A WISHAW family were left terrified when three-storey scaffolding erected around their home came crashing down during Monday’s high winds.The scaffolding – which had been in place at the property of Charles Felvus in Dimsdale Road since early last week – was to enable repair work to be done to the chimney.
According to Mr Felvus, this work has yet to be completed.
Now the collapse of the scaffolding has resulted in considerably more damage to the property – including a large hole in the roof which means rain has been getting into the loft.
In addition, the gas box outside Mr Felvus’ front door has been wrecked by falling scaffolding as has a large section of the fence between his home and his next door neighbour.
A shaken Mr Felvus said: “It was like something out of a disaster movie.
“One minute the scaffolding was in place, the next it was crashing down around us. It’s just lucky that no-one was outside when it happened.
“There’s a young girl lives next door and if it had fallen on her I dread to think what could have happened. You can see by the way it smashed through the fence the force it came down with.”
He went on to question the safety of the scaffolding installation and the length of time it had been in position with no apparent repair work being carried out.
He continued: “As far as I’m concerned that scaffolding had never been secured. If it had, no amount of wind would have brought it down.
“It was very dangerous and could so easily have had catastrophic consequences as well as the significant structural damage that has occurred.
“There’s meant to be an inspector who comes round. That never happened. And anyway, why was the scaffolding in place for so long? Surely six days is more than adequate to repair a chimney.”
He added: “I certainly don’t want to be waiting as long for the hole in my roof to be sorted out now.”
Joe Brady, planned and voids manager for the council’s housing and social work, said:
“All scaffolding erected by the council’s contractors must receive a safety certificate to ensure it complies with all relevant health and safety regulations. However, we experienced exceptionally high winds last night. The council will reinstate all damage caused as a result.”
Workers who lost their jobs at Vivergo’s Saltend site that include Scaffolders and other trades have until Wednesday evening to decide whether to accept a compensation package.Almost 400 workers lost their jobs in March, when Vivergo terminated its contract with Redhall Engineering Services Ltd.
Through mediation group ACAS, Vivergo has offered almost £4,000 to each worker.
By accepting the offer, know as a COT3 agreement, workers will give up the right to bring further claims against the employer.
Les Dobbs, GMB union senior organiser, said: “We have told members we will support those who accept the compensation agreement, but we will also back those who wishing to continue to campaign to have their jobs back.”
The protests, which began in March, have caused severe traffic delays on several occasions, when workers blocked Hedon Road.
THIS is the dramatic scene as a blazing lorry brought one of the major roads into Bristol to a standstill.
Gloucester Road in Horfield was closed as firefighters fought the fire, on a scaffolding lorry.
The driver was alerted to flames from the rear of his cab by other motorists.
He stopped near the junction of Muller Road and dialled 999.
Firefighters using a hose reel and foam dealt with the blaze, which seriously damaged the cab of the vehicle.
No one was hurt, and it is believed the fire was caused by an electrical fault.
It promised to be a highlight of this year’s Health & Safety Expo, and so it proved – six of the UK’s leading health and safety organisations coming together for the first time ever to discuss and debate how to eradicate falls from height in the workplace.
The holy grail panel at this years Health & Safety ExpoTheir conclusion? The need for more cooperation, better coordination, further education and improved long term planning.
Chaired by David Thomas, safety, health and environment director at William Hare Ltd, the panel consisted of:
Peter Bennett, chairman of the Access Industry Forum (AIF)
Joy Jones from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
Nigel Bryson OBE from the British Safety Council (BSC)
Barry Holt from the International Institute of Risk and Safety Management (IIRSM)
John Holden from the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH)
Roger Bibbings MBE from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).
Key themes to emerge included better leadership; the need to engage the workforce more directly in safety issues; the avoidance of a ‘tick box’ approach to training; improved targeting, especially of small to medium sized firms in the construction sector, but, above all, the necessity to pool and synchronise resources, knowledge and information.
Roger Bibbings urged all the organisations taking part in the discussion to work together to help fill the void created by the cuts in the HSE’s budget.
Two other AIF-sponsored discussions also attracted capacity audiences and sparked lively question and answer sessions: ‘Successful planning techniques for working at height’ and ‘Maintaining effective work at height policies in a tough economic climate’.
Comments Peter Bennett for the Forum:
“The Holy Grail panel discussion was a ground breaking event which, I am sure, will have positive, long term consequences for the work at height sector in general. The spirit evident in Birmingham augers well for a high degree of cooperation between all the organisations taking part, with a view to reducing the number of deaths and injuries resulting from falls from height.”
Jason Anker
Also making a huge and memorable contribution to the 2011 Knowledge Base programme was motivational speaker, Jason Anker.
