“Scaffmark is a handheld marking machine that engraves company identification into scaffolding materials we are currently using it to provide security to ready-lock transoms, aluminium beams, stair treads, loading bay gate arms, hop up brackets and rubbish chute fixing frames, this item could also be used for marking system scaffolds,” said Montana’s director, Alan Clark.
Clark explained that Montana spends upwards of £10,000 a year on buying paint alone to identify the company’s scaffolding equipment, let alone the labour of applying it. “And we still have materials stolen as companies just paint over the top of our paint,” said Clark. “With Scaffmark even if you apply paint over the top company details are still visible as names are imprinted into scaffold products so you can categorically identify your product immediately without sending off a paint sample to confirm if it is your equipment.”
Scaffmark has 40 characters on its ramping wheel and although it is a new product costing £1,250 plus vat, Clark estimates that with normal use and regular greasing the engraver should last for up to 10 years. “The names could possibly be written over and if so it would identify that the product was possibly stolen but certainly not as easy as just painting over someone else’s security paint colour,” said Clark.
“I have spoken with technical at the NASC (National Access and Scaffolding Confederation) and they have said Scaffmark will be raised at their coming meetings,” he said. Clark is awaiting feedback from the meeting but was encouraged at the initial response. Scaffmark: A security engraver from Montana Scaffolding
Keeping kit secure, figuratively speaking, has long been the bane of the scaffolding industry. For, not only will your kit be lost on site it can and is frequently stolen. In a bid to improve security Bridgwater, Somerset based Montana Scaffolding Ltd. (Montana) says it has developed Scaffmark.
“Scaffmark is a handheld marking machine that engraves company identification into scaffolding materials we are currently using it to provide security to ready-lock transoms, aluminium beams, stair treads, loading bay gate arms, hop up brackets and rubbish chute fixing frames, this item could also be used for marking system scaffolds,” said Montana’s director, Alan Clark.
Clark explained that Montana spends upwards of £10,000 a year on buying paint alone to identify the company’s scaffolding equipment, let alone the labour of applying it. “And we still have materials stolen as companies just paint over the top of our paint,” said Clark. “With Scaffmark even if you apply paint over the top company details are still visible as names are imprinted into scaffold products so you can categorically identify your product immediately without sending off a paint sample to confirm if it is your equipment.”
Scaffmark has 40 characters on its ramping wheel and although it is a new product costing £1,250 plus vat, Clark estimates that with normal use and regular greasing the engraver should last for up to 10 years. “The names could possibly be written over and if so it would identify that the product was possibly stolen but certainly not as easy as just painting over someone else’s security paint colour,” said Clark.
“I have spoken with technical at the NASC (National Access and Scaffolding Confederation) and they have said Scaffmark will be raised at their coming meetings,” he said. Clark is awaiting feedback from the meeting but was encouraged at the initial response.
“Scaffmark is a handheld marking machine that engraves company identification into scaffolding materials we are currently using it to provide security to ready-lock transoms, aluminium beams, stair treads, loading bay gate arms, hop up brackets and rubbish chute fixing frames, this item could also be used for marking system scaffolds,” said Montana’s director, Alan Clark.
Clark explained that Montana spends upwards of £10,000 a year on buying paint alone to identify the company’s scaffolding equipment, let alone the labour of applying it. “And we still have materials stolen as companies just paint over the top of our paint,” said Clark. “With Scaffmark even if you apply paint over the top company details are still visible as names are imprinted into scaffold products so you can categorically identify your product immediately without sending off a paint sample to confirm if it is your equipment.”
Scaffmark has 40 characters on its ramping wheel and although it is a new product costing £1,250 plus vat, Clark estimates that with normal use and regular greasing the engraver should last for up to 10 years. “The names could possibly be written over and if so it would identify that the product was possibly stolen but certainly not as easy as just painting over someone else’s security paint colour,” said Clark.
“I have spoken with technical at the NASC (National Access and Scaffolding Confederation) and they have said Scaffmark will be raised at their coming meetings,” he said. Clark is awaiting feedback from the meeting but was encouraged at the initial response. Second CISRS OSTS Centre Opens in South Korea
CISRS have announced the accreditation and opening of a second Overseas Scaffolding Training Scheme (OSTS) centre in South Korea.
