PASMA Training Course OnlineMobile Tower Scaffolding Safety

PASMA stands for the Prefabricated Access Suppliers and Manufacturers Association, the trade association for the mobile access tower industry. It runs an industry training scheme with its own card. A PASMA card is not a legal requirement. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require everyone who builds, moves, inspects or works from a tower to be competent, or to be supervised by a competent person while being trained, and HSE says towers must be erected and dismantled by trained and competent people. HSE describes industry training schemes as one way to show competence. A site or client may still ask for a tower training card as its own entry rule. Electricians use towers for lighting, containment, fire alarm and CCTV work at height, so the law and the safe methods matter however you show competence. The Elec-Mate mobile access towers course is study and revision support: it is not a PASMA course and does not award a card.

HSE recognises two safe ways to build a tower: through-the-trap (3T) and advance guard-rail (AGR). Both keep the builder protected by guard-rails as the tower goes up. With 3T, the builder works seated in the open trapdoor and fits the guard-rails for the level above before standing on that platform, so nobody ever stands on an unguarded platform. With AGR, temporary guard-rail units are locked in place from the level below before anyone gets onto the platform, and are moved up ahead of the builder. HSE expects enough platforms to fit them at about 2 m intervals during assembly and dismantling. The exact build sequence for any tower comes from its manufacturer instruction manual, which the manufacturer, supplier or hirer must provide and which should stay with the tower.

There is no single legal height limit. The maximum height for a tower, indoors and outdoors, comes from its manufacturer instruction manual and must never be exceeded. The tower standard BS EN 1004-1:2020 covers towers up to 12 m indoors and 8 m outdoors; towers outside its scope, such as over-height or linked towers, are covered by BS 1139-6:2022. Standards are not law, but the manual is written to them. There is no universal base-to-height ratio to work from: HSE says to follow the ratio and configuration in the instruction manual, and to fit the stabilisers or outriggers it specifies for that height.

Under regulation 12 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, a competent person inspects a tower after it is assembled in position and before it is used, at any height. It is also inspected at suitable intervals and after anything that could affect its safety, such as strong winds. For construction work where a person could fall 2 metres or more, a mobile tower must have been inspected on the site within the previous 7 days. For those towers the inspector writes a report, with the particulars in Schedule 7, before the end of the working period and hands it over within 24 hours; it is kept on site until the construction work is completed, then at an office for 3 months. For other towers, each inspection is recorded and kept until the next one is recorded. Moving a tower on the same site does not need a new report, but a pre-use check is needed after every move, and a full inspection and report after it is re-assembled or altered. Before every use, check it: castors locked, level, complete, braces, guard-rails, toe-boards and platforms in place, stabilisers fitted as the manual says, and no damaged parts. Tags are good practice, not a legal requirement.

The law gives no wind speed. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 say work at height may only be done when the weather does not jeopardise safety, and HSE says never to use a tower in strong winds. Any wind limit for using, building or moving a tower comes from its manufacturer instruction manual, and you stop sooner if conditions make it unsafe. You may see 17 mph (Beaufort 4) quoted: that is an industry figure used in many manuals, not the law. Never sheet a tower or fix signs or banners to it unless it is designed for that, because sheeting catches the wind; in a case reported by HSE in July 2026, a sheeted tower in Putney overturned in the wind and the company was fined and a director convicted. Never move a tower in windy conditions, and have it checked after strong winds before anyone goes back up.

PASMA courses are run by training providers, so check the length, content and price with the provider. The Elec-Mate mobile access towers course is separate: 6 modules of four 25-minute lessons (about 10 hours of study) and a mock exam of 20 questions in 30 minutes, drawn from a 180-question bank, with 80% to pass. It is revision support, not a PASMA course, and it does not award a card. In law there is no expiry date on competence; any refresher period is set by a training scheme, your employer or the site.

Yes. Module 2 includes podiums and low-level platforms. Work from a podium is still work at height, because the law has no minimum height. Podium steps are covered by BS 8620, which sets them up for one person, on a platform no higher than 2.5 m, with a maximum load of 150 kg; always follow the manufacturer instructions for the podium you are using. For many low-level electrical jobs a podium is the right choice. For the options and content of PASMA courses, check with a PASMA training provider; the Elec-Mate course is not one of them and does not award a card.