Trade body signs ground-breaking partnership deal

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Trade body signs ground-breaking partnership deal

The Scaffolding Association and UK construction sales leads and market intelligence provider Builders’ Conference has penned a groundbreaking partnership.

Under the terms of the agreement, every audited & assessed member company of the Scaffolding Association will be granted access to Builders’ Conference premium information as part of their subscription fee.

This comprises approximately 11,000 UK construction projects and includes the unique ability to promote their own business by using Builders’ Conference technologically advanced real-time platform Serino.

The contract will bring much-needed evidence-based, accurate construction project information to all audited and assessed businesses at the Scaffolding Association at a time when new construction projects across the UK have seen a significant decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of the contract, every audited and assessed member of the Scaffolding Association will receive a secure unique company login that allows access to construction project information across the UK, a unique “expression of interest” tab, a bespoke report writing feature and an easy to use businesses intelligence and diary system that is compatible with Microsoft Outlook.

Every company will also be able to promote its own business by adding a company logo to its online profile as well as images of projects carried out. Furthermore, the company profile can include details of the activities of the business together with areas worked throughout the UK, all of which is visible to thousands of companies and their decision-makers.

“We are absolutely delighted that the Scaffolding Association has become the first trade body to sign such a ground-breaking partnership. It shows their forward-thinking and their desire to provide maximum value to their members in these extraordinary times. We have a passion for sharing validated information and never before has our independent, verified real-time construction information and research been more important in allowing the construction industry to emerge from this difficult period,” says Builders’ Conference CEO Neil Edwards.

“We look forward to working closely with the Scaffolding Association to develop our platform to meet the needs of everyone and the wider construction industry”.

The Scaffolding Association CEO Robert Candy said, “Despite the turbulent times COVID-19 has brought to the industry we have continued to grow as an organisation and we are really pleased to be entering into this new partnership with Builders’ Conference.

Providing our assessed & audited members with the facility to access this type of project data, while showcasing their individual business capabilities is the perfect addition to our membership offering. Cultivating strategic relationships with organisations that operate with a similar mindset to us is really important, and we look forward to working with Neil and his team moving forward.” 

TRAD Group To Create Six ‘Super Depots’

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TRAD Group To Create Six ‘Super Depots’

The TRAD Group has announced that it will be restructuring TRAD Safety Systems and TRAD Hire & Sales to become TRAD UK.

The move will create six super-depots in major conurbations across the UK – in London, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham and Andover.  This new development will bring increased technical and sales expertise, as well as catering for increased levels of online services. They will also be providing an extended range of products from the ALTRAD Group giving customers an even wider online choice as well as simplifying online payment. Des Moore, TRAD Group CEO told ScaffMag: “We had already planned to combine both companies’ operations in Glasgow and Stockport before the COVID-19 lockdown.” “Like most of the construction industry, we have experienced a reduction in business over the past three months, which has necessitated us considering ways to reduce operational costs.”  “However, we feel that this move will enable us to increase our offering and levels of service and support to customers by combining the products, knowledge and expertise of both companies.” “We are building resilience into our company and our operations to ensure that we emerge from the impact of COVID-19 even stronger. As we look ahead to 2021, when the TRAD Group celebrates its 50th anniversary, we believe that this move to increase our capabilities and product offering will benefit both us and our customers in the short and the long term.”

Scaffolders Business Success Despite Lockdown

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Scaffolders Business Success Despite Lockdown

MG Scaffolding continues to increase its market share with larger premises despite the COVID-19 lockdown.