The new centre in Ulsan, in the south of the country, is opened in partnership with OSTS approved training providers, Safety & Access and Applus Velosi: Oil and gas industry sector service providers, who focus on vendor inspection, third party inspection, certification, testing, engineering and manpower services for the oil & gas sector globally. The Ulsan centre offers CISRS scaffold related training including OSTS Scaffolder Levels 1-3, scaffold inspection and scaffold supervisor courses. The accreditation audit was carried out this month by CISRS Scheme Manager, Dave Mosley, who was already in South Korea conducting the annual accreditation visit to the existing Safety and Access CISRS centre in Geoje. This centre established in 2013 has trained over 2,500 scaffolders, supervisors and inspectors in collaboration with Samsung Heavy Industries. Following the accreditation, Safety & Access Joint MD Rick Statham said: “The new centre represents a very important location for us, based in Ulsan it provides a strategic base to support the major shipbuilding and offshore industries which operate locally. We have been trading in South Korea for approaching four years and we can see the requirement for quality training growing as interest in and respect for the CISRS Overseas scheme grows.” Dave Mosley and Rick Statham took the opportunity to meet with key local clients including DSME, Shell and Chevron to give them a tour of the Geoje centre and outline the possibilities and future plans for CISRS training in the area. Mr Mosley said: “It is very pleasing to see the CISRS OSTS scheme doing so well and Safety & Access expanding their presence in South Korea. We hope that the new centre can emulate the success of the centre here in Geoje. “CISRS recognise the fantastic commitment made by Samsung Heavy Industries in training over 2,500 people making them, the employer and South Korea, the region with most CISRS OSTS qualified operatives worldwide. “There is an increased interest in CISRS in South Korea at the moment, despite the current downturn in the oil and gas sector and it is great to see Shell, Chevron and DSME exploring the possibility of going down the CISRS route.” The OSTS scheme started in 2012 and has now been established in UAE, Qatar, Philippines and South Korea, Nepal and Nigeria, training more than 4,500 scaffolders worldwide.CITB to close provision of services and products to international centres
The CITB is to close down its services and products at all international training centres to focus on key skills needs in Great Britain.
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) says on its website that it has been,
“Supporting major contractors, training providers and individuals globally for over 45 years,” that global support looks like it is coming to an end, and quickly at that.
We were made aware of the contents of a private letter that went out from the CITB in August stating that as part of its regular programme of review the CITB had concluded that it should close its provision of products and support to some or all of its international centres.
We understand the letter went on to acknowledge the uncertainty this announcement would bring and said it would be able to communicate the review’s outcome by September 1, 2016. In the meantime, we understand centres likely to be affected were advised that until the outcome of the review was concluded the CITB would not progress applications for renewal or for additional recognition, licensing, accreditation or training support.
This move from the CITB has likely come as a shock to centres affected and we asked the CITB for a statement. Amanda Sergeant, head of delivery transition at CITB, said, “We have recently reviewed our international business as part of our change programme. The review concluded that CITB should close its provision of products and services internationally and focus on key skills needs in Great Britain.”
Sergeant confirmed that training providers had been informed of the CITB’s decision and that the letter of September 1 would explain what is happening in more detail.
“These changes will help CITB improve, become more efficient and be better able to meet the core skills needs of the construction industry in Great Britain,” said Sergeant.
The Reaction..
