A national think tank has produced a report calling on the construction industry to do more to recruit women has been backed by a female-led Suffolk scaffolding contractor.

“We are extremely pleased to have been given this coveted award for Project of the Year. The contract at South Crofty tin mine has been a real team effort and has attracted a lot of interest, understandably. The pyramid scaffold there featured more than 9000 Plettac System Components, 8000 boards, 20,000 fittings and 3,300 scaffold tubes. It’s been a massive task, and one we have all relished taking part in and to be given this accolade by Construction News is absolutely superb.”Allied Scaffolding Ltd Wins Access & Scaffolding Specialist Award 2014 Manchester based Allied Scaffolding Ltd scooped the 2014 Access & Scaffolding Specialist Award, for their outstanding work on Manchester Town Hall and a strong commitment to the local community.
“We are delighted to have won the award, and would like to thank Construction News, and our hard working staff. Thanks also to Laing O’Rourke and Manchester Council for giving us the opportunity on the Town Hall Transformation Project. It was a great night. Well done to all award winners.”For a full list of 2014 finalists, award winners and images from the event, visit: www.cnspecialistsawards.com
“This is a great tribute to our workforce and support staff who deliver access & scaffolding daily at Heathrow. Our thanks and big well done to all involved for their hard work in achieving this excellent award.”And Donald Morrison, CEO of XERVON Palmers added:
“We are all very proud of the quality of our work at Heathrow’s Terminal T2B and of the attentive safety culture associated with that – delivering high quality scaffolding and access solutions, 100% safely, within a challenging work environment.”
“The issues here are two-fold. There were clear concerns with the manner in which the scaffolds were erected, as captured by CCTV. Then there are the failings with the structures themselves, the fact they weren’t built to an approved design and were inadequately tied and braced. “All scaffolds should be erected in a safe manner, but the risks are magnified when you are working in a busy city centre location with lots of traffic and pedestrians, as was the case here. “Little thought was given to shoppers as fittings and poles were tossed or passed over their heads, and today’s conviction serves to illustrate the seriousness of the failings we uncovered. Thankfully nobody was injured, but that is the only saving grace.”
ScaffMag sends its condolences to Graham’s family,friends and work colleagues at such a difficult time.
Funeral Arrangements The funeral is set to take place on Monday, 17th March 2014 at St Richard’s Chapel, Surrey & Sussex Crematorium, Balcolmbe Road, Crawley, RH10 3NG. If you wish to attend the funeral, please RSVP to either Jason Black ([email protected]), Steve Prower ([email protected]) or Ken Barber ([email protected]). No flowers have been requested by the family, but a donation can be made at the chapel which will go to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. Any cheques should be made payable to the charity, or online donations can be carried out here. Please leave a note in the collection box with your name if you donate online. Further details and directions to the service are available in a PDF; please click here.Graham Maddocks 1943 – 2014
“The acquisition of Motherwell Bridge is in line with Cape’s strategy to broaden our portfolio of critical industrial services. Motherwell Bridge has tremendous expertise, reputation and brand recognition in the oil and gas storage tank market, including a market leading position in the UK and we expect to accelerate Motherwell Bridge overseas growth through Cape’s international footprint. By combining the strengths of Cape and Motherwell Bridge we are uniquely able to provide a complete tank maintenance solution to clients in the oil and gas market.”
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To ensure maximum life, scaffold boards must be checked regularly. It should be noted that cross cutting a graded board to a shorter length does not affect the structural integrity or grade of the board and as a result, it will still comply with BS 2482:2009; if the board has been either visually or machine graded it will have been graded along the full length. Any defects (unless outlined below) will still remain within the allowance.
Here is a checklist for ensuring your scaffold boards remain free from defects and in the best possible condition for use on your site:
If a board shows signs of being accidentally dropped or otherwise abused (e.g. run over) it should be discarded
Any board with signs of rot or decay should be discarded
End bands should be checked to ensure they are still secure, and fixed or replaced if necessary
Boards should be stored in the dry and should have any concrete spillage carefully removed
All nails, screws, e.g. Hilti nails should be removed and the board checked for damage.
Splits should be checked. Any split must not be deeper than 12mm in thickness. If a split is deeper than this, it should be no more than 225mm long. Splits of less than 225mm may then be repaired using nail plates. Boards with splits longer than this should be cut down. Splits running across the face are not permitted and the board should be cut down to remove any damage
Any cut should be ‘superficial’, which means no deeper than 2mm
Any board that has been notched should be cut down to remove the notch
Any boards stored for a period of time should be regularly checked for signs of decay, particularly watching out for fungus and wet rot. Ideally, stored boards should have access to a regular clean airflow. Boards should not be left ‘close piled’ for more than 3 months. If the anticipated storage is for longer, then the boards should be stored with ‘sticks’ in-between every layer to allow air circulation
View or download our technical information on BSI graded scaffold boards by clicking here.
“With decades of experience providing scaffolding and access services, MAS brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the project. We are excited to work with JKC to deliver another project of excellence, as we continue to build our maintenance business within the Oil & Gas market”.With an expected operational life of more than 40 years, the Ichthys LNG Project is a Joint Venture between Inpex group companies (the Operator), major partner Total and the Australian subsidiaries of Tokyo Gas, Osaka Gas, Chubu Electric Power and Toho Gas. With the award of this contract, AGC’s parent company AusGroup Limited’s order book now stands at $345 million (AUD 388 million). News Source: Rigzone.com
During the first half of February parts of Britain were hit by a huge atlantic storms which battered coastlines and overwhelmed sea-defences. In Dawlish, Devon the storms destroyed a section of the sea wall and left the railway to Cornwall suspended in mid-air.
Chris Sedgeman Scaffolding was contacted on Thursday 6th February following the huge atlantic storm which resulted in a large section of railway line in Dawlish being washed away and houses being unstable. Staff at Chris Sedgeman Scaffolding worked all over the weekend preparing for commencing works which they started on the following Monday and worked continually around the clock to Thursday 13th before the next storm hit. Lynn Way Company Secretary & Financial Manager for Chris Sedgeman Scaffolding Ltd said:“We commenced works on the 70m long cable bridge with two access staircases and used 35 tons of scaffolding in the first few days. We have subsequently erected 75m of edge protection along the sea wall; access walkways to the houses; sea wall access scaffold and a temporary shelter”.Works are still on-going.
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“TG20:13 will be one of the biggest changes within the scaffolding industry in recent times. Many grey areas have now become black and white with the release of this revolutionary guidance.” Simon also added: “The release of this document will be a steep learning curve for the scaffolding industry.”While the scaffolding industry gets to grips with the new guidance the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) have announced they will not in-force TG20:13 during a so called “Bedding In” period. To help bring scaffolding contractors across the country up to speed with the new guidance the NASC have produced Tool box talk videos and a eGuide FAQ that can be found here. Non NASC members prices for the new suite will be: