Type approval
If you are wondering if one of our ladders or scaffolding is approved, the short answer is yes. If you want to check that a product is type approved, you can look for the RISE symbol on our product labels or on the product pages on our web.
The slightly longer answer is that all our mobile ladders, trestles, step stools, scaffolding and work platforms are type approved. When it comes to products for fixed mounting on facades and roofs, there are slightly different rules that apply. There are also other types of products - such as our aluminium boxes - that cannot be approved but can be sold and used without approval. You can read more about different product categories and standards below.
Sometimes standards are changed and updated, but it's not something you need to worry about. The only thing that counts is that the product was approved when you purchased it and you are allowed to continue to use it even if it does not meet the requirements of the latest standard.
What are type approvals, standards and certificates?
Before we can start selling a ladder or scaffolding, it must be type approved. To do that we send it to a testing institute that tests and evaluates whether it meets the requirements of the appropriate standards. If the product passes the tests, it’s said to be type approved. All our products are tested by RISE – Research Institutes of Sweden.
A product standard is a document that contains specifications on how a product should be designed and how it should be tested. For example, in the case of ladders, there is a European standard called EN 131. In it you can read things like that the distance between two rungs should be max 300 mm and that a platform on a stepladder should be tested with a certain number of kilograms without breaking. These types of standards are not in themselves mandatory to follow, but in most countries there are laws stating that ladders and scaffolding must be type approved according to a standard in order for them to be sold and used.
When the product is tested and approved, RISE issues a certificate, which is a document listing all our type-approved products. The certificate also allows you to see exactly which standard the product is approved according to (for example, a product can be approved according to both a European standard and a Swedish standard). But the easiest way to find out if a ladder is approved is to look at the label or on the product pages of our web. And you can rest easy, all our products that are covered by a standard and can be approved – are type approved.
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Wibe Ladders is a part of Hultafors Group together with:
For more information about the brands, contact us.
