Are you checking PASMA cards properly?

If you’re responsible for managing work at height, you already understand how vital it is to ensure everyone involved is competent. Competence isn’t just a best practice, it’s a legal obligation and, in many cases, it starts with checking the qualifications of the person in front of you.

When it comes to building, inspecting and using mobile access towers, tower scaffolds and low level access equipment, PASMA training is the industry standard. It’s common practice to ask operatives to produce their PASMA card before they begin work.

But here’s the critical question:
Once you’ve seen the card, do you know what you’re actually looking for?
A quick glance isn’t enough. There are four key checks you should carry out before clearing anyone to work with access towers on your site.

What does a PASMA card look like?
PASMA cards can be either physical or virtual, and both are equally valid.

Traditionally, PASMA issued plastic wallet-sized cards, and these remain common today. However, more and more operatives now carry their qualifications digitally.

Virtual PASMA cards are accessed through the free TowerSure™ mobile app, offering a fast, secure and environmentally friendly way to prove competence.

Everyone who completes a PASMA course receives a virtual card automatically, even if they also receive a physical one. All they need to do is download the TowerSure app to access it.

1. Does the card belong to the person presenting it? It sounds obvious, but this simple step is easy to forget.

Every PASMA card includes:

• The cardholder’s full name
• A clear head-and-shoulders photo.

Always verify that the photo and name match the individual presenting the card. If they don’t, stop the process and investigate further.

2. Is the card still valid?
Every PASMA card has an expiry date. If the card has expired, the holder is no longer qualified to carry out the activities listed on it. It’s possible they have been retrained and issued with a new card. If so, ask to see the updated version. Never accept expired cards as proof of competence.

3. Does the qualification match the task?
Just because someone has a PASMA card doesn’t mean they’re qualified for every type of tower. PASMA offers a range of specialist courses for different categories of towers – including cantilever, linked, bridged, stepped and large deck structures.

Each configuration requires a specific PASMA qualification due to the unique skills needed to build these types of towers safely. Allowing an unqualified operative to assemble, alter, inspect or dismantle the wrong type of tower puts everyone at risk – including you, as the duty holder.

Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for site managers to check for ‘a PASMA card’ without reviewing the qualifications it contains. Don’t let that happen on your watch. PASMA is aware of cases where site managers are asking to see a PASMA card, but failing to check the specific qualifications on the card. Could this be happening in your workplace? If you have any doubts, PASMA recommends you review your competence checks to ensure your card verification process is based on up-to-date information and confirm that site managers are enforcing it correctly.

Different qualifications for different towers
When checking a PASMA card, always look at the Category section. This tells you which types of towers the cardholder is qualified to work with, based on the training they’ve completed.

Here’s what the categories mean:

T: Towers for Users

A5: Towers on Stairways

A6: Towers with Cantilevers 

A7: Towers with Bridges

A8: Linked Towers

A9: Large Deck Towers

L: Low Level Access

W: Work at Height (Novice).

So, for example, a card showing category T means the operative has completed the PASMA Towers for Users course. They’re qualified to build mobile access towers – standard, single-bay structures with four legs – up to 8m outdoors and 12m indoors. These towers sit under the standard BS EN 1004-1.

If the structure is more complex than that, additional qualifications are required. These towers are covered by BS 1139-6.

Access Tower Specialists
Access Tower Specialists are the most highly skilled PASMA operatives, qualified to build any type of tower. Their unique PASMA cards feature the CSCS logo, helping you to identify them easily.

You should expect to see this level of qualification for anyone leading complex, non-standard tower builds or constructing towers that allow others to work safely at height.

For more on PASMA qualifications, see PASMA’s Ultimate guide to towers and low level access equipment.

PASMA strives for a world where, when assembled and used correctly, every tower is safe. Photograph: Richard Chapman

4. Is the card genuine?
Sadly, fake or altered cards do exist. Thankfully, verifying the authenticity of a PASMA card is quick and easy:

• Use PASMA’s ‘Check a Card’ online tool (for all PASMA cards); or
• Use CSCS Smart Check online and app-based registry (for PASMA Access Tower Specialist cards only).

If you have any doubt about a card or the competence of the operative, don’t let the work commence. Instead, seek a properly qualified PASMA operative to carry out the task.

What to do next
Competence checks should be part of your standard site protocols. If you’re unsure whether these checks are being done correctly and consistently, now is the time to review your procedures.

Need to improve your competence checks? Want a better understanding of what good practice looks like? The PASMA Towers for Managers course is designed for safety professionals who need to demonstrate their competence to supervise work on towers. It helps you comply with the Work at Height Regulations and keep your towers accident-free zones. Contact a PASMA training member to book onto this course.

Remember, competent workers mean a safer site for everyone. Check PASMA cards properly.

TowerSure™ by PASMA

TowerSure is PASMA’s all-in-one digital tool designed to support safe tower use on-site. It helps make sure that towers are always built correctly, by competent workers.

Whether you’re managing a busy site or overseeing a single tower build, TowerSure makes it easier to meet your legal responsibilities and improve safety standards.

With TowerSure, you can:

• Inspect towers before use and log the results digitally
• Capture and store photos as visual evidence of correct assembly
• Create and share inspection reports instantly with your team
• Track inspection history and stay compliant with inspection intervals
• Access your virtual PASMA card, linked directly to your qualifications
• Identify common mistakes happening in the business and use them as a learning tool.

Learn more and get started:
pasma.co.uk/towersure

Don Aers is technical director at PASMA

For more information, see: pasma.co.uk
E. [email protected]
T. +44 (0) 345 230 4041