easi-Dec is just one of these inventions – and having used one for a few days now to clean and re-varnish my fascias and soffits, I am convinced of its safety, convenience and ease of use.
Essentially, the Painter’s-Mate is an extendable alloy ladder with a mini-access platform perched on the top. This may sound a bit odd, but the pictures will confirm what a good idea it is. One of the sensations I always have when perched on a ladder is that feeling that if I leaned too far to the left or right or stretched too far above my head I would lose my sense of orientation and my balance. On an ordinary ladder, this would almost certainly result in an accident or near accident, but being able to lean against the access platform with its rails above waist height, the user feels the security of the rails and very quickly has the sense of balance confirmed.
Now, none of the above would make any sense if the ladder itself just had an access platform added to the top. But the ladder has also been cleverly designed to make just about as stable (and also portable) a base for the access platform.
A closer look at the ladder will give the reader some idea of what I mean. While most of the ladder is a “normal” extendable ladder that works in the same way as other extendable ladders, the base and top of it are cleverly redesigned.
First of all, the base of the ladder has the two “legs” (one adjustable) that have been extended out to the side so that they are at least 85 cm wide. This obviously gives a much wider and therefore more stable base to it. In addition, there is another adjustable (and very substantially made) foot that is attached to the “wall side” of the ladder that acts as a fail-safe in the event of a slip.
Each of the feet has a large ribbed rubber foot on it that provides an excellent friction grip on the surface on which the ladder rests.
I tried this arrangement on a concrete slab surface and even at full height, the ladder and access platform felt completely secure.
But a “belt and braces” approach to safety is clear in the Painter’s-Mate concept. Threaded through one of the alloy rungs is a bright yellow adjustable nylon strap with a karabiner on it. Supplied with the kit is a big strong screw eye, several robust plastic plugs and a masonry bit. For complete peace of mind the user should drill a hole in the mortar between two bricks, insert the plug and screw eye and attach the nylon strap tightly to the wall with the karabiner. This pulls the whole ladder towards the wall and makes it impossible for it to slip backwards away from the wall.
Having actually tried this system for myself I felt completely safe right up the full height – and I am a self-confessed scaredy cat on ladders.
In fact the Painter’s-Mate is available to reach a platform height of 3.5 metres, and I am not at all surprised that such heights can be safely reached. Add onto this the user’s ‘reach’ and you have in excess of 5.5m working height.
Some readers might think that a platform on top of a ladder might have to be a “mickey-mouse” affair. This platform will dispel any such ideas. While it is amazingly light, it is very well constructed (just look at the welds) with a weatherproof ribbed foot surface and optional toe-boards.
To mount it to the top of the ladder you have to start with the ladder laid flat and the “cage” arranged on its side. The top ends of the ladder are supported on the support bars and the cage lifted to slide into the top of the ladder. Two huge handscrews are tightened to hold these ends in place. The two support bars are then engaged and firmly held in place with pins. The pins in turn, are locked in place with lock springs. These are held with chains, so neither pins or lock springs can be lost. Sounds complicated, but it is surprisingly easy to achieve, as all the components are light and easy to handle. Also, the components are accurately made, so they line up and just slot into place.
The whole ladder with the platform can then be lifted (the 2m ladder and platform weigh only 22Kgs) and placed against the wall where needed. But again, there is a beneficial twist. At the back of the platform is an adjustable wheeled stand-off, allowing the platform to be raised against the wall without friction and without damaging tiles or woodwork.
The wheels rest against the wall and stop the platform from moving laterally, and they can also be extended further to allow even more stability.
Accessing the platform is easy too. Climb the ladder with the platform gates open, and once you’re there just push two little buttons to engage the curved safety rails that come round to form a solid barrier at waist height. When you are working, you can feel the barriers on you when you lean to the sides or back and they provide instant physical confirmation of where your balance lies, so you tend not to over-lean or stretch.
You can see from the above that I was immensely impressed with the Painter’s-Mate from Easi-Dec. In my opinion it is a brilliant device that increases the safety of working at height by a large margin. The 2m and 2.5m models cost £1185 + VAT and can be fitted into the back of a small van or a medium sized estate car. The quality of the product is self-evident and I am sure will last a lifetime.
Easi-Dec makes a whole range of other ingenious products for working at height, and a visit to www.easi-dec.co.uk is very instructive, or you can just give them a call on 01767 691812.
Easi-Dec welcomes Paul Radford
Following a surge of enquiries over recent months for their working at height solutions, Sandy-based manufacturer, Easi-Dec Access Systems Ltd, has just recruited Paul Radford as External Sales Engineer responsible for the North West and Scotland.
