Scaffolder Sentenced After Unsecured Gin Wheel Falls 7m

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Scaffolder Sentenced After Unsecured Gin Wheel Falls 7m
Gin Wheel
Image via: http://www.ppconstructionsafety.com

A Scaffolder has received a suspended prison sentence after a unsecured gin wheel fell seven meters fracturing  a man’s skull.

Christopher Harvey a West Midlands scaffolder received a four month prison sentence suspended for 12 months and ordered to pay compensation of £2,500, after a builder suffered a fractured skull when a gin wheel fell seven metres and struck his head. Birmingham Magistrates’ Court heard 27-year-old Mark Jones, from Darlaston, was installing lead flashing on a school roof  using a gin wheel erected by Christopher Harvey, who was trading as Cannock Wood Scaffolding , when the incident happened on 8 August 2013. Mr Jones, who was working for a sub-contractor on the site, was operating a ‘gin wheel’, which is used to hoist and lower materials with ropes. The wheel had been attached to the scaffold by Christopher Harvey. As Mr Jones was loading materials from the ground ready for lifting to the roof, the wheel, weighing four kg, fell seven meters from the scaffold and struck him on the head fracturing his skull. He has since made a full recovery. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that Mr Harvey had failed to properly secure the gin wheel to the scaffold – no scaffold fittings were used to prevent the gin wheel from falling off the end of the scaffold tube, and the supporting structure was inadequately braced. Christopher Alan Harvey, 40, of Wolverhampton Road, Cannock, West Midlands, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 10(1) of The Work at Height Regulations 2005 and received a four month prison sentence suspended for 12 months and ordered to pay Mark Jones compensation of £2,500, plus £527.56 in costs. Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Edward Fryer said:
“This incident was entirely preventable and could easily have been avoided had Mr Harvey followed the published guidance to attach the wheel securely. Gin wheels are a common accessory for scaffolders and must be attached correctly. The installation of this gin wheel fell far short of the expected standard and made it almost inevitable that it would fall from the scaffold endangering anyone walking beneath. “Mr Jones suffered a fracture to his skull, but it is nothing more than luck that he was not more seriously injured, or even killed. “If you are installing scaffolding or associated lifting equipment, it must be left in a safe condition. The quality of work could make the difference between life or death.”
 

Powerclad Sheeting Prevails Over Hostile Offshore Conditions

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Powerclad Sheeting Prevails Over Hostile Offshore Conditions
ipt Powerclad Flame Retardant Filter Sheeting from Industrial Textiles and Plastics (ITP) has been successful in withstanding the rigours of the exposed conditions in the North Sea to facilitate the refurbishment of an oil rig derrick. Maintenance and inspection work on offshore oil rigs is undoubtedly complicated and dangerous, a problem magnified on those located in the North Sea.  Recent repair work to the derrick on the Bideford Dolphin, situated off the coast of Norway was a particular challenge due to the extreme wind speeds.  The two-fold effect of these conditions is an accelerated corrosion of the rig structure, and a difficulty in repair and refurbishment works. Built in 1975, the Bideford Dolphin forms part of the Dolphin drilling fleet that consist of 2 deep water units, 5 semi-submersible drilling rigs, as well as a support vessel and accommodation unit.  Dolphin Drilling is one of the longest established independent drilling contracting firms in the offshore arena tracing its roots back to the earliest offshore exploration activity in the North Sea in the mid 1960’s. Specialising in innovative access solutions for fabric maintenance and inspection, Skanits AS was selected to undertake the repair work to the derrick on the Bideford Dolphin.  The containment system on the derrick was erected in 48 hours, and remained secure for the 19 days of the works, protecting the workforce and allowing drilling operations to continue. Alf Rune Falck, Director of Skanits AS said: “The Powerclad sheeting withstood the fierce conditions and provided excellent protection for the workforce and equipment.  The use of the safe work zone system enabled us to work at several levels at one time, saving us a total of 10 days.” Managing Director at ITP, Marc van der Voort said:
“Powerclad Filter Sheeting provides exceptional weather protection in exposed locations and harsh climates such as the North Sea.  It is a closed woven mesh for improved ventilation, as air permeability is desirable in many installations to contain debris and dust, disperse paint solvents and dry out interior works.   Our expertise is in Flame Retardant materials, which should always be used for works on occupied buildings or on safety critical installations such as shipyards and refineries.”
Working within a demanding framework of time, budget and safety limitations, the project was successfully delivered against all criteria with no disruption to the daily operations of the rig.

