The Voice of Scaffolding Since 2008 | U.K. Edition
Introducing The Lay Flat Fitting
Presco and MyInstall collaborate in creating The Lay Flat Fitting – eradicating the process of lapping boards on scaffold returns.
It’s always intriguing when two companies join forces in the industry to work together to finalise any advances in the field. So when MyInstall Ltd based in West Yorkshire and Presco Components Ltd from Walsall joined up recently, ScaffMag was keen to discover the result of their collaborations. Revolving around the area of a scaffold fitting called the Lay Flat Fitting, their aim was to secure the success of a specialist fitting created to make life much easier for scaffolders across the world.Lay Flat Fitting
MyInstall Director Phil Holdsworth takes up the story: “During the last 12 months we have developed a fitting to omit the need for lapping boards on scaffold returns. This takes out any tripping hazard this causes, and overall safety on the scaffold is increased, which has to be a good thing for everyone involved. “I approached Presco Components Ltd with the idea for the fitting. They thought it was a good one and told me they were willing to work with myself to manufacture and test it.” The company says the Lay Flat Fitting is yet another first-class move forward in terms of the enhancement of safety in the workplace. The scaffolding and construction industry of course views the safety of both its employees and the public, as paramount.
Lay Flat Fitting Advantages
MyInstall told us, There are many advantages attached to the use of this flexible fitting including the fact it works with double-arm transoms as well as traditional tube and fittings. The use of the fitting allows all scaffold boards to lay flat on a return thus taking out the potential tripping hazards. The structural integrity of scaffold on returns is actually increased, and it’s both affordable and cost-efficient. More importantly, overall safety is improved.
Phil added: “Health and safety is always the most important thing as far as my company is concerned, so we hope this fitting will make a real difference and it’s great to be able to offer something new to the industry.”
Presco is one of the leading driving forces in the market for scaffold fittings, couplers and ancillary items. Their fittings are used with complete confidence worldwide in construction, refurbishment, power stations and petro-chemical and oil-related industries. Their mission statement encompasses maintenance leadership of the market, and to expand into new markets and territories. All of their components are manufactured to the highest British and International standards, so their endorsement of the flat fitting is clearly a major step forward.
Yorkshire Scaffolding Firm Heavily Fined Over Roof Accident
Acorn Scaffolding in Yorkshire has been fined nearly £35,000 after a trainee scaffolder fell through an asbestos roof.
The victim had been working at the company for less than three weeks when he dropped about 13 feet through a roof onto a concrete floor at Lockington Grange Farm, East Riding, in May of 2013.Serious injuries
The man broke all of the wrist bones in his left hand, also crushing nerves in the wrist. His other injuries included a broken right wrist, broken nose, sprained left ankle and shoulder, together with various cuts, grazes and bruises. Three wires had to inserted into his left wrist to hold it together, and he developed carpal tunnel syndrome. A judge said he was fortunate not to have been more badly hurt. This type of medical condition is caused due to compression of the median nerve as it travels through the wrist at the carpal tunnel. The main symptoms are pain, numbness, and tingling, in the thumb, index finger, middle finger, and the thumb side of the ring fingers.Risk Ignored
Scaffolding had been changed using existing handrails without a risk assessment. It seems the trainee fell when being handed one of the scaffolding tubes. The business based in Moxon Lane, Moor Lane Trading Estate, Sherburn-in-Elmet, Leeds, admitted failing to ensure the safety of an employee. It did however, take five years for the criminal case to be concluded in a sentencing hearing in early May. A personal injury claim made by the employee had been settled in October 2014.The court case
Hull Crown Court heard how the trainee fell through a fragile roof light and may not even have known what it was because it was dirty. “The man, as an untrained scaffolder, should not even have been on the asbestos roof, was not wearing a harness, and no safety measures such as a safety net or “crash deck” had been fitted,” said Lee Fish, prosecuting on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive. “ Acorn Scaffolding (Yorkshire) Ltd had been sub-contracted to erect scaffolding at the site by Dodds Roofing Services Ltd, which was doing roofing work on a number of buildings at the farm. It appears none of the employees had been trained on how to work on fragile roofs. Company supervisor Craig Moreland had previously met Andrew Green from Dodds at the farm to discuss the work and survey the site. Lead scaffolder Gary Eyres was then briefed about the task in hand by Mr Moreland with the firm message of taking time over the job and being careful.” The prosecutor made it clear a method statement completed in April 2013, crucially did not refer at all to the fragility of the roof. He added: “Craig Moreland in his statement accepts candidly when he surveyed the site he had simply not applied his mind to the fitting of safety nets or using a crash deck. “On the day of the accident, after the scaffolding had been erected, Mr Eyres was asked to go back to the site by Dodds, and took the trainee with him. They were told Dodds could not access gutters on a roof next to a barn because scaffolding tubes were in the guttering. They spoke to Mr Green at the site and it was suggested the tubes needed pulling back, but Mr Eyres was not particularly happy and did not have appropriate equipment. Mr Green was described as being quite insistent, and Mr Eyres felt under a degree of pressure. The mistake Mr Eyres made was to bow to this pressure”. Tom Gent, mitigating, apologised to the victim on behalf of Acorn Scaffolding (Yorkshire) Ltd stating: “ Apart from that one incident it had an unblemished safety record in the 20 years it had been trading. Dodds was no longer in business.” Recorder Richard Woolfall said the fine would have been £50,000 but for the guilty plea, which reduced that by a third to £33,333.33. The company was also ordered to pay £14,638.40 costs.Makers of worlds first on-site Scaffolding Robot bags €1M in funding
Munich based start-up Kewazo has successfully raised over 1 million euros of seed funding for their scaffolding robot.