Jason was paralysed from the waist down as the result of an avoidable accident while working at height.
Each day he delivered a raw, powerful presentation designed to warn everyone of the life shattering consequences of a fall.
The panel discussions and individual presentations by AIF member organisations IPAF, NASC, PASMA and the Ladder Association, and Jason Anker,
will shortly be available to watch again via online video on the Forum’s website www.accessindustryforum.org.uk
Following its earlier success in providing a bespoke scaffolding and access system for renovation work at Gare Du Nord railway station in Paris, Harsco Infrastructure has now almost completed a second project, at the city’s Gare Saint-Lazare station.Impressed by the capabilities and expertise which Harsco had shown on the first project, main contractor Spie SCGPM asked the company to repeat the process at Gare Saint-Lazare.
The large-scale renovation work on the main station canopy required Harsco to design and construct a 220-ton, 18-metre high MODEX scaffolding structure which covered an area of 3,840 m².
The modular nature of the overall scaffold system allows it to accommodate any shape, ground plan or height requirements with ease. This was particularly beneficial in creating the irregularly spaced walkways which were required by the site workforce.
To counter the confined nature of the site Harsco provided mobile cranes to lift-in the required materials. The complex nature of the various works also required Harsco to adhere to a detailed work schedule, so that all the necessary requirements for safety, minimising noise pollution and reducing disruption to the surrounding area could be satisfied.
One stage of the project required the use of specially skilled workers who were able to access the overhanging sections of the canopy to carry out the renovation work. The canopy renovation was carried out concurrently with other work to refurbish the building main structure, and the construction of a new shopping mall located within the station complex.
Up to 50 Harsco Scaffolders could be made redundant within the next 90 days at TATA Steel Works in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire.
Rumors have been circulating since Friday after the shock announcement that 1,500 jobs are to go at TATA Steel, 1,200 at Scunthorpe and 300 at the Teeside plant which is due to the down turn in the demand for structural steel.
Parts of the Scunthorpe plant have also been proposed to be mothballed including the Bloom and Billet Mill and the Queen Bess blast furnace.
Demand for structural steel in the UK is only two-thirds of the 2007 level and is not expected to fully recover within the next five years.
The Scaffolders work for Harsco Corporation who supply the scaffolding workforce on the plant and operate in 39 countries and provide construction and industrial maintenance services.
A spokesman for Harsco told ScaffMag that “Following a standard review process which was recently undertaken, Harsco are in discussions with employees and unions regarding the future operating structure.”
“This process is required to bring our operating capacity in line with current production levels and requirements at the plant.”
A SCAFFOLDER who got involved in a vicious fist fight with another man on a city street claimed he was smashed over the head with a bottle and was bleeding from a cut on the head.Patrick McGuinness (28) claimed he was only defending himself after a man picked him up, threw him on the ground and started punching him.
McGuinness said the attack on him arose following an earlier incident in a pub, after he innocently asked another smoker for a cigarette, and was told to “f*** off”.
He also claimed he was delighted when gardai intervened in the dispute, and said he continued to struggle, as he didn’t realise the men standing over him were gardai.
McGuinness, of Melesian Avenue, Swords, was found guilty before Swords District Court of public drunkenness and threatening and abusive behaviour.
Judge Patrick Brady fined McGuinness €450 and ordered him to complete 100 hours’ community service in lieu of 10 weeks in prison.
Garda Leonard Clarke said he was on mobile patrol on Swords Main Street around 2am on November 28 last when he saw McGuinness, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, run across the road towards a group of people standing at a bus stop.
Garda Clarke said McGuinness got involved in a fist fight with another man.
The court heard gardai were forced to take McGuinness to the ground, where he continued to struggle.
Subdue Garda Clarke said he warned McGuinness to stop struggling, but he failed to do so, and he was forced to use OC spray to subdue him.
McGuinness said he was struggling because he thought he was still being attacked.
He claimed he was walking home when he was jumped upon by another individual, following an earlier incident in a Swords pub. Judge Brady said McGuinness’s behaviour was a lot more than self-defence.
It is a city famous for its architecture and ancient temples – where construction methods seem to have remained firmly in the past.This incredible photograph shows the death-defying lengths workmen in the east Indian city of Bhubaneswar are going to in building a new shopping mall.Each of these 15 workers are seen perched precariously on panels of thin wire mesh, as they pass poles up to each other to put up a scaffold.As capital of the Orissa state, Bhubaneswar was one of India’s first planned cities and is currently enjoying a mini-boom in the retail industry.Telecommunications, IT and engineering firms poured into the city in the 1990s – leading to the increase in demand for shopping malls.Alongside Puri and Konark, the city forms the Swarna Tribhuja (The Golden Triangle) and, with more than 600 religious sites, is nicknamed the Temple City of India.