We reached out to some international training centres for their reaction to this shocking news. Fiona Sennett Operations Manager at 48.3 International said: “The whole of the international fraternity of scaffolding and working at height specialists have been surprised that the CITB are withdrawing a profitable service that has been in place, promoting the highest British standards in this industry all over the world, for 45 years. The CITB Scheme has been adopted by many countries and considered the market leader by most major clients – we have been actively promoting the CITB scheme since our inception.” “It is disappointing that there were no consultations with CITB clients across the world prior to the decision being made, and no reasonable explanation from the CITB as to why the scheme is closing on 31 December 2016.” “At 48.3 International we are very optimistic for the future following this announcement, as we are committed to our philosophy of “Safeguarding Lives Through Industry Education” – our dedication to the legacy of co-founder Terry Sennett.” “We are fortunate to have our own competency assessed scheme that has been developed by the late Terry Sennett, Ben Beaumont and Steve Gregory to service the overseas market with industry and product specific training. Because of our ability to apply UK best practice to local challenges within the scheme, it has been in very high demand from our International clients.” “We listen to all our clients needs in this market and believe that we offer the most flexible and client specific training in the world rather than making the world fit into a UK specific training program.” Joint MD at Safety & Access Rick Statham commented: “We have provided CISRS training international for many years and have a total of six accredited centres worldwide. We are aware that CITB have signalled their intention to withdraw from the international scaffold training market. Our main concern would be the potential disadvantage to learners that have CITB qualifications that will eventually expire as many of these people will have funded the training themselves and will require these for ongoing employment.”“As CISRS are a forward thinking organisation I’m confident that they will explore agreeable solutions to enable genuine candidates progress within the CISRS overseas scheme. Many organisations and individuals outside of the U.K. have wrongly assumed for years that this was the authentic UK scheme whilst of course the UK based CISRS scheme is the original and widely accepted training route. We expect there to be more clarity from CITB in the coming weeks and days regarding their exit strategy.”
Lyndon Scaffolding selected for scaffolding package on BBC TV Centre project
Stanhope Plc (Stanhope) and Mitsui Fudosan UK are developing the BBC TV Centre project in London. Mace is the construction manager of the £400 million contract that consists of half a million square feet of office space, 950 homes, a new Soho House club, a hotel and more.
The scaffolding package has been awarded to Lyndon Scaffolding Plc (Lyndon). Lyndon says that it is the UK’s largest independent scaffolding contractor with over £38 million in sales per year. We asked Phil Smith, Lyndon’s regional manager about Lyndon’s role in the project and he gave us some insightful responses to our questions.
Q: Why do you think Lyndon was awarded the BBC TV Centre Project job?
Phil Smith: “Lyndon Scaffolding have a long and successful relationship with both the developer Stanhope and the BBC. Lyndon were the principal scaffolding contractor on the BBC Media City Project in Salford, the redevelopment of Portland Place in London and the Media Centre in White City. In addition to that, we tend to focus on supplying a quality product and service, rather than relying heavily on glossy websites and social media to gain attention.”
Q: Has Lyndon worked with Mace before and if so where and when?
Phil Smith: “Lyndon’s have worked with Mace on several projects; notably Birmingham New Street Station and Battersea Power Station. The scaffolding package for the BBC Television Centre is being placed through Lyons & Annoot Ltd, so although Mace are the principal contractor, we will not be working directly for them.”
Q: What resources in terms of men and materials will Lyndon have to deploy on the project and for how long?
Phil Smith: “We anticipate around 30 operatives for 12 months.”
Q: Is this going to be a system scaffold project, tube and fittings or a combination of both? Which system are you planning to use and why?
Phil Smith: “Tube and fitting for the access and loading scaffolds. Haki for the stair towers. This is a standard independent scaffold with multiple interface requirements to service several applications; including a complex hoist run-off tower. A system scaffold was therefore not viable for the plethora of user requirements given to us.”
Q: Is there any particular challenge with this project that you will have to work with and how are you planning on overcoming it?
Phil Smith: “Labour resourcing is always an issue. We only employ directly employed scaffolders, so putting the problem on-to a labour agency is not an option for us. Although we have been developing this scheme for over six months, like any job, we couldn’t source labour either internally or externally until we received an order and agreed a programme. With around 550 scaffolders nationwide and around 140 in London, we have a huge pool of labour resources and management support. In addition, planned recruitment at all levels, with in-house and on-going training is a priority for us.”
Q: Are you experiencing any particular operational challenges in the economy right now, such as availability of labour, materials, transport or other?
Phil Smith: “Labour is always an issue. Supply isn’t the problem, but the quality of labour is; something that will steadily decline further as labour agencies become a more and more common platform for construction workers to be employed.”
The first phase of the BBC TV Centre project is scheduled to be completed in 2017.
By Ian McInnes
F-Board Falls Into Administration
Plastic scaffold board manufacturer F-Board has been placed into administration.
