Scaffolding
Scaffolding is used to provide a safe platform when working on or around buildings. In the UK practice has traditionally favoured scaffolds that are built up by fixing components together. These are known as tube and fitting scaffolds. The process of building the scaffold is referred to as erection and dismantling is called striking.
Scaffold Parts
The elements that make up a scaffold have names that are specific to the industry. The vertical tubes in a scaffold are called standards. The horizontal tubes, parallel with the building, are known as ledgers. Each row of ledgers is called a lift. The horizontal tubes supported by the ledgers are known as transoms. Platforms are formed from boards supported by the transoms.
To stop the scaffold from falling sideways a system of diagonal tubes is present as part of the structure: this is known as bracing. Façade bracing is on the face of the scaffold, parallel with the building. Ledger bracing ties from the inner ledger at one level to the outer level of the next level. Unless it is designed as a free standing structure, a scaffold needs to be attached to a building or structure to stop it falling over. Ties are used to fix the scaffold to the building. The foundations, standards, ledgers and transoms provide vertical support. Sideways, or lateral, stability for the scaffold comes from the system of bracing. Guardrails installed on the edge prevent falls.
Uses of Scaffolding
The main use of scaffolding is in commercial construction. Secondary uses include residential construction and home improvement projects. The skill of erecting a scaffold is not strictly reserved for scaffold erectors and construction workers but is also shared by professional painters, bricklayers and carpenters.
Scaffolding Construction
Assembling, dismantling and altering a scaffold requires the use of many construction tools. These include the basic work tools like hammers, spanners and levers but also industry specific ones with names like “Podger”, “Kwikstage Tommy Hammer” or “Stabila 10” “Level - Magnetic or Non Magnetic”. Rules and regulations set up by health and safety departments dictate that Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as safety boots, ear defenders, fall arrest equipment and so on must be used at all times.
Instructions on how to use PPE is not the only issue dealt with by health and safety departments. Further aspects addressed in detail include the degree of training that a scaffold erector must undergo before he is deemed competent enough supervise an erection process, the specific measures that must be adhered to in order to prevent the risk of people or objects falling and so forth.
Scaffolding Erectors
A person who constructs and assembles a scaffold is known as a scaffold erector. Alongside the specific training there are certain physical requirements a person aspiring to become a scaffold erector must possess such as a good sense of balance and a certain degree of physical strength and agility. The procedure of erecting a scaffold is a set one which doesn’t alter much between one project and another. Upon completion, the entire structure will be meticulously inspected by a third party professional before it can start being used.