Thursday 25 April 2013

Working At Height: How to Overcome Anxiety

It's understandable to feel anxious when working at height up a ladder. In fact, some people even have an extreme fear of heights, a phobia known as acrophobia. In this article we will discuss some ideas on how to overcome this anxiety, to help you feel calm and relaxed working at any height.



Why You Might Feel Anxious Working at Heights


There are lots of reasons why you might feel anxious working at heights. All are completely normal.

Reasons include:

- Having had an accident and fallen from a ladder
- An emotional trauma that has become related to heights
- A generalised feeling of falling
- Witnessing something happen either in real life or on television

How Your Height Anxiety Might Feel

Example feelings include:

- Panic and fear
- Shaking
- Feeling like your heart is beating very quickly
- Dizziness, vertigo
- Sweating

Some Stats and Facts About Ladders and Anxiety

Fear of heights affects between 2% and 5% of the population. In fact most people feel a degree of anxiety when they're up a ladder.

Falls from height are one of the most common causes of work place accidents. According to the HSE website in 2008/2009 there were 35 fatalities, 4654 major injuries and 7065 injuries that caused the person to be off work over three days.

Tips For Working at Height
 
- Natural Remedies

These have been proven to help in anxiety and phobias. Herbs like lavender and lemon balm provide a calming effect.

- Psychotherapy

It's not as scary as it sounds. This is involves retraining your negative thoughts.

- Medication

Your doctor may be able to give you something to ease anxiety.

- Self-Hypnosis

Train your own thoughts to stay calm when up a ladder.

- Avoid Caffeine

Coffee can actually increase anxiety. It's a stimulant and enhances fear.

- Look After Yourself

Getting enough sleep and exercise aids your general wellbeing and you will find it easier to cope with feelings of anxiety.

- Talk About It

Discuss your fears with others who regularly work up a ladder.

- Be Gentle With Yourself

If you've developed a fear of heights after an accident, try gradually building up how high you go. Start off going up just a few steps, noticing how you feel, relaxing, then coming back down. Keep increasing how high you go each time. This technique is called "flooding".

In summary, it's normal to feel some anxiety when working at height, but if that anxiety is a problem you should not be afraid of seeking some help and consider the ideas listed above. With determination and some positive thinking, you can overcome any fear of heights.

Thursday 18 April 2013


Latest Offers From Our New Suppliers Zarges

At Sterk Systems, we are very pleased to announce our new supplier partnership with Zarges (UK) Limited. Zarges which is a subsidiary of Zarges GmbH is the major European player in the manufacture of access equipment. The
UK branch of the company, which was established in Milton Keynes in the early 1990's, carries a phenomenal range of quality assured towers, steps, ladders and work platforms. Every piece of equipment Zarges manufacture is stringently tested throughout each stage of its design and manufacture to ensure
a product that is second to none.

At Sterk Systems we pride ourselves on stocking the latest, most innovative and durable access systems and are constantly looking for new and different products to feature on our website. This is why our partnership with Zarges is so exciting as they specialise in pioneering solutions to facilitate working at height.

Zarges Special Offer Products
 

From April to the end of June we will be running special introductory offers on a whole host of Zarges products. Ranging from steps, platforms, telepods and towers.







Specific items on offer from the Zarges collection include:

The Teletower

Perhaps the showpiece of the Zarges collection is the Teletower which won the Executive Hire Show Innovation Award in 2011. The Teletower is a real access tower innovation and comprises of completely unique and patented telescopic operation, making it a joy to use, store and transport.

The Teletower is a breakthrough in its field and is both cost and time efficient in comparison to its competitors. Comprising of features such as lockable castors and single individual operation the Teletower operates at 5 different working heights. The Teletower allows you to experience working at height at its best.

Zarges Roof Rack Clamps

- Sturdy and durable
- Easy and quick to fit
- Supplied with padlocks included
- Supplied in pairs
- Part of a range of accessories and special equipment

Class 1 Trade Swingback Step

The Class 1 Trade Swingback Step is new in the Zarges range of Industrial Class 1 stepladders.

Each and every Swingback step has:

- Non slip feet
- Is designed for optimum stability due to its sturdy internal locking bars
- Large and serrated treads (86mm deep)
- Is fully certified and has been tested to EN 131 and to BS 2037 Class 1

Other Special Offer Products From Zarges

- Sherpascopic platforms 4-6 Rung and 7-9 Rung
- Telepod – telescopic podium 3 adjustable platform heights
- Speedy Tower – 4 sizes up to 7m working height

Special offers coming soon – watch this space!

