Tottenham Hotspur FC has selected GKR Scaffolding as its Official Scaffolding Supplier for its new stadium.
A specialist in large scale constructions projects, GKR has supported the demolition of the existing White Hart Lane stadium as well as the new stadium development.
GKR’s initial role in the project began with the construction of the largest single staircase in the UK as part of the demolition of the North East corner of White Hart Lane.
The Club’s new state of the art stadium is due to open in 2018. It will be the largest football club stadium in London, with a capacity of 61,559. Designed for atmosphere, it will also host other major sport and entertainment events such as NFL and music concerts.
Matthew Collecott, Director of Operations, Tottenham Hotspur said, “We are delighted to announce GKR Scaffolding as a key supplier to the stadium project. GKR Scaffolding are experts in undertaking large projects such as ours and they are committed to creating innovative solutions that meet our requirements.”
Lee Rowswell, Group Director, GKR Scaffolding added, “We are immensely proud to be part of this innovative world class stadium development. As a business, we are committed to innovation and there is no doubt that this project offers us a unique opportunity to showcase our ability to deliver complex and diverse projects.”
A scaffolding firm is being prosecuted after a worker had his leg, hands and foot amputated following an electric shock.
Jamie Mines was injured at Swindon’s Kendrick Industrial Estate in December.
The BBC has reported that The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is prosecuting Boundary Scaffolding Ltd and director Jonathon Lee Griffith-Clack for allegedly breaching health and safety law.
The case is due at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on 20 September.
Following the accident last year, Mr Mines was placed in an induced coma and missed the first Christmas with his five-month-old twins Isabella and Savannah.
In June, the 33-year-old returned home but had to be readmitted to hospital to have his left foot amputated after it became severely infected.
The HSE said in a statement it was prosecuting the company and Mr Lee Griffith-Clack under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.
“This follows an investigation into an electric shock suffered by a worker at the Kendrick Industrial Estate, Swindon, on 19 December 2016,” it said.
A fund to help the semi-professional football player, who is from Frome but now lives in Swindon, has raised £144,000.
The need to make the UK’s high rise tower blocks safe is putting pressure on scaffolding supplies. Across the UK scaffolding contractors are already supporting projects to remove flammable cladding from council owned tower blocks.
Initial inspections have identified over 120 tower blocks with flammable cladding, the majority of which will require scaffolding to support its removal. The Guardian, on the 27 June, reported over 37 councils identified buildings that failed tests. Work is already underway in Manchester, Salford, Portsmouth and Sunderland, as well as Norwich, Doncaster, Stockton-on-Tees and Plymouth to remove flammable cladding. These initial findings and work do not reflect the total scale of what is required to make Britain’s building stock safe.
The British Research Establishment’s cladding combustibility checks have had a 100% failure rate. The result seems unbelievable, how could British construction and Government fail to deliver at least one safe tower block? This led the construction industry and government to question the validity of the testing regime.
Communities Secretary, Sajid Javid, commissioned Swedish independent experts who ratified the BRE’s testing and results. On the findings Sajid Javid said: “It’s obviously disturbing that there are such a large number of buildings with combustible cladding, and the priority now is to make those buildings safe.”
Whilst the immediate work has focused on public sector buildings, it fails to reflect the size of private sector ownership. Construction News reports that public sector high rise buildings only account for 45% of ownership, with the private sector accounting for 55%. Based on the size and scale of the failure rate calls are being made to extend the review so that it encompasses all of Britain’s high rise tower blocks. Construction data providers Glenigan estimates that the total bill for remedial works to fit sprinklers and remove cladding could be around £600 million.
Who will pay for the final bill is unclear, but there will be a pressure on any council or private owner to undertake immediate remedial action to ensure resident’s safety. Javid has announced “where appropriate mitigating measures cannot be implemented quickly landlords must provide alternative accommodation while the remedial work is carried out”. This is what happened in the four tower blocks in Camden affecting 4,000 people.
The scale and immediate timescales for the cladding removal, coupled with the summer peak construction period has created a spike in demand for scaffolding and access products. In particular fire retardant boards and steel decks. This sharp rise in demand, without proper management, could lead to further short-term rises in scaffolding prices. These would accompany the post-Brexit price rises caused by higher steel and timber costs and a weaker Pound.
When asked for a comment about the impact on supply, Generation UK Managing Director, Mark Clifford said, “we have already seen stronger than usual demand for scaffolding hire. Our customers were already busy supporting the growth in housebuilding and new infrastructure projects, but the removal of cladding has created significant additional demand.
We have taken immediate steps to bring forward orders so that we can guarantee our customers the supply of scaffolding stock they need.”
