SCAFFOLDING

June 2000 Cranes & Access 25

▲

We all know what scaf-folding looks like: aspindly perpendicularclimbing-frame ofmetal sticks bolted

together with rough timber planks clampeddown to provide a platform for the opera-tives who will use it. Except that elsewherein Europe the average scaffolding is lessspindly and doesn’t go in for rough timberplanks with quite the same enthusiasm.That is because they use scaffolding moresparingly and when they do use it, it is usu-ally a neat, clean system scaffold.

System scaffolding simply has not

It seems rather odd to think that the UKconstruction industry is both the largest user ofscaffolding in Europe andthe least sophisticated.David Taylor looks at why we don’t usesystem scaffolding.

people aren’t too keen onlooking at the long term.The second is the ques-tion of labour. In theUK, labour has alwaysbeen plentiful and fairlycheap compared with theContinent”, says MrKeevill.

No doubt, the average UK scaffoldingsub-contractor is loathe to invest in a rela-tively expensive labour-saving systemwhen there’s no shortage of labour. MrKeevill thinks this is short-sighted, sincejust about everyone is predicting a skills

SystemScaffolding

Innovativeuse of

Layher’sSpeedyScafframe and

Allroundmodular

systems by EAScaffolding of

Luton

caught on in the UK to anything like theextent that it has on the Continent – atleast, not yet. Traditional tube-and-fittingscaffolding therefore remains a very Britishphenomenon. Like bricklaying and car-pentry, scaffold erection is one of the greatBritish building trades. It requires skill; itrequires training; and it requires lots ofmanpower.

Bastion of tradition“The UK is the last great bastion of tube-and-fitting” sighs Paul Keevill, managingdirector of system scaffold manufacturerLayher UK. His company, German-owned and one of the world leaders in sys-tem scaffolding, has made steady headwayin the UK over the past decade but, as MrKeevill freely admits, he’s fighting anuphill battle against traditional scaffolding.

“There are two main reasons for that, Isuppose. One is the fear of investment. It’sexpensive to switch to a new system, and

SystemScaffolding

The original specification for thisproject at Newmarket Racecourse wasfor traditional tube-and-fittingscaffolding, but MITIE suggested amixture of the Cuplok system, MITIEaluminium lattice beams and sometraditional tubes and fittings. Theresult was that five people tooktwelve days to erect the scaffolding –half the normal time.

SCAFFOLDING

26 Cranes & Access June 2000

shortage in UKconstruction within

the next five years.“The industry will even-

tually be forced to adopt differentmethods if it can’t get the skills”, hesays.

Layher’s system scaffold iscalled Allround, a modular systemwhich first appeared during themid-1970s. According to MrKeevill, Allround is “the world’smost popular” system scaffold.“It’s very adaptable and flexible”,assures Mr Keevill; “anything youcan do with ordinary scaffoldingyou can also do with Allround”.

Third generationHe describes Allround as a “third-generation” system – moreadvanced and refined than some

of the other leading systemswhich have been around atleast as long as Allround.

Mr Keevill probably hasin mind two well-known names in Britishscaffolding when he says that. SGB andKwikform have long dominated the UKscaffolding scene and both – rather ironi-cally – developed system scaffolds in theearly 1970s.

This raises an oddparadox: how come theUK is still dominated bytube-and-fitting scaffold-ing when the two UKmarket leaders pioneeredsystem scaffolds almost30 years ago?

Mr Keevill believesthat when systems firstappeared, there was great enthusiasm bothhere and overseas for the perceived bene-fits they offered. “Back in the ‘60s and ‘70sthere was lots of interest in systems. Onthe Continent that movement persistedbut in the UK it died a death”.

Peter Bond, marketing manager withSGB, agrees that the initial burst of inter-est died away very quickly. “Cuplok [theSGB modular system scaffold] came ontothe market in 1974. It went straight into

THE USER’S PERSPECTIVE

Harry Beale is a project manager with Midlands-based contractor ThomasVale. With over 30 years’ experience in the industry, he has used most typesof scaffolding. His verdict on system scaffolds is that they are excellent on the

right site, but they will never replace traditional tube-and-fitting methods.“I recently used Kwikstage on a hospital project and it was fantastic. But there we

had a good level site with concrete floors laid throughout. On a normal site youdon’t always have that and traditional scaffolding is more flexible.”

He also cites a recent job at Malvern Girls’ College where he used SGB’s Cuploksystem which he describes as “very, very useful”.

But Mr Beale likes his scaffolding to fit the job, and he compares tube and fittingmethods to a bespoke suit while system scaffolds are the off-the-peg option. “Withsystems you are limited to 300 mm lifts [the increment by which the scaffold level canbe adjusted]. They can’t do all that traditional scaffolding can”, he says.

Mr Beale’s opinion might be borne of experience, but Ray Johnson, director oftraining firm Safety & Access says he’s heard all the “clichés about needing a flatsurface and not being able to adapt to the site”.

“They recently refurbished Notre Dame cathedral in Paris using a system scaffold.If it works on that building, it’ll work anywhere”, he says.

Systemscaffolding

can be usedin almost anysituation – in

this caseKwikstage

fromKwikform is

in use

Kwikstage from Kwikforw isone of the market leaders

▲

Keycomponents of

the Kwikstagesystem from

Kwikform

▲

SCAFFOLDING

June 2000 Cranes & Access 27

the SGB contracting organisation, but ithasn’t replaced traditional tube and fittingto any real extent...it has taken time tocome through”, says Mr Bond.

That is a considerable understatement.Mr Bond admits that, in fact, Cuplok hasonly really started to take off during thepast five years. Companies like SGB andKwikform are of course still deeplyinvolved in the tube-and-fittings game –and who can blame them, since the marketdemands it?

“Scaffolders are still influenced by theapparent romance of traditional tube-and-fitting scaffolding”, says Mr Bond. Theyhave pride in their skill and are loathe tosee themselves superseded by new systemswhich require minimal skill to erect.

become a fixture of British construction.Safety and training are vital elements, andit is illegal for anybody to erect a scaffoldunless they are fully trained. “It’s the lawof the land: you can’t use any kit unlessyou can prove the guy’s competent to doso”, says Ray Johnson, director ofNottingham based Safety & Access.

And there’s the rub: there is hardly anytraining provision in the UK solely for sys-tem scaffold erection.

Mr Johnson claims to be one of only acouple of firms which offers dedicatedtraining in the erection of system scaffoldsin the UK (a claim which, incidentally, isbacked up by SGB’s Peter Bond).

“It’s true, you don’t need so much skillto erect a system scaffold, and it requires alot less training to learn than traditionalscaffolding. But you can’t just tell a noviceto go and put up a system scaffold and

For Peter Bond, thisis a cause of some irrita-tion. Like Paul Keevillat Layher, he believes inthe future of systemscaffolding.

“All the argumentsare so well establishednow, that when peoplesay system scaffolding’snot as adaptable, that’sjust their ignorance”,says Mr Bond. “About97 per cent of scaffold-ing on the Continent ismodular nowadays. It’snot that they’re usingdifferent systems toours, it’s just that they make their’s workand we don’t.”

Lack of trainingThe more you look at the UK scaffoldmarket, the more our reluctance to adoptsystem scaffolds makes sense. Quite whyBritain should use so much more scaffold-ing per head of population than any of itsEuropean neighbours is open to debate,but it probably has much to do with ourhistorical suspicion of pre-fabrication andsystem building and our continuedreliance on traditional brick and block-work. We need to get workers up to thebuilding face, whereas many continentalbuildings are modular and whole walls canbe lifted into place by crane.

Tube and fitting scaffolding has thus

even a fully trained traditional scaffoldershould be trained before erecting a systemscaffold”, says Mr Johnson.

Even so, the prerequisite scaffoldingtraining course in the UK is theConstruction Industry Scaffolders RecordScheme (CISRS) managed by theNational Access and ScaffoldingConfederation (NASC), formerly theNational Association of ScaffoldingContractors, and operated by theConstruction Industry Training Board.This course is almost entirely concernedwith tube and fitting scaffolding. If youroperatives are going to have to obtain thisqualification before being allowed nearany sort of scaffold, one of the main bene-fits of system scaffolding – its low skillsrequirement – is effectively cancelled out.

This theory is backed up – to a degree –by Brian Houston, director of Scottish sys-tem scaffolding manufacturer Turner +8and chairman of the NASC’s trainingcommittee. He explains that the CISRS

SGB has beenone of the

pioneers ofsystem

scaffolding

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SCAFFOLDING

June 2000 Cranes & Access 29

▲ course has been running for about 30years and is the industry standard for scaf-folders. It leads to an NVQ Level 2 (Basic)or NVQ Level 3 (Advanced) qualificationand is essential for any scaffolding erector.

“There is no system scaffold training inthe Record Scheme course, except in pass-ing”, he agrees. “But we are developingmore training and hope to introduce ageneric course for system scaffolding inthe latter half of this year”.

System scaffolding is designed to beeasy and flexible to use – illustrated isHaki’s Universal system which can mixscaffold boards and system boards

This will still formpart of the existingRecord Scheme, and it islikely to be some time yet before anentirely separate course for systems isavailable. That, says Mr Houston,depends on the level of demand from theindustry and on the willingness of trainingproviders – just like the contractors them-selves – to make the substantial investmentin equipment. ■

1 Base Jacks

2 Standards

3 Ledger Beams

4 Transoms

5 Guard rail frame

6 Inter Transom

9 Stage brackets – 1,2,3 boards wide

The Sprintsystem from

SGB

Sorting out the systems

System scaffolding is so calledbecause it is designed to utilise asmall number of standardised

components which can be combinedaccording to a systematic pattern toprovide the required access solution.

The term could equally be applied totraditional tube-and-fitting scaffoldingwhich is also made up of standardcomponents (tubes, clamps, boards)and can be regarded also as a system.But whereas tube-and-fitting is built uplaboriously from scratch every time,system scaffolds are essentially in kitform, allowing fast and easy erection.

There are two main types of systemscaffold:● MODULARMost of the system scaffolds available inthe UK are of the modular type. Theyusually comprise horizontal memberswith connecting nodes at regularintervals (typically 500 mm). Verticalmembers are quickly slotted into placeat these node points and secured with awedge or cam lock.● FRAMEAlthough less common in the UK thanmodular systems, frame scaffolds areactually the most common type ofsystem scaffold world-wide. SGB’s PeterBond estimates that as much as 80 percent of the world market comprisesframe systems. Frames usuallyincorporate a decking componentwhich fulfils a structural role, rather thansimply providing a working platform asin traditional scaffolding. The advantageof this is that individual bays can belonger and the structure can be less“dense”. The disadvantage is thatframes are less adaptable than eithertraditional or modular systems.