Paul has worked in the construction industry for over 20 years, most recently as a specialist in industrial roofing for Tesco and Aldi stores throughout the UK. With a wealth of experience working at height, Paul is familiar with the daily challenges and practical access problems facing the construction industry.
As with many industries, the recession badly affected the construction business, and Paul explained how he became involved with Easi-Dec. “I first came across the Easi-Dec concept at a demonstration held in Preston several years ago. I was impressed with the innovative design of their systems and found that they were safe and easy to use. When I met Easi-Dec at an exhibition in Scotland recently, they were experiencing quite an increase in enquiries and suggested that I work with them, so I accepted without hesitation.”
With the housing market still very sluggish, there has been a marked increase in the number of people looking at refurbishing and developing their homes rather than moving. Similarly, the Solar PV industry has seen an incredible boom since the introduction of the government’s feed-in tariff last year.
Added Paul: “For me this is a really exciting time to be joining the company as some sides of the construction industry are really bucking the general trend. Easi-Dec has its finger on the pulse and has developed a range of specialised access products that are designed to meet the needs of their expanding customer base. For example, with installation of solar energy roof panels a suite of complimentary products have been developed with many benefits for installers.
“It’s the same for the new Trim-Line system which is designed to suit the smaller refurb companies and one-man bands who need a realistically priced access system that’s quick and easy to use when working at height. All Easi-Dec’s products are excellent quality and offer good value for money and it’s this type of innovative forward thinking which makes me proud to be part of the team.”
Easi-Dec launches new low-cost access system ideal for FSG work
Easi-Dec Access Systems Ltd has just announced the launch of Trim-Line, a new low-cost telescopic modular access system, designed for fitting windows, fascias, soffits and guttering on standard two storey houses. The new Trim-Line system can be assembled in 20 minutes, and costs as little as £100 per month. It provides rapid and simple access up to gutter level with a guarded 6.5 metres of platform which means Installers can work comfortably with standard 5 metre lengths of trim.
Working from ladders is actively discouraged by the HSE and scaffolding is both slow to erect and too costly to justify for short duration jobs. Scaffold towers are too problematic in garden situations and uneven or sloping ground. Trim-Line has been designed to overcome all these issues. It is easy to transport, quick to erect and can cope with many of the access problems faced when fitting FSG including spanning conservatories, porches and bay windows.
The standard Trim-Line consists of two end platforms, each 1.2 metres long. Each of these can be erected in only 5 minutes and used as independent platforms. Connecting them with the standard 4.6 metre Cat-Walk creates a safe working platform extending to 6.5 metres. The optional 6.6 Cat-Walk increases the working length to 8.5 metres. An End Support Frame is also available allowing Trim-Line to be erected in tight boundaries where ground access is restricted to as little as 15 cms.
The complete system is independently adjustable in 4 directions. The Cat-Walk varies the working length while the telescopic legs can incrementally adjust the working height. The legs can be adjusted independently to accommodate uneven ground, and the reach between the platform and wall is also adjustable for deep soffits.
Trim-Line will easily fit onto a roof rack and when erected provides plenty of working area for two Installers to work quickly and easily up to gutter level. The monthly payments to buy a Trim-Line system are less than half the cost of hiring scaffolding for a single installation, and removes the resistance to scaffolding by customers who fear damage and security problems particularly when it is left for long periods.
Trim-Line is available on interest-free ‘hire to buy’ terms or finance for as little as £100 per month. Easi-Dec hold fortnightly demonstrations with complimentary lunch at their factory in Bedfordshire, or free on-site demonstrations can be arranged by calling 01767 691812. Further information on Trim-Line is available online.
Trust Looking For Contractor For £23m Solar Panel Retrofit
Social housing body, the Peabody Trust, is planning an ambitious programme to fit solar panels to its London housing stock.
The move by Peabody is one of the most ambitious retrofit schemes to be undertaken by a social housing provider in this country and is driven by its aim to become a carbon-neutral business by 2020.
It has earmarked £23m to spend on fitting photovoltaic panels to existing housing blocks and is now on the hunt for a contractor to carry out the work.
The firm is seeking a single contractor to carry out the programme and has given interested firms until 21 January to obtain further details on the plan.
It is envisaged that the installation programme will run for approximately 18 months, but Peabody aims to have the substantial part of the job completed by April next year.
During the last 12 months, the market for fitting PV panels has taken off as supermarkets and social housing providers seek to improve their energy performance. Much of the work has been confined to new build projects, rather than retrofitting existing buildings.
Enquiries to Nic Wedlake, Environmental Sustainability Manager of The Peabody Trust.