The Scotti Fittings ‘No More Dead Men’

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The Scotti Fittings ‘No More Dead Men’

The Scotti Fittings

Childhood friends develop some innovative new scaffold fittings to bring an end to the use of ‘dead men tubes’ for securing toe-boards.

Two scaffolders, Aaron Gray and Scott Wesson have designed and developed some interesting new time saving scaffold fittings. The Scotti Fittings have been developed for securing toe-boards without the use of a ‘dead man tube’. The pair hope the new fittings will change the way scaffolding operates, by reducing erection time,labour costs and weight. The Scotti Fittings encourages best scaffolding practice and fully complies to SG4:10 guidelines also improves site safety with the removal of the ‘dead men tubes’. *Definition* – Deadman Tube, A vertical tube attached the handrails that can reach down to attach the toe-board. The fitting will have huge benefits for scaffolding companies with each single Scotti Fitting saving the use of a 5ft tube, 2 doubles and a single clip, over a large independent or tower the savings could be enormous. Although the duo are not willing to release any images to the media of these new fittings the scaffolders are in talks with three of largest UK scaffolding companies both onshore and offshore. These firms have shown an overwhelming interest in the Scotti Fittings and wish to trial them. Scott Wesson the inventor of The Scotti Fittings said:
”I first thought about the fittings after thinking they’re must be a better, safer, simpler way to securing a toe-board. After some trial and error, I found the solution.” “The fittings are patent protected and under CDA agreements with the manufacturers that we have spoke to. “The fittings will benefit everyone in the industry, from labourers to owners. They save time, investment, costs, weight and have a dozen other benefits which will benefit both the onshore and, in particular, the offshore industries.”
For more information on The Scotti Fittings please contact: Gray and Wesson Business Developments Ltd. [email protected].

ScaffMag To Visit Middle East.

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ScaffMag To Visit Middle East.
ScaffMag Visit Middle East

ScaffMag’s Editor and Founder Daniel Norton announces imminent visit to the Middle East.

Daniel will be undertaking an investigative report into the effectiveness and the progress of the UK scaffolding training schemes in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. At the forefront of these such schemes is Simian’s International Scaffolder Training Scheme. Simian’s training centre’s seems to be making waves in the GCC region after recently announcing they have quadrupled delegates and sales by the second quarter of 2014. Also during Daniel’s trip he will be conducting a second open and frank interview with Mr Terry Sennett, Simian’s GCC Manager, on the current state of the overseas training industry and Simian’s approach to training though out the Middle East region. ScaffMag’s Editor Daniel Norton said:
“I am very pleased to announce I will be visiting the Middle East after a very kind invite from Simian Risk. I am looking forward to reporting on the current state of the overseas training schemes and once again meeting Terry Sennett.” “This trip will furthermore solidly cement ScaffMag.com as a globally leading scaffold industry digital magazine.”

XERVON Palmers Use Layer For Latest Boiler Job

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XERVON Palmers Use Layer For Latest Boiler Job

Palmersfeatured

XERVON Palmers has converted to System Scaffolding for an efficient large-scale industrial access job – to facilitate the bi-annual overhaul of the interior of a huge boiler at Aberthaw Power Station, in South Wales.