TRAD Southern began the Phase 1 works on 100 Liverpool Street in January 2017, and were chosen by demolition contractor Keltbray to provide the demolition access scaffold due to their capacity and expertise to complete the works safely and on-time. With an initial project value of £1.6m and two main phases, TRAD will envelope 75% of the existing building, allowing part demolition and part façade removal.The exciting development looks to create a new building with increased office and retail space, a further three floors and a spectacular restaurant with external terracing. The building is set in the busy Liverpool Street Station and Broadgate Circle area, which has brought specific challenges due to daily commuters using the Rail and Underground stations and bus terminal. Sir Robert McAlpine has been appointed as principal contractor for delivery of the Broadgate development. They will give the building a fresh, new identity by constructing gentle, curving facades which will really set the build apart. Connection between 100 Liverpool Street, Liverpool Street Station and Broadgate Circle will also be improved.A large part of the works were and are to be external, however TRAD were able to continue safely by using their new Scaffolder Catch Net Fans, meaning an added layer of protection. Another crucial element was the protection of the public using the underpass tunnels either side of the building, and also maintaining access to the existing retail units. TRAD, in coalition with Keltbray, designed and built heavy duty bridged gantries from new designed steelwork to the full length of each tunnel, and included for 18,000m of new tube, 500 brand new heavy duty beams, and some 16,000 fittings in total. This was all constructed at night to avoid disruption, and once again demonstrated TRAD’s ability to carry out numerous large complex projects simultaneously.A spokesperson said: ”Thanks to the onsite team led by project foreman Karl Clinton working around the clock, TRAD have met and exceeded the high safety and programme demands expected by their client”.TRAD Southern and MTD Midlands are part of the TRAD Group of Companies. The TRAD Group have a nationwide coverage of system scaffold – they currently hold over 19,000 tonnes in addition to 66,000 tonnes of traditional Tube, Fitting and Boards – ensuring that they have the capability to build many large, complex projects. No other UK scaffolding contractor has TRAD’s capacity and level of equipment.
Wood Group has been awarded a new contract by Maersk to deliver mechanical and management services for the hook-up and commissioning of the Culzean gas condensate field in the UK central North Sea.
At peak manning, approximately 200 new jobs will be created by the project to support the new three platform, high pressure, high temperature (HPHT) development, which is expected to begin production in 2019. The three-year contract is effective immediately.
Dave Stewart, CEO of Wood Group’s Asset Life Cycle Solutions business in the Eastern region said: “Maersk’s decision to award us this new contract to support them in this significant North Sea development reflects their confidence and assurance in our ability to deliver our broad technical solutions safely, efficiently and effectively.“We will bring our strong, global experience and expertise in the execution of hooks-ups to the project, where our focus will be working in close collaboration with Maersk towards its successful delivery.”
A worker was killed yesterday at a construction site in Kensington.
The worker who has been rumored online to be a scaffolder, is believed to be in his 30s and to have fallen from scaffolding at the site in West London.
Met Police confirmed to the Sun Newspaper they had been called at 10.45am, with the man found dead at the scene.
A spokesperson said: “Police were called at around 10:45hrs on Monday, 10 July to Bedford Gardens, Kensington W8 to a report of a man injured after falling from a height from scaffolding.“The London Ambulance Service also attended.“The man, believed to be in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene.”
London Ambulance Service was also called to the scene.
A spokesperson said: “We were called at 10:17am today (July 10) to reports of a fall near the A4204 in Kensington.“We sent an ambulance, a paramedic in a fast car, an incident response officer, and our Hazardous Area Response Team to the scene.“We also dispatched an advanced trauma team in a car from London’s Air Ambulance.“Sadly the patient died at the scene.”
A spokesperson for the Health and Safety Executive said: “HSE is aware of the incident and making further enquiries.”
Altrad Investment Authority said on Friday it had agreed to buy industrial services company Cape Plc for about £332 million pounds in cash.
The merger would create a “multidisciplinary” industrial services company operating in a wider range of markets, Altrad said in a statement.
In the UK, Altrad’s trail of acquisitions include Baromix, Belle Group, Beaver 84, NSG, Generation Hire & Sales, MTD Scaffolding, Trad and Hertel.
Mohed ALTRAD
Mohed Altrad, Chairman of the Altrad Group, said: “We are very pleased to announce this proposed acquisition that is fully aligned with our growth strategy, to become the world leader in the provision of industrial services, scaffolding solutions and light construction equipment in the civil and industrial sectors.“Altrad and Cape have strong complementarity in geographic and product mix enabling the creation of a multi-disciplinary industrial services leader in key markets around the world.“We believe the proposed acquisition can bring together our respective strengths to create a powerful global platform with a strong competitive edge to meet customers’ requirements.”
