OSEM to stop inferior scaffolding

Five of the UK's leading manufacturers and suppliers of scaffolding equipment have joined forces to address what they perceive to be one of the most important threats to safety in their industry.
Under the banner of OSEM - Original Scaffolding Equipment Manufacturers - Haki, Layher, SGB, RMD Kwikform and Van Thiel are commited to minimising the risk of inferior copies of their equipment being used, or worse, mixed with the genuine product.
"The increasing use of system scaffolding across Europe has brought with it the unwanted availability of cheap, inferior copies of equipment," said OSEM.
According to the group, the associated risks arise not just from the use of potentially inferior material, but also from issues of liability and insurance.
SGB marketing manager Peter Bond said: "Where equipment of mixed origins is found to be involved in an accident, any quality manufacturer would not be able to take responsibility for any products manufactured by third parties."
OSEM has defined a series of key factors that it believes are the major aspects of product quality that end users should take into account and is now looking to present these points directly to the major construction companies.