“We are pleased to enter into this joint venture with Prezioso Linjebygg to establish a company dedicated to the UK’s nuclear new-build sector, capitalising on the substantial structure and experience of both organisations for the benefit of our potential customers and our shareholders.”
XERVON Palmers has been providing expert, bespoke scaffolding and access on the 166m long bridge, mainly of a tube and fitting and scaffolding board construction. The XERVON Palmers team, which has been up to 10 operatives, have provided a special design with flood water protected scaffold towers around the bridge columns in a buttress structure, for the sections going under water. These have been specially designed to protect the scaffold from the might of the River Tyne during Winter high-water and flooding.
[quote_center]”Access jobs like these are our ‘bread and butter’ – providing scaffolding expertise, safely, on time and to a strict budget.”[/quote_center]
Further XERVON Palmers scaffold design innovation has been provided at Ovingham Bridge with a Palmers-designed aluminium bridging panel beam system – created to minimise the amount of fittings required, thus reducing the amount of time required to erect and strike the job. This design innovation has kept the contract within the cost constraints of the County Council budget.
Ian McFarlane, Director for Business & Project Development at XERVON Palmers said:
“The scaffolding structure we have provided at the iconic Ovingham Bridge has worked perfectly in providing a safe working platform for the bridge repairs and renovations, whilst standing solid in the middle of the forceful River Tyne. And the job has been erected in such a way to save the contractor money and time – meaning the bridge can open to traffic as soon as possible, which is what the local community want.”
And Donald Morrison, CEO of XERVON Palmers added:
“Access jobs like these are our ‘bread and butter’ – providing scaffolding expertise, safely, on time and to a strict budget. We are very happy with the solutions we have created for the job for Northumberland County Council and the Department for Transport (DfT) and we look forward to working with them again on road network projects in the future in the North East.”
Ovingham bridge was opened in 1883, it operated as a toll bridge until 1944. At which point it was adopted by Northumberland County Council. It has operated with a 3T weight restriction since 1944. Width restrictors were added in the 1970s to enforce this weight limit. It is situated between Ovingham and Prudhoe and carries 4000 vehicles/day over the River Tyne.
XERVON Palmers provided the scaffolding and access for Ovingham bridge for Northumberland County Council on time and on budget. 
It has been said “F-Board is the most significant change in over 30 years”. As with many products, the F-Board was conceived from a flippant remark which then became a passion followed by a crusade to develop this mould breaking product.
F-Board has been over 7 years in its development and following diligent research, development and a very stringent regime of tests. The board complies with BS EN 12810, BS EN 12811 and the standard set out for wood BS 2482:2009. This is the first all composite board to be put through these rigorous standards and fully comply.
[quote_center]F-Board is a direct replacement for the wooden scaffold board[/quote_center]
F-Board has been awarded two very well recognised accolades; in 2012 it won the Plastics Industry “Industrial Product Design” of the year and in 2014 won the National Recycling Awards “Best Recycled Product” of the year.
F-Board is a direct replacement for the wooden scaffold board. The dimensions of the F-Board have been kept the same as the traditional board to enable scaffolding 
contractors to continue using all their existing fittings and transport settings, thereby creating the absolute minimum of disruption during the transition. Although a direct replacement for wood, it is a completely different animal with thorough-bred manners and a smart appearance.
The team producing the F-Board is made up of industry experts who have amassed many decades of experience, from the reclamation of the raw product through to the science of extrusion. The product is cleverly made from a source of 100% recycled uPVC which is designed to give excellent impact and ultraviolet resistance. This material would otherwise be buried or exported halfway around the world to be re-manufactured into other products and then more than likely be shipped back to the western world. The F-Board is manufactured here in the UK near Birmingham. The recycled material is cleaned through F-Board’s own processing unit to ensure a pure product to maintain the highest quality standards. It is then extruded through the best German machinery available today. All production is under continual quality assurance even down to the company having its own laboratory with an in-house polymer technician. Batch testing the F-Board is undertaken on a regular basis for point load strength and impact resistance to exacting industry standards.
Wood has many very positive attributes but none more so though than when it is standing as tree. As a scaffold board, wood splits, warps, rots and will change weight. Wood is regarded as being an unreliable medium when exposed to the elements on a scaffold, slowly degrading and becoming especially slippery in wet and icy conditions. It is a regular occurrence for a scaffold company to have to return to a site to replace boards that have failed safety inspections, taking up the valuable time of an installation team that could have otherwise been working a job that would create revenue not incurring a cost.
The F-board is a very stable platform which maintains its shape and position with precision, offering a very good anti-slip surface which gives great confidence and is made from a material which gives it great flame retardant credentials. The Patented retaining system locks the platform into a strong secure working area that will happily withstand the most rigorous actions during its use.