Founded in 1985, French headquartered Altrad has rapidly expanded through a series of strategic acquisitions to provide industrial services and scaffolding solutions.
TRAD Southern has won a £1.5 million contract supporting the conversion of Leon House in Croydon. Built in the 1960s, the 22-storey office building will be transformed into 256 residential apartments. As one of the foremost scaffolding contractors in the UK, TRAD was successful in winning this project because of their capacity, coverage and expertise in erecting large scaffolds safely, on time and within budget.Award-winning construction company Bouygues is overseeing the ambitious project at 233 High Street. The exterior conversion involves cleaning the entire building, replacing the existing windows and removing all existing balconies. The ground floor will be given over to commercial space, and residents will have access to a new rooftop garden. TRAD is using 700 tonnes of system scaffold on this project, and will install 1.3 metre Altrix HD beams over the low-level roofs. The design will also add back propping to the existing underground car park, to allow vehicle access and support the huge weight of the main scaffolding structure. TRAD have the resources to take on a number of very large projects concurrently, and are set to erect 14,500m2 of scaffold at Leon House in just 70 days. During the installation, the on-site Tesco and Turkish restaurant will stay open for business. As TRAD Southern’s Divisional Director Chris Smith commented, “It’s very important to the businesses based here, and to us, that they can get on and trade with the absolute minimum of disruption while we carry out the work.”TRAD Southern and MTD Midlands are part of the TRAD Group of Companies. The TRAD Group have a nationwide coverage, ensuring that they have the capability to build many large, complex projects simultaneously. They currently hold over 19,000 tonnes of system scaffold, in addition to 66,000 tonnes of traditional Tube, Fitting and Boards – equivalent to more than 6,700 London Buses. No other UK scaffolding contractor has TRAD’s capacity and level of equipment.
The somewhat controversial mandatory CPD course came into force on Saturday July 1st, we caught up with CISRS Scheme Manager, Dave Mosley for a Q&A on the new CPD course.
Dave, today sees the 2 day CPD scaffolders refresher course become mandatory when renewing your Scaffolder & Advanced CISRS card. Can you remind our readers of what the CISRS CPD scaffolder refresher course is, and why do we have to have it ?Dave Mosley, CISRS Scheme Manager
“The idea behind the introduction of Scaffolder CPD/Refresher training is to ensure that all cardholders no matter what sector they work in or what size company they work for have received up to date information on industry best practice prior to renewing their CISRS status for a further 5 years.
The concept has been debated within the Access and Scaffolding Industry Training Organisation (ASITO) for well over a decade. The HSE began to exert more pressure on CISRS around 2014 and from that point CISRS agreed consider its introduction more seriously.
CISRS has been in existence for almost 50 years, there are some cardholders who will not have received any formal training for 20+ years. In order to maintain the reputation of the scheme within the wider industry we felt it was time to fall in line with other safety critical sectors and introduce a mandatory refresher element. e.g. Gas Fitters are required to complete 30 hours of CPD annually.”
What’s it going to cost… and why is it not free ?
“CISRS do not set the prices of their courses, the market will determine these which means that they may vary from centre to centre. Also some centres have charitable status and as such do not charge VAT. A price range has been established of around £250 – £350.
It would be nice if it could be free, but delivering training does cost money facilities, instructors, materials, welfare etc. Other than one off type or promotional events I think there are very few if any formal training courses in any sector that are delivered for free.
That said CISRS has worked with a number of training providers who were involved with the development of the CPD course who have agreed to work with CISRS to deliver 6no. fully funded (free) courses, charging CISRS a nominal fee of around a third of what they could get if they sold the courses commercially.”
Click here to see the list of training providers and dates for fully funded courses.
“If these prove to be successful which no doubt they will, we will consider working with other providers to offer similar promotional deals either later this year or next year.”
Will there be any funding available ?
“Yes, all UK Scaffolding Contractors who currently pay CITB levy will be able to apply for CITB short duration training daily attendance grant of £50 per day for employees completing CISRS CPD training.
For further information visit their website
“CITB are currently running a funding pilot with NASC members which if successful will allow the daily attendance grant figure to be raised to £100 per day for those undertaking CPD once the new CITB funding (2017/18) is made available.
National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) has ringfenced a funding pot of £50K to support membership who will be required to meet the CISRS CPD requirement for their Scaffolders and Advanced Scaffolders from 1st July 2017. This will enable them to make 400 payments of £125 to NASC member companies, who support their employees through this process and meet the costs of the CISRS CPD courses.”
