03 Jan

Posted at 09:32h in News by
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As we approach the end of 2019 here is an update regarding the Basic Tower Climbing & Rescue scheme. EUSR have carried out a number of approval visits of training providers and overall this appears to have flowed quite smoothly.  One area where we have noted common issues is around the formal IQA qualification required to achieve scheme approval. Consequently, we have applied logic and are providing a temporary addendum. The temporary addendum will be offered where you have evidenced that you meet all of the other requirements for both Provider and Scheme approval, but do not have a qualified IQA in place.  Signing the temporary addendum will allow you to gain approval for the scheme for a period of 6 months whilst your appointed IQA trainee is registered for, and successfully gains the formal IQA qualification. It will be a big step forward for the industry when we can say that all persons accessing our infrastructures have all attended an approved course and have an assured process to ensure standards are maintained. So far, we have around 18 applications either completed or being progressed. EUSR has commented on how helpful and professional our industry training providers have been during this project...

30 Nov

Posted at 10:02h in Uncategorized by
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The Mast and Tower Safety Group would like to clarify its position on  the recently published  MBNL mandatory training  requirements for Safe Lifting and Lowering  in the telecommunications sector.   Whilst we actively encourage safety improvements within our industry the group is not connected with this initiative and there has been no direct consultation with all its members in accordance with our terms of reference.    ...

10 Nov

Posted at 11:18h in Uncategorized by
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The MATS Group are pleased to announce that tickets are now on sale for our next annual conference which will take place at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry on Wednesday 22nd April 2020.   Thanks to our headline sponsor Virtua who have agreed to support the event once again.   Tickets can be purchased by clicking here We have had an excellent response from over 25 exhibitors and confirm Nationwide Platforms, Petzl, Arco, Commhoist, Never Let Go will all be attending along with a host of others including: XI Training, Safety at Height, Abaris, Ridgegear, Harken, P2ML, Tracked Access, Heightec, Link Microtek, Maser Comms, Spanset, Data Structures, FLI Structurers, Straightpoint, and  Swann Engineering. The conference committee is putting together another interesting and varied range of speakers for the event but is also keen to see if any stakeholders or interested parties have any particular issues or subjects you would like to be covered at the conference? If you have any particular relevant topic suggestions please email your suggestions to conference@matsgroup.info If you have a question or query about the work of MATS please email conference@matsgroup.info prior to the event and we will endeavour to answer your question at the conference. Please limit your question to around 30 words. We look forward...

22 May

Posted at 08:19h in News by
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Congratulations to Iain Leyland from Balfour Beatty who was chosen as the winner of our recent Photo Competition at the MATS Conference and wins a £100 Marks & Spencer Voucher. We had over 160 entries and the standard was very high with some outstanding photographs demonstrating Working at Height.    ...

03 May

Posted at 13:24h in News by
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On behalf of the MATS Group I would like to thank everyone for attending our 3rd annual conference at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry on 24th April.   We hope everyone enjoyed the event and found the day to be very worthwhile with interesting speakers and a good selection of suppliers to the industry on show. Our special thanks go to our headline sponsor VIRTUA and our "Gold Sponsors" Nationwide Platforms, Arco Professional Safety Services and 3M. Without the support of these companies and our various exhibitors we would not be able to create an event of this nature. Also, I would like to extend my personal gratitude to the MATS Conference Committee who give up their time to help produce a great event despite their busy day jobs!   Feedback   We had around 250 delegates attend the event and early feedback suggests it was a great success but obviously there will always be areas we can improve upon so please do let us know by emailing conference@matsgroup.info with any suggestions.  We have also sent out a questionnaire and we will be looking at attendees and exhibitor comments with interest to keep improving the conference and ensuring it is relevant and a good use of your time. You can view the feedback so...

12 Dec

Posted at 13:58h in News by
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From Towerexchange regarding changes to the standards for vertical fall arrest systems: About this webinar We are proud to present this TowerXchange and MSA Safety webinar on working at height.  As a tower owner, it’s your responsibility to ensure that employees and contractors working at height on your infrastructure are doing so as safely as possible.  This webinar, presented by two of MSA’s leading experts on the topic, including Tim Bissett, Technical Manager of MSA Safety’s Fall Protection range and a leading voice in the development of international standards through his work as a member of both the BSI Technical Committee PH/5 and the American National Standards Institute ANSI Z359 Fall Protection Committee.  They will address both the legislative and operational steps you need to take to ensure that your fall protection systems are compliant and future-proof.  Find out about the steps needed to bring your fall protection up to speed, and take part in a detailed Q&A session.  Take this opportunity to get the inside story on how fall protection legislation is developing, and what steps you can take now to ensure your systems will comply with future demands. As a tower owner, the onus is on YOU to ensure your workers are...