SCAFFOLDING AWARENESS

TRAINING COURSE

COURSE ITINERARY
Introduction & Course Aims.

The law and your responsibilities

Types of scaffolding.
Component identification & use..

Scaffolding terminology
Inspection of scaffolding.
Recording of inspections.
Reasons for collapses.
Course questionnaire

INTRODUCTION & COURSE AIMS

THE REASON FOR THIS COURSE IS
THAT THE WORK AT HEIGHT
REGULATIONS 2005 PLACES AN
IMPLICIT DUTY ON THOSE USING
SCAFFOLDING TO INSPECT AND
RECORD THE RESULTS OF THOSE
INSPECTIONS, BEFORE USE AND
WITHIN SEVEN DAYS.
THE AIM OF THE COURSE IS THAT
THOSE TAKING PART WILL HAVE
AN AWARENESS OF WHAT A LEGAL
SCAFFOLDING SHOULD BE THAT
THEY ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR

LEGISLATION
Health & Safety at Work Act 1974
Provision and Use of Work
Equipment Regulations 1998
Management of Health & Safety at
Work Regulations 1999
Work at Height Regulations 2005
Manual Handling Regulations 1992

Health & Safety at Work Act 1974

1.
2.
3.
4.

Places a duty of care on your employer, who

MUST;
Protect your health & safety and the health &
safety of others who they may not employ
this basic duty involves providing you with;
A SAFE PLACE OF WORK
A SAFE SYSTEM OF WORK
SAFE PLANT & EQUIPMENT
TRAINING, INFORMATION,
INSTRUCTION OR SUPERVISION
You have a duty of care to protect yourself &
others whilst at work;
You may be held liable for any harm you
cause to others at work;
Suppliers have a duty to supply equipment
that is safe to use, and to supply the relevant
information/instructions for safe and correct
use.

Provision & Use of Work Equipment

Regulations 1998

1.
2.

3.

These Regulations place duties on employers

& suppliers to provide equipment for use at
work which meets three basic criteria;
IT MUST BE FIT FOR USE (it must work)
IT MUST BE FIT FOR ITS INTENDED
PURPOSE
( it must do what you want it to do)
IT MUST COMPLY LEGALLY & MEET
ALL STANDARDS
The provision of instructions, information,
and training on the safe use of work
equipment or the provision of competent
supervision is a mandatory requirement
under these regulations!
If you find any work equipment unsafe or
inoperative you must not use it, you must
take out of service and inform your
supervisor.

Management of Health & Safety at Work

Regulations 1998
These Regulations place duties on Employers to carry
out Risk Assessments on all work activities which will
identify significant risks to peoples health & safety.
Hazards found during work activities which have the
potential to cause harm need to be removed if possible
or if this is not possible they must be controlled in
such a way as to reduce the likelihood of harm to the
lowest possible risk.
Safe systems of work are formulated from these risk
assessments usually in the form of method statements
which detail a safe method of work, the hazards
identified, the controlling provisions put in place to
protect workers and any residual risks for which
appropriate PPE will be issued and must be worn.
Employers are duty bound to Manage Health & Safety
in such a way as to prevent foreseeable accidents and
injuries to people in their employment and also people
not in their employment.
Workers who are to carry out working operations
covered by a method statement must follow the safe
method of work if this cannot be done then stop work!

Work at Height Regulations 2005

These regulations place an implicit duty on places
from where it may be possible to fall.
The overriding principal for employers to comply
with these regulations is to do all that is reasonably
Practicable to prevent anyone from falling.
The hierarchy of control for managing and selecting
equipment for work at height is:
1.
2.

3.

Avoid work at height whenever possible.

Use work equipment or other measures to
prevent falls where they cannot avoid
working at height.
Where they cannot eliminate the risk of a fall,
use work equipment or other measures to
minimise the distance and consequences of a
fall should one occur.