What’s going to be included in the course ?
“We have tried to include as much as we possibly can that we think will be beneficial as we appreciate that the scaffolders will be losing 2 days’ work time. The course will look to cover the current versions of the most relevant industry guidance, e.g. TG20, SG4, SG6 etc but will also include Risk Assessment and method statements, PPE, trends in accidents, accident reporting, scaffolder responsibility and behaviour, communication, protection of the public.
There will also be theoretical and practical sessions included on Scaffold Inspection and Mobile Aluminium Tower Training for Scaffolders, which if completed successfully will then be shown as an endorsement on the rear of the card.
If an individual was looking to complete refresher training for Scaffold inspection and Mobile Tower training it would take a minimum of 4 days to complete, whilst we have managed to retain its validity and include within the 2 day programme.
A CISRS Health, Safety and Behavioural test will be included within the 2 day programme. A Question bank will be issued to delgates prior to attending the course so they get a chance to revise and will then hopefully be prepared and pass the test whilst attending the centre. This will then negate the need to complete the CITB Health and Safety and Environment test which will save another half day away from the work place.
All delegates will be issued with a CISRS 2 Day Scaffolder Refresher/CPD Training Notes folder which will include:
CISRS General Information booklet
CISRS Practical Scaffolding Module 1
CISRS Practical Scaffolding Module 2
CISRS Practical Scaffolding Module 3 For Advanced Scaffolder (to follow when Advanced Standardisation process is complete)
Plus guidance notes
SG4: You
TG20 User Guide
SG6 User Guide
SG15 Substance Abuse
SG19 Rescue Plans
SG30 Working From Vehicles
SG34 Protection of the public
The Question Bank booklet will have been issued prior to the delegates attending the course.
Ever since CISRS announced the plans for the introduction of CPD last year, CISRS received a huge amount of flack online with many scaffolders believing this course is just another revenue stream for training providers. What’s your response to this ?
“Well this is a bit of a loaded question what I would say is that the CPD agenda has never been driven by Training Providers, the reasons behind it’s development have been explained earlier. Training Providers had no influence, vote or say as to whether CPD would be introduced into the CISRS scheme.
CISRS is a not for profit organisation, we receive no money from training courses delivered and we have no interest nor gain any benefit from courses being delivered in our name that have no value.
In the providers defence, I would say that the costs of the CPD courses are comparable with short duration training for other trades. In relation to the core scheme (Pt1, Pt2 Advanced) courses, to set up a fully functioning training centre from scratch would cost around £400K. The courses range from approximately £700 – £900, coming out at £70 – £90 per day per delegate. There are very few courses that have such a currency within their sector that you could get for that type of money.”
Many in the industry have said the 2 day course will result in a considerable cost to the employer or scaffolder in the form of lost wages for the training period and in the case of scaffolders who do not live close to a testing center, there will be additional costs for accommodation and travel costs. Would it of not been better if the CPD could of been delivered by some sort distance e-learning platform which would prove the scaffolders competence ?
“We did consider e learning/online testing etc for CPD and it is not something we would totally rule out for CISRS in the future however this also raises issues of its own, such as proving the correct individual is actually carrying out the training. In the development stages consideration was also given to In house training, on-site training etc but again both had issues which can be negated by using the approved providers to deliver standardised courses.
As mentioned earlier we have tried to make the CPD courses “the most gain for the least pain” wherever possible. By including the Inspection, Aluminium Tower and Health and Safety test, we are saving at least 2 ½ Days off site training if these elements were completed as standalone courses.
As the courses include the practical elements during both the inspection module but in particular the Mobile tower element the scaffolder would have to be physically present to complete the course.
We have centres in locations across the UK and although it is inevitable that some people will require accommodation a lot of those attending will be able to travel each day. CISRS is willing if there proves to be issues with capacity or distances travelled to possible consider allowing providers to use other suitable locations to deliver these courses as currently happens with other short duration training. We will monitor this situation and see how it goes.
We had previously debated CPD for years without really moving forward. We understand that “a one size fits all“ approach will not be as equally appealing to each individual. As with all CISRS courses the CPD training will be reviewed and revised overtime and the programme for next 5 year cycle beginning in 2022 could vary in content, duration and method of delivery however we did need to draw a line in the sand and put something in place which was relevant, deliverable and manageable from a scheme point of view and we feel that the CPD course fits the bill.”
With thanks to CISRS Scheme Manager, Dave Mosley for taking the time to answer our questions.
