Ladders, trestles and scaffolding

Product rules for ladders, scaffolding, and certain other equipment for work at height, as well as certain pressurised equipment. The Swedish Work Environment Authority's regulations and general advice on product rules for ladders, scaffolding, and certain other equipment for work at height, as well as certain pressurised equipment (1.3)

The Director General of the Swedish Work Environment Authority has decided that a new regulatory structure for the Swedish Work Environment Authority's regulations is to be introduced. The purpose is to create a regulatory framework that facilitates all aspects of working life to create safe and healthy workplaces. The new regulatory structure consists of 14 regulations against the 67 regulations that exist today and will not entail a reduction in the level of protection or major changes to the substance of the current regulations. It is proposed that a number of regulations from the Swedish Work Environment Authority currently in force (AFS 1999:3, AFS 2000:6, AFS 2003:6, AFS 2004:3, AFS 2006:7, AFS 2007:1 and AFS 2013:4) be included in booklet 1.3.
The provisions of booklet 1.3 which contain new technical regulations in relation to the previous regulations are as follows;

Chapter 4, § 2 (ladders and trestles)

The new rules also cover manufacturing for own use. This can be seen as a clarification of the product rules, but since it has not been explicitly stated previously, it can be seen as an increase in requirements.
Chapter 4, § 4 (ladders and trestles)
Reference to Annex 1, in which standards have been updated to current editions, which in some cases can be seen as a minor increase in requirements.
Chapter 5, § 1 (scaffolding)
Exceptions to the scope of the regulations were previously stated in some cases in the general advice section. This is now rewritten as a regulatory text. Can be seen as a codification of practice.
Chapter 5, § 2 (scaffolding)
The new rules also cover manufacturing for own use. This can be seen as a clarification of the product rules, but since it has not been explicitly stated previously, it can be seen as an increase in requirements.

Chapter 5, § 7 (scaffolding)
Elevation of general advice on specification of timber quality (finger-jointed timber must not be used in the load-bearing parts of the scaffolding boards) to a regulatory text and reference introduced to the current standard.

The draft contains references to the following standards:
• See Chapter 4, § 4 of booklet 1.3. The designations of the various standards are given in Annex 1:
- SS-EN 131-1:2015 Ladders - Part 1: Terms, types and functional sizes. Edition 2.
- SS-EN 131-2:2010+A2:2017 Ladders – Part 2: Requirements, testing, marking. Edition 1.
- SS-EN 131-3:2018 Ladders – Part 3: Marking and user instructions. Edition 2.
- SS-EN 131-4:2007 Ladders – Part 4: Single and multiple hinge-joint ladders. Edition 1.
- SS-EN 131-6:2015 Ladders – Part 6: Telescopic ladders. Edition 1.
- SS-EN 131-7:2013 Ladders – Part 7: Mobile ladders with platform. Edition 1.
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• See Chapter 5, § 7 of booklet 1.3:
- SS-EN 338:2016 Structural timber - Strength classes. Edition 4.