Scaffolding by its nature can be a high risk occupation if it is not carried out in accordance with the latest standards and in compliance with the correct skills. The only recognised training scheme for scaffolders is the CISRS (Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme), within this scheme there are currently 8 different cards that identify what the particular individual can (and cannot) do with regards to the construction/assembly of a scaffold structure. The 8 cards range from Labourer and Trainee through to Advanced Scaffolder and Scaffold Inspector.
In accordance with CDM (Construction Design Management) Regulations 2007 all clients and contractors must be legally satisfied with the “competence of those engaged” in any works, including scaffolding. To help inform clients and contractors on the scope of any of the 8 CISRS cards available in the UK today two new aids have been launched.
Free Site Poster
CISRS have launched an easily read and informative A2 poster that clearly explains the scope of work that any individual holding a CISRS card can carry out. Designed to be an ideal aide-memoire to any site the poster provides a simple to follow explanation ensuring that any individual’s card can be verified prior to any scaffolding works commencing.
The poster is available free (subject to stock availability) and can be requested directly by contacting CISRS at telephone number 0844 815 7223 or via email at [email protected]
Free On-Line Video Toolbox Talk
To explain in more detail the criteria for each CISRS card, a short but detailed online video presentation is available to watch from the CISRS website www.cisrs.org.uk. The video duration is approximately 15 minutes and details the course criteria and the scope of each CISRS qualification. To accompany the video a free online test is available to take after viewing the video to ensure that the user has fully understood the content.
David Mosley, CISRS Training Scheme Manager states: “The main reason why some scaffolds are seen erected unsafely is due to lack of training. Hopefully clients and contractors will use these two new tools to help them understand the CISRS scheme and enable them to prevent non-skilled scaffolders erecting dangerous scaffolds”
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ScaffMag Rating: 
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ScaffMag Rating: 
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ScaffMag Rating: 
The Greater Manchester services to Eccles and MediaCityUK were suspended while police negotiated with the scaffolders to move the trucks.
The protest was over the collapse of Grace Scaffolding Limited 
At the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in Nottinghamshire, electricians, scaffolders and welders all stayed out of work. More than 200 electricians picketed both gates at SSI steel works (formerly Corus) in Redcar, Teeside. Scaffolders and electricians refused to work.
A student delegation from Teesside University unfurled a banner saying “Students and workers unite and fight”. One worker from Middlesbrough said, “These protest are about freezing wages. “We’re going to need national action as these changes are going to have a knock-on effect on everybody.”
One electrician spoke of the solidarity they have received from students while another spoke about the importance of unity between public and private sector workers. A short meeting concluded with electricians blocking the Redcar entrance of the site. Traffic backed up around the roundabout.
Workers also stayed off the job at the Pembroke power station in Wales. Other sites to have walkouts included Stanlow in Ellesmere Port, Grangemouth in Scotland, Sellafield in Cumbria, West Burton in Nottinghamshire, Runcorn, Drax and Eggborough in north Yorkshire, Ferrybridge in west Yorkshire, Hinckley point in Somerset and Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire.
In Saltend workers on one project protested and in Liverpool 20 workers from the John Moores University site refused to work and joined a protest there. In London, up to 200 workers protested at the Farringdon Crossrail construction site.
The electricians are campaigning to stop building bosses tearing up their national JIB agreement and cutting wages by up to 35 percent. Agencies are already recruiting the new grade of “installers” in preparation for the introduction of the new contracts.
Many of the workers protesting aren’t covered by the JIB agreement but are covered by the “blue book” national agreement instead.
One scaffolder said, “Our bosses are pushing through a pay freeze for us and pay cuts for the sparks.
“They are coming for us all, so we all have to fight back together.”
Via: 
The ‘Get Britain Building’ initiative will focus on ‘shovel ready’ construction sites where work has stalled.
The government is aiming to build an additional 450,000 new homes by 2015.
Developers will compete for funds and building work on selected schemes could start next July.
It is hoped that up to 3,200 of the proposed new properties will be affordable homes and that the initiative will support up to 32,000 jobs.
The initiative is part of the new government housing strategy, also launched today, which includes:
A scheme worth hundreds of millions of pounds to underwrite a small percentage of mortgages for new-build homes. It is designed to reduce the size of a deposit, particularly for first-time buyers, by shifting the loan-to-value ratio. Banks are currently demanding deposits of up to 20% of the value of a property from first-time buyers.
An extra £50m on top of the £100m from this year’s budget towards an initiative to refurbish empty homes, mainly in deprived areas. Andrew Stunell, the Liberal Democrat communities minister, has said there are two years’ supply of homes locked up in empty property.
In a foreword to the government’s new housing strategy, Cameron and Clegg say: “By the time we came to office, house building rates had reached lows not seen in peace time since the 1920s. The economic and social consequences of this failure have affected millions.
“That lack of confidence is visible in derelict building sites and endless For Sale signs. It is doing huge damage to our economy and our society, so it is right for government to step in and take bold action to unblock the market.
“With this strategy we will unlock the housing market, get Britain building again, and give many more people the satisfaction and security that comes from stepping over their own threshold. These plans are ambitious – but we are determined to deliver on them.”
Via:
Harsco has provided a variety of Self Climbing Formwork (SCF) systems, plus MANTO