MG Scaffolding (Oxford) Ltd has posted another successful trading year for 19/20 as they continue to expand. Established in 2002 the NASC members opened their third depot in Rowley Regis, Birmingham in 2018 to run alongside its two established depots in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire and Banbury, Oxfordshire. Due to the success of the depot and increase in turnover, the firm has told ScaffMag its Birmingham depot has relocated to larger premises in Brierley Hill to service its ongoing and new clients. MG Scaffolding (Oxford) Ltd has become one of the largest independent stockists of scaffold equipment, resourcing high profile projects in the Midlands and throughout the South of England. Since the COVID-19 government lockdown rules eased, the business has secured new projects in all three depots, which has helped the business plan for the short term future in these difficult and uncertain times. The firm has said it directly employs a workforce of around 100 CISRS scaffold operatives and continually invests in training to deliver the best services possible for its clients. Carl Fallon, Managing Director of MG Scaffolding (Oxford) Ltd puts the success of the business down to the management’s teams in place at each of the depots and the skills of the workforce whom many have been with the business since the early foundation years of establishment and growth. “If we did not have the effective management teams in place who we have to put our trust and faith in, we would not be able to implement the disciplines and controls our industry requires in delivering our services,” Carl said. “Having said that we also require our scaffold teams to deliver the safe systems of works we are renown for and this requires a positive professional attitude in working to the highest standards that give our client base the confidence to use and rely upon our services.”

Workers start to remove melted scaffolding on Notre-Dame

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Workers start to remove melted scaffolding on Notre-Dame

Work to remove the melted scaffolding from the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris is now underway.

Scaffolding was already encasing much of the 850-year-old world-famous cathedral when a huge fire broke out in April last year. The roof and spire were destroyed in the inferno and the giant scaffolding that included over 50,000 scaffold tubes became a tangled melted mess. Now, this week workers are tasked with the delicate job of cutting the melted steel tubes away after building another complex scaffold structure over the fire-damaged cathedral. Officials have said, two five-man teams hanging from ropes 40 to 50 meters in the air will be using electric saws to safely cut away the scaffolding piece by piece.
Notre-dame melted scaffolding
Workers begin to cut away the melted scaffolding this week. Image credit: Linkedin/unknown
It’s one of the riskiest operations during the restoration work as the process could quite easily damage the limestone walls supporting the priceless ceiling vaults. The operation of cutting away the melted scaffolding is thought to take workers up to four months to complete.  

CITB to Reopen and Resume Face to Face Training at NCCs

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CITB to Reopen and Resume Face to Face Training at NCCs

National Construction Colleges (NCCs) in England are set to reopen with face to face training in July.

The CITB has today told ScaffMag it’s reopening their construction colleges at Bircham Newton, Erith and Kings Norton in July to restart face to face training.

The CITB said they have been carefully monitoring the evolving COVID-19 position and the information which is being regularly issued from the UK Government.

CITB Chief Executive Sarah Beale said: “Our priority will continue to be learner and colleague safety, therefore we will start to deliver training through a phased approach, with pilot courses initially being offered from July onwards.

We will continue to monitor and review our procedures to ensure that the appropriate level of safety is maintained.”

The CITB we will be making direct contact with NCC apprentices in the coming weeks to confirm the restart of their learning.

NCC Inchinnan training centre in Scotland will, for now, remain closed, the CITB said but will continue to monitor the Scottish Government advice.

New Design For The Humble Scaffold Fitting

Daniel Norton
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New Design For The Humble Scaffold Fitting

A revolutionary new scaffold fitting with potential safety and speed benefits has been developed.

Not for more than 100 years has the right angle coupler, aka ‘the double’ had this much of a makeover. But on seeing the new design would its original inventor dubbed the ‘Grandfather of Scaffolding‘ Daniel Palmer-Jones be turning in his grave? Developed by StrucTemp and LUMA-ID the new design is the brainchild of Shiraz Dudhia a civil engineer and Managing Partner of the structural and temporary works firm StrucTemp. Shiraz has 35+ years in the industry and was the Director of Engineering and Temporary Works for Balfour Beatty, responsible for all its UK operations. At any one time, he had more than 350+ projects, many of which had scaffolding on the sites. Over the course of his career on visiting construction sites, he was fed-up with the bolts that stick out on current fittings asking “has nobody come up with anything better than this?” Explaining his frustration and working with the design, prototyping and manufacturing company Luma-ID, Shiraz and the team has spent two years perfecting the idea into a new fitting design. “A main feature of the design is there are no protruding bolts and thus there is no risk to injury to personnel and the public”, Shiraz told ScaffMag. “It would be great to use for edge protection too as there are no protrusion bolts.” The new scaffold fitting also boasts massive speed benefits with a shortened thread that allows scaffolders to tighten the coupler to a close in as little as two seconds using a traditional spanner. The bolt and washer are also integral with the coupler so no risk of missing bolts or washers. Shiraz added: “Its easier to handle and couple than current scaffold couplers. It enables scaffolding to be coupled together in 2 clicks and thus easier and faster to fix than traditional scaffolding which would aid in reducing repetitive strain injury on scaffolders wrist joints.” new design for the scaffold fitting The newly developed scaffold fitting received much interest from the industry when it was unveiled in London at the Futurebuild trade show in January. ScaffMag understands it’s yet to be decided on what process will be used to manufacture the new scaffold fitting.

How do we stop scaffolders being killed or seriously injured from falls from height?

Mark Clarke
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How do we stop scaffolders being killed or seriously injured from falls from height?

Why in 2019 and 2020 are scaffolders still being killed and seriously injured through falls from height?

It was the image of a young scaffolder being put into the back of an ambulance after falling from a roof working on a saddle scaffolding on 25th November 2019 in Morecambe Lancashire that the question needs to be asked, how do we stop these young scaffolders from being injured? As the Chairman of The Association of Northern Scaffolding Contractors (ANSC) I immediately brought this accident to the attention of our Safety Working Group. With the help of Spanset and George Roberts, we have developed a safe system of work for any scaffolder working on a roof undertaking saddle scaffolds. Unfortunately with the Covid-19 lockdown, we have not been able to put this into practice.
Mark Clarke
Mark Clarke believes the scaffolding industry could be made a lot safer with some simple changes
When I reviewed all of the documentation available for scaffolders when working at height the two main documents are SG4:15 and the HSE’s Scaffold Checklist. As a Co-Author of the first SG4:00 and SG4:05 Safety Guidance for Scaffolding, I feel that the current document SG4:15 has been diluted from the original guidance. The illustrations showing how to erect saddle scaffolds in SG4:15 is very poor and does not show a safe system of work. The HSE Scaffold Checklist although very descriptive could provide more detail and more guidance into what PPE all scaffolders should be using and what safe systems of work they should be working to. I believe the scaffolding industry could be made a lot safer with some simple changes; I am well aware that a lot of scaffold firms are now using twin tail lanyards and 4 Point Safety Helmets. I believe that this should be normal practice across the whole of the scaffolding industry to give every scaffolder a better chance of reducing head injuries in the event of a fall. I also believe that the unsafe practice of protected traversing should be removed from all scaffolding documentation relating to scaffolders safety as this is not a safe system of work. The illustrations showing scaffolders attached to standards using the protected traversing method does not provide any guidance on where the sleeve or joint should be in the lift below. It does not fully describe how these tubes are being fixed into position prior to the scaffolders being instructed to attach to these standards as part of the traversing method. It is now 20 years since the introduction of the first SG4:00 document and scaffolders are still the only trade allowed to work with a single handrail. Scaffolders are being asked to leave site by being issued with a red card because they have bent down below the top handrail to fix a swivel onto a brace.  I believe that Principal Contractors and Clients have a duty to instruct all scaffold contractors as part of their Scaffbrief to introduce double handrails on all scaffolds. This would ensure that the scaffolders would be fully compliant with the Work at Height Regulations when working from a fully boarded platform with double handrails to all elevations. The introduction of 4 Point helmets/twin tail lanyards and double handrails on all scaffolds that the Principal Contractor and Clients would have to pay for would greatly reduce the number of accidents and fatalities to our young scaffolders.

New MD at Lyndon SGB

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New MD at Lyndon SGB

Former Mace Operations Director joins Lyndon SGB as its new Managing Director.