Working closely with client Doosan Babcock and their customer RWE, up to 47 XERVON Palmers operatives have constructed a 25 x 13 metre, 19-lift Layher System Scaffold within the enormous coal-fired boiler at Aberthaw Power Station, located near Cardiff on the North bank of the Bristol channel. The decision to use Layher System Scaffolding in preference to traditional tube & fitting scaffolding was made by XERVON Palmers management to improve the performance and efficiency of the scaffolding to suit the large, but confined space within the power station boiler and the time constraints of the contract. A key factor of the Palmers job at Aberthaw was to help reduce the amount of time the boiler (which helps the Power Station generate 1555MW of electricity to the national grid, enough for three million homes) was offline – hence the switch from bespoke tube and fitting to modular scaffolding as the optimum access solution for this environment, due to safety and speed of erection and striking. In addition, the formulaic design of the Layher scaffolding provided a neat and space efficient access solution, providing much improved, safe, clear and unhindered access platforms, enabling the many skilled operatives deployed at Aberthaw to complete their boiler overhaul works safely and efficiently. Additionally on the Aberthaw contract, XERVON Palmers operatives had were working in hot, dusty and noisy conditions had to manage carefully with limited storage facilities the significant amounts of manual handling that was required to get the Layher equipment initially through two small (48 x 18-inch) holes – to allow the erection of the first three scaffold levels and as work progressed materials were passed through larger doorway-sized holes above levels three to 19.
“The decision to move from conventional tube and fitting to modular System scaffolding has proved to be a wise choice at Aberthaw, as we were able to complete the installation of the Layher scaffold more efficiently with considerably less components. This helped make the overall work environment safer and quicker,” comments Ian McFarlane, Director at XERVON Palmers. “As a company, we are starting to see a rise in demand for System Scaffolding jobs now – even in traditional tube and fitting areas, like England. System is the scaffold of choice in Europe and very popular in Scotland too, so it’s interesting to see it taking a more prevalent role in England now,” Mr McFarlane added.
Palmers parent company XERVON GmbH based in Germany is one of the biggest scaffold companies in Europe, where System Scaffolding is more commonplace than in the UK. XERVON utilise Layher Scaffolding as their core scaffold system, with over 70,000 tons in stock and are actively encouraging Palmers to use more System Scaffold in the UK. A spokesperson for XERVON GmbH said:
“System Scaffolding, like Layher is commonly used for many different access jobs in Europe and we are starting to see – and suggest – a substantial rise in its use in Great Britain by XERVON Palmers operatives. The job at Aberthaw Power Station boiler lends itself perfectly to System Scaffolding, thanks to its efficient, space and time-saving construction and dismantling characteristics and its ability to be used safely in tight, restrictive environments.”
The XERVON Palmers Layher scaffolding job at Aberthaw Power Station boiler has enabled clients Doosan Babcock and RWE to efficiently carry out their bi-annual overhaul and has been constructed and dismantled on time and on budget by XERVON Palmers. For over 120 years XERVON Palmers has provided a quality scaffolding service to all industries, working on some of the most important sites and prestigious projects within the petrochemical, power generation, construction, offshore fabrication, marine, nuclear, railway and airport market sectors. XERVON Palmers specialise in scaffolding and access contracts as well as offering additional services like steelwork repairs, specialist coatings, including shotblasting and thermal insulation.  

Scaffolding Firm & Director In Court After Scaffold Falls Into Street

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Scaffolding Firm & Director In Court After Scaffold Falls Into Street

HSE: Builder Sentenced

A Cambridgeshire company and its director have been prosecuted after an unsecured scaffold collapsed into a street.

It fell onto the pavement and road in High Street, Stretham, on 18 April 2013 three days after it was erected in front of a house by Buckden firm Crusaders Scaffolding Ltd and director Gary Driver. Both parties were prosecuted today (31 July) by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found the two-storey structure, which was around 11 metres long and 4.5 metres high, had not been secured to the property in any way. Cambridge Magistrates’ Court heard that a large covering of plastic sheeting had been attached to the outside of the scaffold to protect passers-by as the work being carried out on the house involved shot blasting and steam jetting. However, this ultimately acted as a sail that caused it to blow over in the wind. Crusaders Scaffolding Ltd, registered to High Street, Saffron Walden, Essex, but operating from Great North Road, Buckden, was fined a total of £7,500 and ordered to pay £526 in costs after pleading guilty to two breaches of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and one of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. Gary John Driver, 51, of Hunts End, Buckden, St Neots, was fined £5,000 with £500 costs after also pleading guilty to the same Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 offence. Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector John Berezansky said:
“It was extremely fortunate that no-one was working on the scaffold at the time and that no-one or nothing was hit when it fell. This is a busy High Street used by children to get to and from the local school. Had the scaffold fell during the morning or afternoon school run it could have been a different story. “The scaffold fell well below the required standard. In essence, Crusaders Scaffolding created an unsecured sail that fell over in the wind. Gary Driver was directly involved in the commissioning and construction of the scaffold. The risks associated with scaffolding are well known in the industry and to have not secured the structure was a basic error.”

NASC & CISRS to Re-Develop Level 2 Scaffolding Diploma

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NASC & CISRS to Re-Develop Level 2 Scaffolding Diploma

nascpress

The National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) and Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme (CISRS) have recently been assisting the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) with a radical re-development of its Level Two Diploma for scaffolding apprentices (No. 601/3726/5). The new Diploma in Scaffolding will be available for registration from September 1st 2014.

A working party made up of representatives from CISRS, NASC, the CITB awarding body, approved training providers (NCC Midlands, Simian Skills and Safety and Access) and Scaffolding contractors including NASC members, Brand Energy (SGB), Deborah Services Ltd and Complete Access (Scaffolding) Ltd, has been meeting in recent months to review the content of the Level Two Scaffolding diploma.

