U.K. Edition
SCP launches new range of Galv-Span steel ladders
Scaffold & Construction Products (SCP), the Midlands based supplier of Scaffolding, Access & Building equipment who are owned by the Alumasc Group PLC are proud to be launching their new range of Galv-Span Steel Scaffold Ladders into the market place.
The new ladders are a galvanised, lightweight design that is fully EN131 compliant and available in 7 sizes from 3 meters to 8 meters.
The Galv-Span ladders are manufactured & distributed under BSI Kitemark Licence KM584102.
This new range is currently in stock at the company’s Midlands distribution facility, their vision is to supply this high quality, competitively priced product in bulk to the plant hire & resale market on a 2 day delivery service.
SCP Commercial Manager, Matt Johnson said: “As a leading supplier of quality products in the UK we feel the Galv-Span Steel ladders are an excellent addition to our range, which has included ladders for over 10 years.
“We are extremely proud of our BSI Kitemark which both confirms and endorses the EN131 conformity, quality and reliability of the product and are committed to providing our customers, both old & new, with a market leading 48 hour delivery service”
To complimented this new range of ladders SCP also offer a range of Ladder Gates, Traps, Clamps & Stair Tread Units which are available in 900mm, 1050mm and 1200mm widths.
For more information please visit www.scp-props.co.uk , email [email protected] or telephone the sales team on 01543 467 800.

London scaffolding firm goes under
One of London and the south east’s big independent scaffolding contractors Deverson Direct has been placed in administration.
The Canterbury-based firm worked on major projects throughout the capital for many of the major contractors and operated a workforce of up to 60 scaffolders.
The firm has been trying to find a buyer for several weeks after running into cash flow problems and debts with supplier Generation UK.
But its main lender called in administrator Begbies Traynor (Central) and all staff were told to go home.
Rival scaffolding contractor Alltask, based in Rochester, is understood to have stepped in and taken on many of the staff who lost their jobs along with several of Deverson’s jobs.
Deverson senior managers Mark Walton and Bruno Bohane have also joined Alltask.
Neil Vinnicombe and Jon Beard of Begbies Traynor (Central) LLP have been appointed administrators.
Story Via: constructionenquirer.com
Did you work for Deverson ? let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
VOSA lifts suspension on firms unsafe scaffolding vehicles
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Scaffolder fined after woman is injured by unguarded scaffolding tube
A Scottish court yesterday fined a self employed scaffolder after he failed to apply numerous safety precautions resulting in the head injury of a pedestrian.
The Health & Saftey Executive (HSE) reported that Thomas Hannen was contracted by Argyll and Bute Council in January 2011 to erect scaffolding around the disused Royal Hotel on Rothesay seafront, on the Isle of Bute, so the council could assess the building’s condition.
Early on 26 January, Mr Hannen and two scaffolders began erecting the scaffolding. Members of the public were not excluded, or in any way actively discouraged, from using the pavement beneath the work area.
Later that morning a council surveyor visited the site and drew Mr Hannen’s attention to an upright scaffolding tube that was obstructing the pavement. Before he left the site he mentioned to Mr Hannen that it was a busy pavement and that he should ensure people were safe.
As a result, a scaffolding tube was placed horizontally between two of the upright standards at a height of about 1.5 metres above ground level. No padding or warning tape was wrapped around it to soften any inadvertent contact, make it easily visible or to alert members of the public to its presence.
Later that morning, a 61-year-old local woman walking underneath the scaffolding, hit her head on the horizontal tube. She was taken to hospital with a head injury which required stitches, and more seriously, fractures to her left ankle caused by her falling as a result of her impact with the pole.
An investigation into the incident by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that Thomas Hannen failed to:
- take advantage of the offer made to him by the local authority building standards officer to have the footpath where he was working temporarily closed;
- complete any risk assessment or, alternatively, any risk assessment that was completed appears to have been wholly inadequate and did not guard against risk to pedestrians;
- erect a scaffold on a pavement with any diversion in place to exclude members of the public from the work area;
- display any warning signs alerting the public that it was dangerous to be in the work area such as putting padding or warning tape around any of the scaffolding tubes prior to the incident;
- instruct his workers to attach padding or tape around the scaffolding under erection.
Let us know your thoughts on this in the comments below.
Safety warning over fake hard hats