Stuart Robinson has joined Lyndon SGB as Managing Director
Stuart Robinson has joined Lyndon SGB as Managing Director with effect from 1st June. He takes over the role from Rob Lynch who is stepping down at the end of June after 20 years. Stuart joins the business after 15 years with construction firm Mace and before that Taylor Woodrow.  He has a wide experience of civil engineering projects and large scale developments across the globe including major retail and office schemes in Bahrain, casinos in Macau, the 2012 London Olympics, leading Mace’s consultancy business in India and most recently Tiffany’s 5th Avenue flagship store in New York and Heathrow’s expansion programme. Stuart Robinson said that “I am definitely joining at an interesting time, but I am very excited by the massive potential. Lyndon SGB has some great foundations; I have been impressed by the commitment to safety and the wellbeing of everyone we come into contact with.  Our plan is to make Lyndon SGB the scaffolding contractor of choice on a national basis.  Our ability to offer all types of scaffolding while being supported by mast climbers and our market leading hoist provider, Taylor’s Hoists, means we can provide clients with a unique integrated service.” Rob Lynch has said, “Although I am sad to be going, I am absolutely sure that the business is in safe hands, Stuart and the team have all the skills to make the business the UK market leader in scaffolding, I wish them all the very best.” BrandSafway purchased Lyndon Scaffolding and Taylor’s Hoists in January 2019 combining the businesses with SGB to create a truly national access provider, Lyndon SGB.

Leach’s donates anti-virus air cleaner to St.Thomas’s NHS Hospital

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Leach’s donates anti-virus air cleaner to St.Thomas’s NHS Hospital

Scaffolding safety suppliers Leach’s are doing their bit to protect the NHS during the pandemic.

Leach’s has donated the very latest, anti-virus air cleaner from manufacturer MAXVAC Switzerland to St. Thomas’ NHS Hospital, London. St. Thomas’ was chosen by the company after a survey asking which NHS hospital Leach’s customers would like to see receive a free MAXVAC MEDI 25 air cleaner, which normally costs around £5,000. Leach’s COO, Stephen Rees-Williams said: “We had been looking for an opportunity to do something good to support the NHS and its patients during this crisis. When we saw this new Medi 25 air cleaner with virus sterilizer from MAXVAC, it just made so much sense to donate one. It’s something that can provide lasting value and protection as it has been designed specifically to help prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria on an industrial scale. NHS workers are the front line of defence against the virus and we are proud to support them and help keep them and their patients safe. It is important that patients and visitors feel confident about coming into hospital when they need to and we believe the MEDI air cleaner can help with that.” The MAXVAC MEDI 25 is a powerful commercial air cleaner that does more than filter out harmful dust. It also sterilises the air, destroying bacteria and viruses. How? By using powerful UV-C lamps that destroys their DNA. This advanced germicidal technology is completely safe, with the powerful UV-C lamps concealed deep within the air cleaner. The MEDI is portable too so it can easily be moved from ward to ward depending where the need is greatest — something which is particularly important now as hospitals rapidly adapt to the changing needs of the current pandemic. Designed for any public space, such as waiting rooms, the MAXVAC MEDI continually sucks air through large HEPA filter screens which remove up to 99.995 % of dust and microparticles larger than 0.01µm,  leaving the naked bacteria and virus spores nowhere to hide as they pass through the UV-C sterilizer that destroys their DNA , rendering them harmless. Leach’s also distributed another MAXVAC air cleaner to a different NHS hospital but this is the first donation of this kind with specific anti-viral technology.

Cough guard hard-hat

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Cough guard hard-hat

Safety supplier JSP has produced a hard-hat with a cough guard specifically for the construction industry, to help stop the spread of infections.

The firm has developed the helmet-mounted cough guard to reduce the likelihood of any exhaled airborne droplets contacting the wearer’s face. It also stops the wearer from touching their eyes and face, which is how infections are often spread. The plastic cough guard is designed to fit the JSP Evolution range of safety helmets and leaves the helmet accessory slots free for fitting helmet-mounted ear defenders. It is also compatible with the JSP range of respiratory products. Wearing the cough guard does not remove the need to wear safety eyewear or goggles where appropriate, as it is not classed as personal protective equipment as defined by the EU PPE Regulation 2016/425 and does not meet the requirements of EN166 (including splash protection or impact protection).  
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