Ladder and fall protection manufacturer, WernerCo, has welcomed the EN131 standard for the portable ladder sector.

Introduced to the UK, EN131 provides a harmonized standard, which has been brought in to overhaul the portable ladder sector and create a safe working at height environment.

The standard revokes any existing national variations providing just two standard classifications, one for professional use and one for non–professional.

The additional considerations have brought in major changes in the design of ladders, for example, requiring all extension and combination ladders over 3m to have a stabiliser bar. They have also brought in new test protocols, for slip, strength in the position of use and durability.

Paul Bruton, Product Development Director at WernerCo, comments: “While most of our products already conformed to the new requirements of the professional and non-professional standards of EN131, we identified that this gave us an opportunity to evaluate our product portfolio to ensure that we are doing all we can to ensure our products go above and beyond these requirements.”

Ladders certified to the withdrawn British Standards BS2037 and BS1139, often referred to as Class 1 and Class 3, will no longer be available, although stocks of products in the market place will continue to be sold through.

WernerCo has developed a guide explaining what the changes mean and how it will affect users. It will also explain, in full, the two new classifications of standards and advises users on when to purchase new equipment. The guide can be downloaded here: https://www.wernerco.com/eu/en/literature/en-131

To find out more information on the range of access solutions from WernerCo, visit: www.wernerco.com