The main focus has been to bring the diploma in line with the launch of the NASC’s new ‘best practice guidelines for tube and fitting scaffolding’ – TG20:13. And in addition to this, other “outstanding issues” have been resolved e.g. splitting the Independent scaffold from the Birdcage scaffold exercises, to enable them to be taken as standalone units. The new qualification has also been updated to include a unit on Prefabricated Aluminium Towers.

A CITB spokesperson said:

“The Level Two Diploma in Scaffolding was initially launched in August 2013 as part of the Training Qualification Review, as such it was updated in line with legislation and industry guidance that was valid at that time. It was however recognised that the scaffolding sector was going through a series of changes at this point, most importantly the imminent introduction of TG20:13 which was scheduled to be released in Spring 2014. Following an approach from NASC and CISRS, we felt a further review to the existing qualification content to confirm it met the new requirements was justified. After a meeting with them and other industry representatives, it was established that the qualification did require updating to ensure it was fit for purpose and met with what the industry needs to effectively train its workforce.”

Dave Mosley (CISRS Scheme Manager) said:

“We had originally looked at the diploma with a view to replacing some of the construction industry generic elements with more scaffolding sector specific items. It soon became apparent that following the launch of TG20:13 there where several existing units which would now need further examination. The working group has performed very well and we would we like to thank CITB for their positive and swift response to our sector’s request for a review. We are happy with the changes and feel that the industry now has a more relevant and representative diploma on offer.”

House Builder And Scaffolding Firm Fined For Scaffold Collapse

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House Builder And Scaffolding Firm Fined For Scaffold Collapse

HSE: Builder Sentenced

A scaffolding firm and house builder have been prosecuted after two bricklayers were injured after falling from scaffolding that collapsed.

Cathedral Scaffold Company Ltd had erected a scaffold six meters from the ground bridging a narrow gap between the gable ends of neighbouring houses on a construction site in Lincoln. After loading out materials, two bricklayers were about to start work when the scaffold collapsed. The two men fell approximately two meters onto the lift below, both men sustaining serious injurers. A Health & Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the scaffold constructed by Cathedral Scaffold Company Ltd was not to a hsecollapserecognised design, which would of included standards to transfer the loads to the ground. Scaffolders onsite mistakenly believed they could not fit a four-board wide scaffold with standards required by the contractor Persimmon Homes Ltd in such a narrow gap. Not to any current scaffolding standard the scaffold was still handed over to Persimmon Homes Ltd with a handing over certificate identifying the structure as a general purpose  scaffold capable of supporting a specified distributed weight load. As no calculations for strength or stability were undertaken this was not guaranteed. Persimmon Homes Ltd then overloaded the scaffold causing it to collapse. HSE found the weight of just one pack of dry blocks distributed evenly over the platform would have taken it over the load limit – even without the men, tools or mortar on the platform. It was likely that the actual loading could have increased the danger as the blocks were all stacked towards one side of the platform.

Persimmon Homes Ltd, of Fulford, York, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(b)(i) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and was today (28 July) fined £8,000 and ordered to pay £10,426 costs.

The Cathedral Scaffold Company Ltd, of Dixon Way, Lincoln, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 8(b)(ii) of the same Regulations and was fined £4,000 with costs of £5,500.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Linda-Jane Rigby said:

“Unless a scaffold is a basic configuration described in recognised guidance it should be designed by calculation, by a competent person, to ensure it will have adequate strength and suitability. The design information should describe the sequence and methods to be adopted when erecting, dismantling and altering the scaffold. That did not happen in this case.

“Persimmon accepted handover of the scaffold and subsequently overloaded it, causing it to collapse.”

Midlands Trainee Scaffolder Wins Apprentice Of The Year

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Midlands Trainee Scaffolder Wins Apprentice Of The Year

Charlie Holloway

A trainee scaffolder from Kidderminster is celebrating after winning apprentice of the year for the midlands region by the National Construction College (NCC).

Charlie Holloway was named apprentice of the year for the midlands and winner of scaffolding year two category for his continued work at GMK Scaff-Form, a family-run business based in Charlie’s home town of Kidderminster. Talking to local media, The Kidderminster Shuttle Charlie said:
 “I am absolutely delighted to get these awards. My apprenticeship has been a lot of hard work but it has been worth it. “I have learnt so much during the course but I am eager to keep on learning and to get better all the time. “I am looking forward to working my way through the ranks at GMK while also completing the NCC’s advanced scaffolding course. “I could not have won these awards without the support and training of the college and my employer.”
GMK Scaff-Form director Darren Keen said:
 “Charlie has achieved so much in such a short amount of time and it proves that apprenticeships can work if the young people involved have the right attitudes. “GMK is really proud of Charlie’s success and he has performed his duties with us admirably.”
The National Construction College awards are run each year to recognise and to celebrate the hard work of apprentices from around the United Kingdom.