Work at Height Regulations 2005

These regulations place an implicit duty on places
where it may be possible to fall.
Fall prevention measures include the provision of;
1.
Top hand-rail no less than 950mm;
2.
Toe boards on all open edges from which objects
can fall;
3.
Toe board minimum height 150mm;
4.
Maximum gap between the top of the toe board
and any guardrail 470mm
this usually means double guardrails are
employed, but other suitable protection can
replace the middle rail such as a substantial mesh
panel, but the requirement for this protection to
remain in place for the life of the working
platform must be enforced by management.
5.
Minimum width of a working platform must be
adequate for the work to be carried out but not
less than 600mm for persons only, if depositing
materials then minimum width must be 800mm.
6.
Maximum vertical climb to a working platform
must not exceed 9mtrs (rest deck)

Manual Handling Regulations 1994

These regulations place a duty on employers to
carry out risk assessments on activities which may
involve manually handling loads.
The risks of manual handling injuries must be
reduced by;
Removing the need to manually handle loads;
Redesigning the work place or equipment or
redesigning the working process to reduce
manual handling operations;
Reducing size, weight, shape or centre of gravity
of loads;
Making available mechanical means so loads can
be moved safely;
If loads have to be moved by human effort the
employer must provide manual handling training so
that people know how to lift & move loads correctly
so as to reduce the risk of a manual handling injury.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
The three main pieces of legislation /
codes of practice governing the use
of scaffolding are:
Work at Height Regulations 2005
BS EN12811-1
Regulation 12 (10) - WAHR Inspections are required by competent
persons:
Training.
Knowledge.
Experience.
Under supervision.

10

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS
Regulation 12 - WAHR - Inspections are
required on all scaffolding from which a
person can fall :
Before use
After substantial alteration

After adverse weather or occurrence

Within every seven days

11

TYPES OF SCAFFOLDING
INDEPENDENT
BIRDCAGE

PUTLOG
TOWER
SYSTEM

Kwikstage
Cuplok
Alloy towers

12

INDEPENDENT

13

BIRDCAGE

14

PUTLOG

15

TOWER

16

SYSTEM
SCAFFOLDING
There are numerous types of
system scaffolding on the market and
they all have their good points and bad
points. The three types of system
scaffolding we are concentrating on in
this course are probably the most
popular:

Alloy Tower

Kwikstage

Cuplok

17

ALLOY TOWER

18

KWIKSTAGE

7
1

2
5

3
6

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IDENTIFICATION
EXERCISE ANSWERS
1.

2 metre standard.

2.

3.54 metre diagonal brace.

3.

1.2 metre transom.

4.

2.4 metre Steelstage / battens.

5.

2.4 metre ledger.

6.

Collar jack.

7.

1.2 metre Steelstage / toeboard.

8.

2.4 metre Guardrail.

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KWIKSTAGE NODE
POINT DETAIL

21

CUPLOK

Fig 1

Fig 3
Fig 2

22

SCAFFOLDING
COMPONENTS
Base Plate
Brick Guard
Double Coupler
Girder Clamp

Joint Pin
Putlog Coupler
Reveal Pin
Scaffold Boards
Sleeve Coupler
Swivel Coupler

23

BASE PLATE

Must be 150mm x 150mm with a pin

centrally positioned and be placed
under every standard at all times.

24

BRICKGUARD

25

DOUBLE COUPLERS

These are load bearing couplers or fittings

which must be used for ties at all times.
26

GIRDER CLAMP

Used to tie
scaffolds to steel
girders, must
always be used
in pairs.

27

JOINT PIN / SPIGOT

Used to butt join

scaffold tubes
end to end,
should not be
used in ledgers
or sway braces.
28

PUTLOG COUPLERS

Mills hook

Wrapover

Used to fasten
intermediate transoms
to ledgers, non load
bearing fitting.
29

REVEAL PIN

Used to fix tubes between two

opposing faces as part of a reveal tie

30

SCAFFOLD BOARDS

31

BOARDED PLATFORMS
Faults that should be checked for when
inspecting a boarded platform are:
Oversail no less than 50mm.
Oversail no more than 150mm.
No gaps in working platform.
Correctly spaced transoms.