The funding will enable Kewazo to bring its robotic solution for scaffolding assembly to the market and to establish the company’s sales and distribution network. Last month we reported that the Kewazo scaffolding robot aims to make the erection of scaffolding more efficient by delivering scaffolding materials to scaffolders where and when they need them. The robot moves up, down and along a scaffold by means of a special track attached to horizontal and vertical tubes of the job. Kewazo can “see” its surroundings, and it can plan its journey to the scaffolders who need the components using a path-finding algorithm, and this can be refined using machine-learning, so the robot builds up a better picture of how its human co-workers operate. After entering the scaffolding market, the German company plans to apply the system to other construction trades. Kewazo’s technology has a great market potential the firm says. In Germany alone, the assembly and disassembly of scaffolding generates annual sales of around one billion euro and over 23 Billion euro worldwide. “We are convinced of Kewazo’s business idea and technology and therefore decided to invest in this start-up at an early stage,” says Michael Motschmann, General Partner and CEO of MIG AG. “The introduction of modern robotics into a traditional sector such as the construction industry is an extremely exciting and promising approach. “Kewazo is a pioneer in building automation, which is bringing disruption in the industry. We want to participate in this project right from the start and we believe in supporting a really strong team,” adds Dr. Klaus Feix, Venture Partner of MIG AG and responsible for the investment in Kewazo. “In addition to financing, MIG contributes great entrepreneurial know-how, from which the young founders can certainly benefit.”First overseas scaffolding CPD courses get underway
Safety & Access in conjunction with their partners Special Technical Services (STS) in Oman has successfully delivered the first ever overseas scaffolding CPD courses.
The CISRS Overseas Scheme (OSTS) has developed the two-day course to mirror the UK requirements and the first courses were delivered this week by Safety & Access Senior Instructor Rob Nicholls. The CPD courses were delivered at the CISRS accredited scaffolding training centre in Nizwa, Sultanate of Oman. Safety & Access say along with the training Rob was providing shadowing and observation to two of the locally qualified instructors to enable them to also deliver the overseas scaffolding CPD. “The take up of CISRS international training is on the increase despite the recent challenges in oil and gas,” says Rick Statham, Joint Managing Director of Safety & Access. “The progression into the CPD is a clear indicator of the commitment of our customers to continue with this. We have seen a steady increase in all of our overseas partnerships and we are confident this will continue.” Dave Mosley CISRS Scheme Manager added: “It’s great to see CISRS continuing to push forward with OSTS. We aim to keep international standards as close to the UK Scheme as possible.”Company fined for missing handrails after contractor fell from scaffold
Beaudecor Ltd pleaded guilty and has been fined after a worker fell from scaffolding.
On 4 October 2016, a contractor fell from the third lift of a scaffold whilst undertaking work on the front of low rise block of flats located in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Injuries to the contractor were so severe he was put into an induced coma for three days. The contractor suffered a broken vertebra, several broken ribs, collapsed lung and damage to his liver from the fall. An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found that Beaudecor Ltd had allowed its contractor to use a scaffold without effective edge protection, no mid rails on the scaffold sides, to prevent a person falling from either side of the scaffold on the first three levels of said scaffold. At Westminster Magistrates Court Beaudecor Ltd pleaded guilty to breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and has been fined £3,000 and ordered to pay costs of £2,900. Speaking after the case, HSE Inspector Ian Shearring said: “The risk associated with working at height is well-known and Beaudecor Ltd failed in its duty to address this. “Their failure was compounded by the fact that the required protective measures, mid rails, were in place on the very top level of the scaffold but not the others. Beaudecor Ltd has been held to account for failing to take adequate action to protect the health and safety of persons working on their site.”Video: Scaffolding works on the Silver Jubilee Bridge Runcorn
The Grade 2 listed Silver Jubilee Bridge in Runcorn is currently undergoing a major £3M restoration project.