Scaffolding firm caught on camera risking lives
A Trafford firm has appeared in court after workers were spotted taking down scaffolding without safety measures to prevent them being injured in a fall.
They were witnessed working on the outside of a row of terraced shops on Ripponden Road in Oldham on 4 September 2012 by a passing inspector from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
Trafford Magistrates’ Court heard Stretford Scaffolding Ltd had been hired to dismantle the scaffolding after it had been used by another company for a roofing project.
Neither of the two men standing on the scaffolding platforms were wearing harnesses, despite working up to six metres above the ground, and one of them was not a trained scaffolder. He should therefore not have been allowed to work on a partially dismantled section.
The court was told there were also no guard rails on part of the scaffolding to prevent workers falling. The HSE inspector issued an immediate Prohibition Notice, ordering the men to come down from the scaffolding until they were given suitable safety equipment by their employer.
Stretford Scaffolding Ltd, of Ciss Lane in Urmston, received a 12-month conditional discharge and was ordered to pay costs of £1,849 after admitting a breach of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
[quote type=”center”]”This case should act as a warning to other scaffolding firms that they risk being prosecuted if they put lives at risk.” [/quote]
Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Sandra Tomlinson said:
“We are regularly called out to incidents where people have been seriously injured or even killed as a result of a fall from height. That’s why it’s vital scaffolding firms make sure safety is their top priority.
“Stretford Scaffolding should never have allowed the scaffolding to be taken down without making sure workers could do the job safely. The most sensible way of achieving this would have been to use guard rails and harnesses.
“The firm also put the life of one of the men at risk by allowing him to work on a partially dismantled section, despite the fact that he wasn’t a trained scaffolder.
“This case should act as a warning to other scaffolding firms that they risk being prosecuted if they put lives at risk.”
Advice on how to prevent workplace falls is available at www.hse.gov.uk/falls.
Via: hse.gov.uk
NASC Release SG6 Manual Handling In The Scaffolding Industry Guidance

Skaftray: “Were you one of the 2647”?
Two thousand six hundred and forty seven. Small words, big number.
Number of what? We are quoting directly from the HSE’s own statistics, which show that in the period 2005 – 2010 there were 2647 accidents involving people being hit by objects falling from mobile scaffolding towers, that’s over 500 per year or 10 per week on average.
Until now operators needed to devise their own ways of keeping tools and materials handy but this often involved balancing a plank or other item on the tower or mewp. These devices are usually insecure with unproven load-bearing capacity. They may even be a breach of site policy and thus be a contractual risk. By using Skaftray, the risk of dropped objects is reduced as tools and materials are safely contained in a purpose designed unit with the safe working load clearly displayed. The Skaftray is also securely mounted to the tower or mewp.
Skaftray is now a recommended Best Practice item with major clients. After all, who wants to pay for an HSE investigation into an incident when a ready made potential risk-reduction solution is at hand?
Full product details are available via the website www.skaftray.com
Email [email protected]
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Cape announce recruitment drive for offshore scaffolders
Cape today announced a large recruitment drive for a new £multi-million high profile North Sea offshore maintenance project.
The news was announced this morning on Cape’s onshore recruitment Facebook page. They are looking to fill among others, 104 offshore scaffolding positions and 72 painters/blasters. Cape said this work will start to mobilise as early as March and will last through until August with the possibility of more work after that.
This is the first in a number of large-scale projects that Cape will be executing in the Offshore sector as the industry looks to extend the lifespan of oil & gas production in the North Sea.
The first job postings are expected to be published at around 2pm this afternoon HERE.
By Daniel Norton