Steps & Access
HERMEQ supplies mobile steps in welded steel for safe access at height in warehouses, factories, logistics yards and construction sites. Built for daily use, most units move on castors or wheels and lock in place before anyone climbs. They are used for stock picking, maintenance, loading lorries and trailers, and loading waste into high-sided skips.
The range runs from single-step units for stockrooms to warehouse steps of up to 16 treads. Narrow aisle, heavy duty, lorry access and unloading platform models sit alongside them, and every unit can be bought online.
Mobile safety steps and warehouse steps
Two measurements settle most choices in the range: the platform height the task needs, and the width of the aisle the steps will stand in.
Portable and low-level steps
For a top shelf in a stockroom, office, school or back-of-house store, a one or two step unit is quicker to fetch and put away than a set of warehouse steps. The portable steps are light enough to carry and store, with a post rail or handrail as options. The single sided mobile 2 step adds castors and a choice of grab rails for service counters and storerooms. Wheelalong mobile steps suit staff who take the steps from room to room through the day, and the wheelalong two step with grab handle is the two-step version with a handle to hold.
Spring loaded mobile steps
Spring loaded steps suit shops, pharmacies, stockrooms and light industrial areas where one person moves the steps many times a shift on a smooth floor. The classic mobile safety steps run on non-marking castors in a choice of powder-coated colours. The mobile step unit has guard rails along the platform and sides for users who want more to hold at the top.
Industrial and commercial warehouse steps
The industrial mobile steps arrive fully welded and ready to use, up to 16 treads high. The premium warehouse steps reach the same height with handlock anchorage for the tallest racking. Commercial mobile steps suit one person with hand tools in factories and workshops, and lightweight mobile steps are the choice where the steps change aisle often at modest heights. Where staff pick and carry stock at once, step tray trolleys combine a set of steps with trays or baskets.
Narrow aisle mobile steps
Dense shelving, archive stores and mobile racking leave too little room for a standard base, so these models stand on a narrower frame that keeps the aisle passable. The narrow aisle mobile steps cover low and mid heights for general picking. The spring loaded narrow aisle steps lock down as soon as the user steps on. For industrial aisles with little clearance and high racking, the heavy duty narrow base steps keep the narrow footprint at much greater heights.
Heavy duty, stability base and extra wide steps
High-bay work on rough concrete, or carrying heavy stock up and down, calls for a wider and heavier frame. The stability base mobile steps stand on splayed legs with outboard wheels to resist tipping at height. The heavy duty mobile steps carry the highest load rating among the warehouse steps on a larger platform. The extra wide mobile steps give more room on every tread for a user carrying boxes or tools.
Easy rise mobile steps
A shallower incline lets the user come down facing forward, as on a staircase, which is the safer way to descend with something in hand. The easy rise mobile steps are mobile access stairs for mezzanine access, maintenance rounds and picking where the same person climbs many times a day.
Knock down mobile steps
Fully welded steps arrive in one piece, so the route from the delivery point to the work area matters as much as the work area itself. Before ordering, measure doorways, corridors, lifts and ceiling heights along that route. Where a welded frame will not pass, knock down mobile steps are delivered in parts and assembled where they will be used.
Lorry, trailer and skip access steps
Where there is no loading dock, mobile access steps brought to the vehicle give a stable platform at bed height, and the right unit depends on which side of the vehicle is worked and what is carried.
Lorry access steps
The lorry access steps are sized to trailer bed heights for a driver or warehouse operative climbing up to reach the bed and check or secure a load, with punched steel treads for grip in the yard. For carrying goods down, the mobile lorry access steps have a stair shallow enough to descend facing forward, a larger platform and exit chains across the open sides.
Side access trailer steps
Side-loading trailers need a long platform running alongside the body. The side access trailer steps come in several platform lengths, so more of the trailer side can be worked without moving the unit, with handrails along the platform and optional swing-out stabilisers.