Originally opened in 1959 and then initially known simply as the Runcorn Bridge or Runcorn–Widnes Bridge. At the time of construction, the bridge had the third longest steel arch span in the world. It had the longest vehicular span in the country, but this record was held for only a few weeks until the Tamar Bridge was completed. Between 1975–77 it was widened, after which it was given its official name in honour of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. The video above captured by a drone shows the sheer scale and extent of the current scaffolding works being installed on the steel arch of the bridge by Lyndon Scaffolding. The UK’s largest independent scaffolding contractor is already five months into the project which they say is one of the most complex and challenging projects they have ever undertaken. Lyndon’s are providing access for painting and grit blasting on the bridge for Balvac, a subsidiary of the multinational infrastructure group Balfour Beatty. Lyndon Scaffolding’s CEO Rob Lynch said: “Over the next 12 months the 330m steel arch bridge, which was originally opened in 1959 will be repainted and refurbished. The scaffold was designed in-house by Lyndon Scaffolding with the main spans erected using 1.3 metre deep heavy duty alloy beams. “Over the next few months, the scaffold will be stripped and re-erected climbing to the top of the arch, some 87 metres above the river. A ‘proper’ scaffolding job and one for which only the best scaffolders are suited.”Scaffolder suffers broken leg after falling from scaffolding
A scaffolder fell from scaffolding yesterday at a housing development in Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire fracturing his leg in the accident.
According to reports the scaffolder in his 40’s fell from a height on to the 3rd lift of scaffolding at the St Michael’s Hurst development. Up to 490 homes are being built by developer Countryside at the site. An air ambulance, along with firefighters from the Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, and police officers, were called to the development at 8.47am on April 26 after reports of a fall. Talking to local media a spokesman for Countryside confirmed that one of their workers was injured in the accident on Thursday morning. He said: “We can confirm that a scaffolder was injured in an incident on site at our St Michael’s Hurst development on Hazelend Road in Hertfordshire. “He has suffered a fracture to his lower leg and bruising to his back. Our Health and Safety team is investigating the cause of the accident.” Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue said they were called at 8.47am after the man fell from a height onto the third floor of scaffolding at the development. “He wasn’t trapped but needed to be brought down from the third floor so the fire service was involved in that and handed him over to the ambulance service,” said the spokesman. Two fire crews from Bishop’s Stortford attended the incident.More than 60,000 construction firms in financial distress
The number of UK construction firms in major financial distress has risen by a quarter in the last year and doubled in the past 18 months.
According to the construction index businesses that class themselves as in the support services sector, the picture is even worse with a 40% rise in the number of in difficulties. Begbies Traynor’s Red Flag Alert monitors the financial health of UK companies. Their research shows for the first quarter of 2018, 60,541 construction companies and 115,249 support services firms are in significant risk of insolvency. Research by analysts also shows the number of construction companies being at serious risk of collapse has more than doubled in the past 18 months. In October 2016, Begbies Traynor had a red flag alert against 29,000 construction companies. Julie Palmer, the regional managing partner at Begbies Traynor, said: “While uncertainty around the outcome of the Brexit negotiations has undoubtedly had an impact on business confidence across the UK, the economy has also faced a wide range of unexpected headwinds which have dampened progress over the past year. Currency fluctuations, rising interest rates, subdued consumer spending and a cooling property market are just some of the factors that have combined with growing political uncertainty to push nearly half a million UK businesses into financial distress over the past 12 months. “Should these headwinds continue, they could impact the government’s bargaining power when it comes to negotiating new trade deals after the UK’s exit from the European Union, which would be a major concern.” Chairman Ric Traynor added: “Although the UK economy is still growing, it is now starting to lag behind many other G20 members, with predicted GDP growth during 2018 of around 1.7%. The latest Red Flag figures reflect this slowdown with increased financial distress being felt across every sector and region of the UK. “The UK Construction sector last month suffered its biggest drop in activity since the 2016 Referendum vote, as Brexit concerns and the fallout from Carillion’s collapse caused further delays in large infrastructure and construction projects. “While the recent recovery in sterling should put UK businesses who import raw materials into a stronger trading position, the biggest positive impact on business confidence is likely to come when we finally receive clarity over how our eventual exit from the EU will look. In the short term however, the most pressing issue is whether or not the Bank of England decides to raise interest rates next month. If they do, it could push many struggling businesses, particularly those with high levels of debt, into formal insolvency.”Union slams CITB over direct training exit