Innovations: The ProView Dragonfly Scaffolders Level

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Innovations: The ProView Dragonfly Scaffolders Level
The ProView Dragonfly is the first Product to be launched by X-Pro Tools and it introduces the Multi-Award Winning and Patented Innovation, the ‘ProView’ Safety Viewing Feature. Paul A Sparrow, the Inventor, is a Professional UK Tradesman with over 27 years of experience on the tools, where he used ‘Spirit Levels’ all day every day in his own Trade working as a self-employed Window Fitter on both domestic and commercial installations. He came up with the idea whilst fitting a Window; without thinking he leaned in to view the bubble on his level and impaled his lower eyelid onto a painted nail sticking out of the Wall. Coming so close to what could easily have been a very serious life changing incident he immediately realised that having strategically placed mirrors installed into the level would prevent the user from having to get into such awkward and risky positions in the first place. Also due to the way conventional levels have to be viewed it makes it virtually impossible if the user is wearing a Hard Hat or Glasses. ProView takes that awkwardness out of the product. The Dragonfly, along with all other X-Pro Spirit Level Designs now incorporate Paul’s new ProView Technology, which in this case will provide two extra and unique viewing features. xprotools The ProView Dragonfly has been specifically designed for the Scaffolding Industry at the request of Professional Scaffolders that had seen the earlier ‘Proof of Concept’ CNC Machined ProView Torpedo version at various Tradeshows. Paul set about designing one and over time received a lot of feedback about what was needed.  
  1. It had to have the same accuracy as the traditional Stabila, which although originally designed for Brickies, had also been adopted by the Worldwide Scaffolding Industry.
  2. It had to have High Impact Strength as they often get dropped.
  3. It had to have 2 Powerful Neodymium Magnets so as not to drop off a Tube.
  4. It had to be 250mm long as they are used to measure the drop for lower Handrails.
  5. It had to fit Existing Standard Frogs and have Good Grip in the Wet.
With these points in mind it went through several design iterations before ending up at the Dragonfly design currently being launched, and this design has come about in Consultation with Professional Scaffolders who now have a Level specifically designed for their Trade. The ProView Dragonfly can be purchased online via our own Website at; www.x-protools.com where it is currently still available at the ‘Pre-Order’ price of £29.95 + Shipping. Alternatively it will be going ‘Live’ in the Toolstation Online Store as of 1st August 2014 where it will be available at the full Retail price of £39.90 + Shipping. At which time the X-Pro website will increase their price to match the Toolstation price. Follow; www.facebook.com/XProTools and/or @Octopeye on Twitter for more updates. The first Production Run is just waiting on packaging before being shipped from the factory, so people will get one quicker if they buy from Toolstation as of the 1st August, as shipping normally takes about 6 weeks on the water before reaching a UK Port, so anyone wanting to buy at the reduced price from the X-Pro website will actually have to wait longer to receive it. As a Personal Note; ProView was actually conceived in 1986 and it was finally filed for ‘Patent’ in 2006 and since then even having Won the coveted title of British Invention of the Year in 2009, it has constantly been refused funding from all sources approached on the grounds that it always fell outside of their eligibility criteria. Essentially it was stuck in a ‘Catch 22’.

The ‘Catch22’ explained;

Banks and Investors all refuse to lend until a Project can show actual Orders placed for its products (Proof of Income). Buyers demand sight of Actual Production Samples before they can place those Orders (Proof of Quality). This creates the proverbial ‘Catch 22’ scenario because the Projects need the Funds <> to make the Tooling – to get the Samples the Buyer demands – before they can place the Orders the Bank demands – before providing the Funds (Go back to <>). As you can see, once a Project falls into this trap there is rarely a way out!!!… As a result in 2013 I resurrected an old ‘Fundraising’ idea I’d previously had way back in 1993 whilst pursuing another Project, I renamed it BizKit-Tin and asked my Customers to ‘Pre-Order’ the Dragonfly to help raise the funding needed to put it into production. Therefore I would especially like to thank everyone that placed a ‘Pre-Order’ via BizKit-Tin for their support as without them this great project may never have seen the light of day!.. Thank you!!!… Paul A Sparrow. Founder of 4octopus.com and Inventor of ProView. NOTE; (It has recently come to light that this 1993 Fundraising Project may potentially be the first ‘Recorded’ Modern Day Crowdfunding Project (As we now know them) to exist.
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