Mobile loading platforms
Rear unloading with roll cages or pallets needs a deck. The mobile unloading platforms are safety decks that stand at the back of the trailer, with rung or step access, safety rails and optional forklift pockets for moving between bays. A bridging ramp between deck and lorry floor is the option to add where wheeled cages cross regularly. The mobile access platform with side exit has a long platform and chained side exit for users who step off at the side. Further vehicle equipment is in vehicle and container access.
Skip ladder
On demolition clearance, strip-out and waste transfer work, loading a high-sided skip by hand means working above the skip wall. The skip access ladder sets a large platform at skip height, with handrails up the incline and a full wrap guard around the top, and moves on castors between skips as they fill.
Spring loaded or handlock mobile steps
Spring loaded castors are the simpler choice for smooth floors and frequent moves, and handlock anchorage is the firmer lock for taller steps and rougher concrete. Spring loaded castors carry the frame when the steps are empty and retract under the user's weight, so the feet take the load with no lever to operate. Handlock anchorage uses a hand lever to lower the frame onto its feet before anyone climbs, and it is the system on the premium, narrow base, stability base and easy rise steps, where height and uneven concrete call for a positive lock. The lightweight and narrow aisle ranges use plunger castors on the lower models and a central brake on the taller ones. Wheelalong steps keep their wheels clear of the floor until the unit is tilted, so they cannot roll in use. In the yard, the side access trailer steps stand on braked swivel castors, the skip ladder has a lever lock, and the unloading decks use wind-down or jacking legs to level and hold the deck on uneven ground.
Platform height, load rating and treads
Platform height and working height
Product listings quote both the platform height and an average working height, which sits around 1.5m above the platform and allows for the reach of a user standing upright on it. The right platform puts the work within comfortable reach without stretching, so it is sized to the highest regular task rather than the typical one. The range runs to a 4000mm platform for high-bay racking and maintenance.
Safe working load
The safe working load covers the user and everything carried, so it follows the task. Ratings across the steps run from 150kg to 500kg: the lower ratings on the commercial and classic steps suit light picking and maintenance, and the higher ratings on the industrial, heavy duty and lorry access ranges suit carrying cartons and stock up and down. The unloading decks carry more again, for pallets and cages moved by several people.
Tread surfaces for the floor
Tread choice follows the floor and what comes in on footwear. Ribbed rubber stays firm under wet soles, so it suits steps near entrances and goods-in doors. Anti-slip surfaces grip on smooth or wet floors, and punched metal keeps its grip where dust, debris or oil collect. PVC covered treads wipe clean, and rubber covered treads are quieter underfoot in offices and retail areas. For food, pharmaceutical and other hygiene-controlled areas, the mobile step unit is also made in stainless steel.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What standard do mobile steps have to meet?
BS EN 131-7 is the standard for mobile ladders with platforms, which covers mobile safety steps and warehouse steps, and it sets requirements for design, load testing and marking. Each product listing states where a unit is tested to BS EN 131-7. Several models also carry the BSI Kitemark, which shows the testing has been independently certified.
Are mobile steps covered by the Work at Height Regulations?
Yes. The Work at Height Regulations 2005 apply to any work where a person could fall a distance liable to cause injury, and that includes work from mobile steps.
How often should mobile steps be inspected?
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) require work equipment to be kept in safe condition and inspected where it can deteriorate. In practice the user checks mobile steps before each use: castors and locking mechanism, treads, handrails, the frame and welds, and the floor where the steps will stand.
Can mobile steps be used outdoors?
Yes, with the right unit and finish. The trailer steps, lorry access steps and skip ladder are built for yard work, and the lorry access steps can be fully galvanised on request with rubber wheel upgrades.
Can mobile steps be made to a custom size or colour?
Several models can. The side access trailer steps can be built with a bespoke platform size for a particular trailer, and the mobile step unit can be finished in any RAL colour on request. HERMEQ powder coats in house, and each product listing shows the sizes, colours and treads available for that model.