Bhubaneswar was also the base for England’s cricket team during its series of one day internationals in 2008.But the team returned home early following the Mumbai terrorist attacks when gunmen stormed hotels in the city.
Thieves have stolen scaffolding from outside a Shropshire village church undergoing repairs.Police believe villagers from Stanton Lacy, near Ludlow will have spotted the thieves dismantling the scaffolding believing they were the genuine workmen.
Police Constable Antony Baker, the investigating officer, said: “A large quantity of scaffolding together with planks, brackets and ladders, has been stolen from St Peter’s Church, Stanton Lacy.
“It had been erected to the side of the church for repairs to the roof and was disassembled between 9.30pm last Friday and 8am on Monday. It took two men two days to put up, so the thieves would have been at work for some considerable time.
“Local residents or visitors to the village may well have seen this theft happening without realising a crime was taking place. I would urge witnesses or anyone with information about those responsible, to contact Ludlow police station on 0300-333-3000.”
PC Baker added that some kind of lorry or large van would have been needed to carry the items. “The thieves would also have had some knowledge on how to dismantle the scaffolding and how long it would take. At least two people are likely to have been involved.”
Information can also be given to the anonymous Crimestoppers number, 0800-555-111.
A scaffolder who only discovered he was a father 13 years after his son was born has been hauled before the courts to face allegations he owes more than £34,000 in child support.Scaffolder Adrian Haddon, 37, of Thornton Blackpool, who works for a local scaffolding firm was shocked when he was arrested by Lancashire Police on orders by authorities in Canada where his son lives.
They claim he owes £34,402 in child support from 16 years ago.
Adrian who was a soldier in The Royal Engineers in Canada in 1994 where he met his sons mother, He said “I was shocked”
“I never refused to pay. I wouldn’t refuse it. I just didn’t know he was mine”
“I went back in 1995 and bumped into her. I saw she had a baby but i didn’t know he was mine until a DNA test 3 years ago.
Adrian is now trying to build a relationship with his son who lives in Alberta Canada.
He said “Ive spoken to him on the phone, he wants us to have contact and hopes one day we will meet each other”.
Blackpool magistrates agreed to bail Adrian pending his appearance before a family court next week.
The scaffolding – which had been in place at the property of Charles Felvus in Dimsdale Road since early last week – was to enable repair work to be done to the chimney.
According to Mr Felvus, this work has yet to be completed.
Now the collapse of the scaffolding has resulted in considerably more damage to the property – including a large hole in the roof which means rain has been getting into the loft.
In addition, the gas box outside Mr Felvus’ front door has been wrecked by falling scaffolding as has a large section of the fence between his home and his next door neighbour.
A shaken Mr Felvus said: “It was like something out of a disaster movie.
“One minute the scaffolding was in place, the next it was crashing down around us. It’s just lucky that no-one was outside when it happened.
“There’s a young girl lives next door and if it had fallen on her I dread to think what could have happened. You can see by the way it smashed through the fence the force it came down with.”
He went on to question the safety of the scaffolding installation and the length of time it had been in position with no apparent repair work being carried out.
He continued: “As far as I’m concerned that scaffolding had never been secured. If it had, no amount of wind would have brought it down.
“It was very dangerous and could so easily have had catastrophic consequences as well as the significant structural damage that has occurred.
“There’s meant to be an inspector who comes round. That never happened. And anyway, why was the scaffolding in place for so long? Surely six days is more than adequate to repair a chimney.”
He added: “I certainly don’t want to be waiting as long for the hole in my roof to be sorted out now.”
Joe Brady, planned and voids manager for the council’s housing and social work, said:
Almost 400 workers lost their jobs in March, when Vivergo terminated its contract with Redhall Engineering Services Ltd.
Through mediation group ACAS, Vivergo has offered almost £4,000 to each worker.
By accepting the offer, know as a COT3 agreement, workers will give up the right to bring further claims against the employer.
Les Dobbs, GMB union senior organiser, said: “We have told members we will support those who accept the compensation agreement, but we will also back those who wishing to continue to campaign to have their jobs back.”
The protests, which began in March, have caused severe traffic delays on several occasions, when workers blocked Hedon Road.
The driver was alerted to flames from the rear of his cab by other motorists.
He stopped near the junction of Muller Road and dialled 999.
Firefighters using a hose reel and foam dealt with the blaze, which seriously damaged the cab of the vehicle.
No one was hurt, and it is believed the fire was caused by an electrical fault.