P&D Scaffolding Limited, then based in Bristol, was bought out of receivership at the start of 2016. By the summer of last year the owners had also acquired Northgrant, one of the South West’s longest established scaffolding firms. Now, following large-scale projects in Wrexham and Blackburn, P&D Scaffolding has moved its operations to the Northwest and has a number of Liverpool jobs in the pipeline.P&D Scaffolding Limited was failing when it was bought by James Proudfoot in January 2016. In just a few short months, Mr Proudfoot turned the company’s fortunes around and welcomed Liverpool based Richard Anderson on board as his business partner. Together, the pair landed a number of high-profile public and private sector clients, including Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Virgin, amongst others. Then, in June 2016, they undertook the purchase of Northgrant Scaffolding, a Bristol company with 30 years of experience and a great reputation. The pair’s most significant client win to date has been construction company Keepmoat Homes. The relationship with Keepmoat has been instrumental in facilitating P&D Scaffolding’s move to the Northwest. P&D Scaffolding is currently working on two Keepmoat sites, one in Wrexham and the other in Blackburn, playing its part in the construction of two nursing homes. To support the Northwest expansion, P&D Scaffolding has now moved its head office to Widnes. Several sites here in Mr Anderson’s home city of Liverpool are in the company’s pipeline. Announcements will follow soon. With over 12 new positions created in Liverpool and hopefully more as projects grow.Business partners James Proudfoot and Richard Anderson now own and operate two thriving scaffolding firms – Northgrant and P&D. The firms are based, respectively, in each of the partner’s home territories of Bristol and Merseyside. Building on Northgrant’s 30 year track record down in the Southwest, their current focus is on establishing the same great reputation for P&D up in the North. By partnering with Keepmoat, a UK market leader in the house building industry, they are off to a flying start.Richard Anderson, co-owner of Northgrant Scaffolding and P&D Scaffolding said:“We are really pleased with how the Northwest move is playing out so far. Down in Bristol our aim is to do great work using a reliable, experienced, local team. We have brought those values north with P&D Scaffolding. I was born and raised in Liverpool and now, as part of our commitment to create jobs in the area, the entire P&D Scaffolding workforce is made up of Liverpool locals. “We are already on site in a few locations around Northwest and will be in a position to announce our next projects very soon. At the moment I am most excited about our imminent move into Liverpool’s booming construction market. The Liverpool economy has been growing for years now and everywhere you look there are fantastic new developments happening. It feels good to be able to play a part in the ongoing regeneration of this special city.’
The Club’s new state of the art stadium is due to open in 2018. It will be the largest football club stadium in London, with a capacity of 61,559. Designed for atmosphere, it will also host other major sport and entertainment events such as NFL and music concerts.
Matthew Collecott, Director of Operations, Tottenham Hotspur said, “We are delighted to announce GKR Scaffolding as a key supplier to the stadium project. GKR Scaffolding are experts in undertaking large projects such as ours and they are committed to creating innovative solutions that meet our requirements.”
Lee Rowswell, Group Director, GKR Scaffolding added, “We are immensely proud to be part of this innovative world class stadium development. As a business, we are committed to innovation and there is no doubt that this project offers us a unique opportunity to showcase our ability to deliver complex and diverse projects.” 
Whilst the immediate work has focused on public sector buildings, it fails to reflect the size of private sector ownership. Construction News reports that public sector high rise buildings only account for 45% of ownership, with the private sector accounting for 55%. Based on the size and scale of the failure rate calls are being made to extend the review so that it encompasses all of Britain’s high rise tower blocks. Construction data providers Glenigan estimates that the total bill for remedial works to fit sprinklers and remove cladding could be around £600 million.
Who will pay for the final bill is unclear, but there will be a pressure on any council or private owner to undertake immediate remedial action to ensure resident’s safety. Javid has announced “where appropriate mitigating measures cannot be implemented quickly landlords must provide alternative accommodation while the remedial work is carried out”. This is what happened in the four tower blocks in Camden affecting 4,000 people.
The scale and immediate timescales for the cladding removal, coupled with the summer peak construction period has created a spike in demand for scaffolding and access products. In particular fire retardant boards and steel decks. This sharp rise in demand, without proper management, could lead to further short-term rises in scaffolding prices. These would accompany the post-Brexit price rises caused by higher steel and timber costs and a weaker Pound.
When asked for a comment about the impact on supply, Generation UK Managing Director, Mark Clifford said, “we have already seen stronger than usual demand for scaffolding hire. Our customers were already busy supporting the growth in housebuilding and new infrastructure projects, but the removal of cladding has created significant additional demand.
We have taken immediate steps to bring forward orders so that we can guarantee our customers the supply of scaffolding stock they need.” 