It has also been noted that with the uniform weight of the board a company can load a vehicle with confidence that they will not be overweight. The saving on transport costs, which over a year total up to considerable amounts. It also makes the loading calculations for a scaffolding project easier to calculate.
[quote_center]F-Board’s low carbon footprint can make the difference between winning or losing a tender[/quote_center]
Another great positive is that F-Board is made from recycled material and then the company completes the package by offering to buy the boards back at the end of life and recycle them back into new boards giving a closed loop recycled product.
The carbon footprint of the F-Board is approximately one-sixth that of a wooden board. In today’s competitive market, contractors are being asked to look very closely at the 
carbon impact that their input will have on a project. F-Board’s low carbon footprint can make the difference between winning or losing a tender. By using F-Board, a contractor does not have to prove that their boards come from a sustainable forestry source with a F.S.C. (Forest Stewardship Council) or P.E.F.C. (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) certificate. F-Board is different to handle and use. Two boards can be carried at a time due the light weight of only 13kgs. Due to the impact resistance flex that the board has, feedback from teams working on the board say “it is a bit like walking on air”. The flex is part of the F-Board’s immense strength.
F-Board are also in the final stages of development to produce anti-static and fully rated fire retardant boards. Sealed end caps are expected to be available to order in the next few weeks.
The F-Board has been put into many environments from Power Generation through to General Construction. It is a truly dextrous piece of kit that has multiple times the life expectancy of wood plus all the added health & safety and environmental benefits. Above all, as is regularly stated; “Safety is NO ACCIDENT” and F Board has set the standard for all who are working on access platforms would want to be working with.
F-Board can be purchased outright or can make use of the very tax efficient option of Asset lease finance.
To contact the F-Board team: Email – [email protected], Telephone 01215052360
Throughout February we are offering all new customers the opportunity to get on
Take advantage of substantial reductions on your first order, call now to find out what we can do to help you (Offer applies to 3.9m boards only and is subject to availability)
CONTACT THE SALES TEAM FOR DETAILS on 01215052360 or 07770607447 Email: [email protected]
Mr Mosley said:
“Congratulations to Safety & Access and the UG group opening and gaining accreditation for the new centre, which is finished to a very high specification.
“CISRS are very pleased with the facility and think it’s a great opportunity to further establish CISRS outside the UK. There is a vast number of Indian scaffolders working all over the world, and this centre will provide an opportunity to train them at source in India prior to them heading off to seek employment in such places as Dubai, Saudi Arabia and other parts of the UAE. The introduction of CISRS OSTS will only serve to raise standards of scaffolding and safety across the region. We wish them well with their training over the years.”
Rick Statham, Joint Managing Director for Safety & Access Ltd, said:
“We have been working with our partners on this project for the last year and we are delighted that we have now reached our aim of CISRS accreditation here in Chennai. The availability of scaffolder training in India will be a huge boost for our clients and Indian nationals that seek formal qualifications in scaffolding. There is also a big interest from our clients in the Middle East that look to India for their labour. Formal qualifications will mean that they can offer CISRS registered competent people to the market which obviously gives the client satisfaction and also can boost employment opportunities for scaffolders.” 
“I was in the office and heard a massive gust of wind. I stood up, looked out of the window and the scaffolding was coming down. “I ran across the road and a lady was underneath. She was on the floor on her knees. “We pulled seven planks of wood out, enabling someone to get in to make sure she was okay.”The Health and Safety Executive has been made aware of the incident and is carrying out an investigation. The work was being carried out by Emperor Scaffolding, of Ravensbridge Drive, off Blackbird Road, Leicester. Martin Morley, Managing Director of Emperor Scaffolding, said:
“The HSE are carrying out an investigation and I’ve been advised not to comment while their investigation is under way.”Scaffolders from the company were waiting to go in and dismantle the collapsed structure.
“I really enjoyed my time at Bircham Newton and it has stood me in good stead over the last 30+ years. I’ve continued to support CISRS training, making sure the lads who work for me at Heywood Scaffolding Services complete their training and assessments and carry the right card. And, looking at my original card from 1979, it’s nice to see I haven’t aged a bit!”
“This report confirms that we are in for a very rough time over next few years and the industry needs the government to act. For every offshore job that is lost, three more industry jobs are lost onshore.” “The offshore industry is facing what amounts to a perfect storm of a falling oil prices on global markets, the shale revolution, rising costs to extract oil and gas from the North Sea, and smaller and harder-to-access fields.” The UK government needed to give companies a tax regime that made investment more attractive, he said.