Impressed by the capabilities and expertise which Harsco had shown on the first project, main contractor Spie SCGPM asked the company to repeat the process at Gare Saint-Lazare.
The large-scale renovation work on the main station canopy required Harsco to design and construct a 220-ton, 18-metre high MODEX scaffolding structure which covered an area of 3,840 m².
The modular nature of the overall scaffold system allows it to accommodate any shape, ground plan or height requirements with ease. This was particularly beneficial in creating the irregularly spaced walkways which were required by the site workforce.
To counter the confined nature of the site Harsco provided mobile cranes to lift-in the required materials. The complex nature of the various works also required Harsco to adhere to a detailed work schedule, so that all the necessary requirements for safety, minimising noise pollution and reducing disruption to the surrounding area could be satisfied.
One stage of the project required the use of specially skilled workers who were able to access the overhanging sections of the canopy to carry out the renovation work. The canopy renovation was carried out concurrently with other work to refurbish the building main structure, and the construction of a new shopping mall located within the station complex.
Rumors have been circulating since Friday after the shock announcement that 1,500 jobs are to go at TATA Steel, 1,200 at Scunthorpe and 300 at the Teeside plant which is due to the down turn in the demand for structural steel.
Parts of the Scunthorpe plant have also been proposed to be mothballed including the Bloom and Billet Mill and the Queen Bess blast furnace.
Demand for structural steel in the UK is only two-thirds of the 2007 level and is not expected to fully recover within the next five years.
The Scaffolders work for 
Patrick McGuinness (28) claimed he was only defending himself after a man picked him up, threw him on the ground and started punching him.
McGuinness said the attack on him arose following an earlier incident in a pub, after he innocently asked another smoker for a cigarette, and was told to “f*** off”.
He also claimed he was delighted when gardai intervened in the dispute, and said he continued to struggle, as he didn’t realise the men standing over him were gardai.
McGuinness, of Melesian Avenue, Swords, was found guilty before Swords District Court of public drunkenness and threatening and abusive behaviour.
Judge Patrick Brady fined McGuinness €450 and ordered him to complete 100 hours’ community service in lieu of 10 weeks in prison.
Garda Leonard Clarke said he was on mobile patrol on Swords Main Street around 2am on November 28 last when he saw McGuinness, wearing a T-shirt and jeans, run across the road towards a group of people standing at a bus stop.
Garda Clarke said McGuinness got involved in a fist fight with another man.
The court heard gardai were forced to take McGuinness to the ground, where he continued to struggle.
Subdue Garda Clarke said he warned McGuinness to stop struggling, but he failed to do so, and he was forced to use OC spray to subdue him.
McGuinness said he was struggling because he thought he was still being attacked.
He claimed he was walking home when he was jumped upon by another individual, following an earlier incident in a Swords pub. Judge Brady said McGuinness’s behaviour was a lot more than self-defence.
Police believe villagers from Stanton Lacy, near Ludlow will have spotted the thieves dismantling the scaffolding believing they were the genuine workmen.
Police Constable Antony Baker, the investigating officer, said: “A large quantity of scaffolding together with planks, brackets and ladders, has been stolen from St Peter’s Church, Stanton Lacy.
“It had been erected to the side of the church for repairs to the roof and was disassembled between 9.30pm last Friday and 8am on Monday. It took two men two days to put up, so the thieves would have been at work for some considerable time.
“Local residents or visitors to the village may well have seen this theft happening without realising a crime was taking place. I would urge witnesses or anyone with information about those responsible, to contact Ludlow police station on 0300-333-3000.”
PC Baker added that some kind of lorry or large van would have been needed to carry the items. “The thieves would also have had some knowledge on how to dismantle the scaffolding and how long it would take. At least two people are likely to have been involved.”
Information can also be given to the anonymous Crimestoppers number, 0800-555-111.
Scaffolder Adrian Haddon, 37, of Thornton Blackpool, who works for a local scaffolding firm was shocked when he was arrested by Lancashire Police on orders by authorities in Canada where his son lives.
They claim he owes £34,402 in child support from 16 years ago.
Adrian who was a soldier in The Royal Engineers in Canada in 1994 where he met his sons mother, He said “I was shocked”
“I never refused to pay. I wouldn’t refuse it. I just didn’t know he was mine”
“I went back in 1995 and bumped into her. I saw she had a baby but i didn’t know he was mine until a DNA test 3 years ago.
Adrian is now trying to build a relationship with his son who lives in Alberta Canada.
He said “Ive spoken to him on the phone, he wants us to have contact and hopes one day we will meet each other”.
Blackpool magistrates agreed to bail Adrian pending his appearance before a family court next week.