Thursday 11 April 2013

Triangular Bridging System - Bridging the Gap

There are many occasions when a lightweight but reliable modular bridging system would be the best solution for working at height. But the products available are too big, too cumbersome or too inflexible.

Furthermore, if you need to be able to regularly move your platform around in small or contained spaces, the solution never existed. However, it does now. And not only have we found it, we have also become the sole distributor in the UK for it.

Triangular Bridging System

The ingenious Triangular Bridging System manufactured by Dutch Company Artilan b.v. provides a safe and reliable platform support for working at heights between 3 and 7 meters in a mobile and flexible format perfect for almost any job.
 


User Friendly

It is fast, efficient and easy to use. It weighs less than 50kg for an entire 12 meter span and a mere 16kg for a single 4 meter bridge section.

Efficient

The entire 12 meter structure can be built in just 15 minutes but you can choose from any span between 2 and 12 meters to suit you.

There is no need for professional construction. Build this entire module either in position or on the ground and then winch it in to place in no time at all. The winch system is ideal for this and construction at ground level means safer practice too.

Painters and glazers have estimated that this system has improved productivity by up to 60% while the weather protection system incorporated into the structure ensures maximum number of available working days for all those that use it.

Flexible

The innovative bridging technology avoids unnecessary obstructions and can span anything from gardens and conservatories to swimming pools and outhouses, so that you can access the exact points you need without having to worry about potential hazards.

We have customers using the Triangular Bridging System between scaffolding towers to span places at height and it is ideal to work over a swimming pool or delicate flooring even when head height is limited.

Secure

All access ladders are easily removed at the end of each day so that using this product on site could actually reduce the risk of burglary and vandalism.

Reliable

High quality construction means this is no fly by night item. Though it is light weight and flexible it is also solid in construction with all-round welding for strong, reliable support.

Adaptable

The adaptability of this product also means it can be custom made to suite specific tasks, making this bridging system versatile and ideal for even the toughest of jobs.

When Normandy Holiday Homes needed 'a lightweight, modular, mobile system which would fit into a confined working area' for instance, together with Sterk Systems they were able to customise the unique bridging system and hone it to their individual criteria.

"We are delighted with the new scaffold system... Sterk Systems worked closely with us to understand our problem and then produced the perfect solution." Said Gary Cooper of Normandy Caravans.

If you are looking for strong and reliable working platform that offers portability, flexibility and can bridge almost anything in any situation, take a look at the new Triangular Bridging System from Artilan, you won't be disappointed.

Thursday 4 April 2013

Youngman Take the Gold With New Telescopic Loft Ladder

New to our site this month is the Youngman Telescopic Loft ladder. Not only is this an exceptional telescopic ladder from Youngman, with a lightweight frame that is versatile and very reliable, but it is an award winner too!


DIY Gold

In the Totally DIY show 2013, this ladder claimed the Gold award in the 'New Product' category for the company, which is a true testament to the telescopic line that Youngman have introduced.

Impressing a panel of expert buyers, the 'New Product' Gold award reflects the ingenuity and creativity that has gone into this ladder. The award has always recognised outstanding new products and the innovation used to create them, and this year is no different.



Award Winning Features

With absolutely no cutting required at all, this ladder is available in both 2.6 and 2.9m lengths and is incredibly quick and easy to install. Once in place, it can be adjusted to three lengths, which means it can fit into most homes and even places of work, with almost no effort.

The anodised aluminium used to create the main structure makes this an incredibly strong but still light weight ladder that is versatile and even looks attractive too. While the rubber feet ensure a strong grip to the supporting surface whilst providing full protection to the floor to avoid marks or indents below.

Automatic locking catches have been included on each individual tread to make operation very quick and incredibly simple, whilst ensuring there is nowhere to trap fingers or difficult switches to reach. In addition, the extra wide treads replace traditional rungs to provide confidence to the user and make this telescopic ladder safe and secure even with a weight tolerance of up to 150kg.

The smooth motion ensures that the ladder is easy to open and close and stores in such a compact size it can fit into almost any loft space. This makes it the ideal ladder to be installed in your own home or the perfect solution for builders and tradesmen to include in their building projects.

Take a look at the full details on our site and see how the award winning Youngman telescopic ladder could fit into your next project.