F-Board Ltd. (F-Board) listed as trading at 17-19 and 23 & 24 Prothero Industrial Estate, Bilport Lane, Wednesbury, West Midlands, WS10 0NT has been placed in Administration. F-Board created a non-slip scaffold board made from 100 per cent recycled plastic, The firm had just recerntly been crowned the winner of the Construction News Business Innovation of the year 2016. Visitor’s to the company’s website www.fboard.co.uk will now find an Administration notice. The Administrator, Steve Elliott of Monahans Swindon, was appointed Administrator of F-Board Ltd on 12th August 2016. A notice of the Administration posted to the Gazette on August 22 stated that the Appointment of Administrators for F-Board was made at the Worcester County Court. A statement from the Administrator on F-Board’s website confirmed that the entire workforce was made redundant on 8th August 2016 and that F-Board ceased trading on that date too. The Administrator states that, “If you contend that you hold any form of security, reservation of title or other proprietary rights over any assets or stock in the possession of the company, then please forward details in writing to me by 26th August 2016,” contact details are provided on the website. The Administrator also states that he will be reviewing F-Board’s financial situation over the next eight weeks and will report back to creditors. By Ian MclnnesScaffolding Firm Boss Banned for Twelve Years
The boss of a long-established scaffolding firm has been banned from running companies after an investigation revealed a series of frauds before his business collapsed.
Irvin John Downey, 37, was the director of Tubular Scaffolding Limited, based in Blantyre, Scotland.
In a case brought by the Insolvency Service, Hamilton Sheriff Court has disqualified Downey from being a company director for 12 years.
On 25th July 2014, Tubular Scaffolding Ltd, with liabilities to creditors of £506,937 was placed into compulsory liquidation following a winding up petition lodged by HM Revenue & Customs.
Tubular Scaffolding Limited was originally incorporated back in 1932. Downey had taken over as sole director and shareholder in August 2012 and subsequently used the company, which had an excellent credit rating, as a vehicle to commit fraud against suppliers.
Downey submitted false and inaccurate information within loan and credit applications to suppliers in the knowledge that the company’s established credit history would result in the applications not being subjected to scrutiny. Over a four-month period, suppliers lost £264,497.
Robert Clarke, head of company investigation at the Insolvency Service said: “The disqualification of Mr Downey sends out a clear message that where a corporate vehicle is being used to facilitate actual or potential fraudulent activity action will be taken to remove the directors from the business environment for a lengthy period of time.” Marley Eternit Acquires John Brash to Provide High Quality Scaffolding Solutions
Marley Eternit has recently acquired the highly reputed timber manufacturer, John Brash & Co, adding scaffolding solutions to its unparalleled roofing systems offering.
The combined £200m business brings together two complementary companies, both of which are influential players with highly regarded reputations in the UK construction market. David Speakman, Managing Director at Marley Eternit, comments: “For Marley Eternit, this is the latest step in our strategy to affirm our brand leadership position, delivering on our innovation credentials and providing a total construction system solution to deliver real value to our customers. The addition of high quality scaffold boards to our offer is part of this comprehensive solution. “Although construction sites face stringent health & safety requirements, the quality of scaffold boards can sometimes be overlooked. However, they are very important for protecting workers and the range now offered by Marley Eternit is of the highest quality to provide the greatest levels of safety.” The Kitemarked graded timber scaffold boards from Marley Eternit are recognised as the premier scaffold board and the range available includes JB Firesafe – a fire retardant option. All boards go through a process of stringent testing to ensure they are fully compliant with BS 2482. More information on the new timber products available from Marley Eternit can be found online at www.marleyeternit.co.uk/scaffoldGKR Scaffolding completes largest of its type Layher staircase
GKR Scaffolding erect the UK’s largest of its type Layher staircases.
The challenge for Rochester, Kent based GKR Scaffolding Ltd. (GKR), build two match day staircases for access and egress to the East and North stands for the new stadium for Tottenham Hotspur Football & Athletic club in London. The stadium is being built adjacent to the existing one and the stair cases were required for the 2016 – 2017 season because of the phase one demolition; Mace is the main contractor for the £400 million project.
The solution, working closely with Layher Ltd. (Layher) and 48.3 Scaffold Design Ltd. (48.3) GKR to build the structures on a 14m x 13m footprint and 17m high to the roof. “A re-enforced concrete slab was installed to cover the entire base,” said Tony Lane, Associate Director GKR. “The staircase had to be designed to have a loading of 5kn/m2 on every level at anyone time and had to meet the stadia green guide for clear access routes,” said Lane.
The staircases had to be ready for the start of the new football season necessitating two shift working by GKR. “We had two teams of eight operatives on the structure, one team working 8.00am to 4.00pm and the other team working 4.00pm to 10.00pm, from start to finish for three weeks,” said Lane. “The project was very testing due to the limited build time and this required a good working relationship with Layher and 48.3 to make it run smoothly.”
Sean Pike, managing director, Layher said that the structure, “Is the largest stair of its type erected in the UK, utilising our, “integrated systems,” of Allround scaffolding, Stair 750, and Protect rigid cladding wall cassette system – technically, it is a large stair because we had to make clusters of quadruple standards so that it can withstand massive loads of match day foot traffic in the tens of thousands.”
Pike said that the staircases, “Also needed to be flame proof, hence all steel construction and, as it is and will remain a working site, the public require protection at all times, hence it being fully clad in our protect wall cassette system, which additionally provided a sound reduction value from site operations of 21 decibels. The protect system also has a rubber vacuum seal all around the edges to prevent dust and small particle penetration, which is inevitable at a construction site.”
Pike explained that internally, “The stair system treads and risers and landing platforms are covered in our (Layher’s) GRP (Glass Reinforced Plastic) anti slip/fire proof coverings – giving the finished product a real look of a permanent structure – certainly from the outside the protect system gives the appearance of a finished building, whilst inside, the users of the stair will feel as though they are wrapped in cotton wool.”
As with any scaffolding structure the base out and setting out is critical to its success and this, “Relied entirely,” said Pike, “upon the expertise of GKR scaffolding’s workforce,” he said. “Offsite product training and mock ups were undertaken along with additional site support from Layher working with the GKR operatives to ensure the base out/drawing plans, provided by the Layher technical department, were accurately adhered to. This collaborative working and its successful results can be clearly seen by the finished product. A testament to contractor/supplier strategic partnership.”
Technical
Layher said that the project overall had some high level technical challenges that required both our technical and training departments to work very intensively with GKR and the client, these challenges included:-but were not limited to:
(4) The configuration of the stair flights themselves, as dictated by the client for correct foot flow posed a further problem. This was overcome by the introduction of 2 step special innovative stringers and guard rails that could be fitted between landings to provide additional flexibility.
Written By Ian McInnesModus Access Falls Into Administration
Southampton based Modus Access UK has ceased trading and entered administration leaving 11 employees redundant.
The firm was originally founded in 2010 by the late Terry Sennett, after three successful years of trading Terry passed the company to its employees to run. Modus traded across the South Coast and serviced a number of large clients including Kier, British Gas and Southampton City Council. At its peak the business generated turnover of more than £1m and employed 16 members of staff. However, in the last 18 months the company suffered a downturn in turnover and was no longer able to meet its financial obligations. Modus Access UK ceased trading on 24 July 2016, administrators RMS were appointed the following day. Following advice provided by RSM it was recommended that the company be placed into administration with a view of achieving a pre-packaged sale of its assets. In the four weeks leading up to the appointment, RMS undertook a marketing process and various expressions of interest were received. Following negotiations, a sale of the company’s system scaffolding equipment was made to Blencowe Scaffolding, a competitor looking to expand its operations and set up a new division based out of Southampton. Alexander Kinninmonth, RSM partner and one of the joint administrators, said: “In this instance, it was not possible to rescue the business as a going concern. However, the sale of the assets provides Blencowe Scaffolding with a platform on which it can expand into the local market and delivers the best possible outcome for creditors.”XERVON Plamers Awarded Glasgow Hotel Construction Project
Palmers has secured a significant contract from Ogilvie Construction for the Motel One Hotel construction project in Glasgow.
XERVON Palmers will be utilising Layher Scaffold System to provide the access to facilitate the construction of the 374 bedroom hotel.
XERVON Palmers MD, Donald Morrison said: “We are pleased to confirm that we have been appointed by Ogilvie to provide access scaffolding at their Motel One Hotel construction project in Glasgow. Congratulations to the team for securing this contract… which will contribute to the planned restart of the Palmers Glasgow branch.”
The Motel One hotel contract for Ogilvie has an overall value of £22M & is located next to the Glasgow Central Railway Station.
Family owned Ogilvie Construction is one of Scotland’s largest privately owned construction companies.