Max.1.2m for visually graded

boards.
Boards fixed to prevent movement.
Not Damaged.

No undue cracks.
Not contaminated.
Not banded or Scaffplated.
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SLEEVE COUPLER

Should always be used to butt join

ledgers and sway bracing in
preference to joint pins.
33

SWIVEL COUPLER

Used to connect any two tubes at any angle

other than 90, often used with a small butt
to splice joints which require staggering.
34

SCAFFOLDING TERMINOLOGY
Bay. - Distance between standards.
Brace - Tube at an angle to give stability.
Guardrail - To stop persons falling.
Ledger - Tube supporting transoms.
Lift - Distance between ledgers.
Soleboard - placed under baseplate to spread
weight on soft ground.
Standard - Upright tube.
Ties - Means of fixing scaffold to structure.
Toeboard - Upstand to prevent tools falling.

Transom - Tubes to support platform.

Working platform - set of boards to work on.
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SCAFFOLDING TERMINOLOGY
There are three types of bracing used in
scaffolding, with three distinct functions and they
are:

Ledger brace

- to add rigidity to it.

Sway brace

- to stop it from swaying.

Plan brace

- to stop it twisting.

The foundations or base of a scaffold is of vital

importance and must be adequate to carry the
weight of the scaffold and any load to be placed
on it. The three main criteria when inspecting the
base of a scaffold is:
Firm and level base.
Base plates at all times.
Soleboards when required.
36

SCAFFOLDING TERMINOLOGY

37

SCAFFOLD INSPECTION
All scaffolding must be inspected at the
four times previously mentioned, by a
competent person. This inspection must be
completed before the end of the working period
and after completing the inspection they must
provide the report or a copy of it to the person
responsible for the scaffolding, within 24 hours.
This report must include the following:
Name & address of the person on whose behalf
the inspection was carried out.

Location of the scaffold inspected.

Date & time of inspection.
Details of any faults identified.
Any action taken to rectify those faults.
Any further action required.
Name & position of person making the report.

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39

REASONS WHY SCAFFOLDS

COLLAPSE
Constructed with inadequate materials.
Inadequate for the intended purpose.
Erected by incompetent people.
Placed on inadequate foundations.

Overloaded.
Undermined.
Altered by incompetent people.
Hit by machinery or shock loaded.
Subjected to excessive wind loads by being
sheeted, whether flexible or solid.
Not regularly inspected by competent people
40

TYING SCAFFOLDS TO
STRUCTURES

Adequate stability for most scaffolds is

achieved by tying them to the structure, these
ties need to be positive two way ties. They are
usually constructed from tubes & load bearing
fittings in different configurations depending
on the type of structure being tied to. Any
scaffold which has been sheeted or debris
netted will require more ties than one without,
so no scaffold should be sheeted or debris
netted without consultation with the
scaffolding company. Any structure used to
tie scaffolding to must be strong enough to
take the weight and stress of the scaffolding
and any weight to be placed on it. Most
structures would be classed as normal facades
and would be tied using one of the five most
common methods of tying scaffolding which
are:
41

TYING SCAFFOLDS TO
STRUCTURES

Through Tie
Box Tie
Anchor Tie
Lip Tie
Raker Tie
Other methods used are:

Reveal Tie
Buttress ties.
Ties would usually start at the four metre
level then as a rule of thumb they would be
every other lift and every other standard.
42

TYING SCAFFOLDS TO
STRUCTURES

43

TYING SCAFFOLDS TO
STRUCTURES

44

TYING SCAFFOLDS TO
STRUCTURES
ANCHOR TIES

45

TYING SCAFFOLDS TO
STRUCTURES
LIP TIES

RAKER
TIE
The maximum length of
raker is 21feet or 6 metres
because that is the longest
scaffold tube and they
should not be jointed for
rakers.

46

TYING SCAFFOLDS TO
STRUCTURES

REVEAL TIE

47

LADDERS

TIED AT TOP AROUND STILES.

TIED IN MIDDLE (WHEN

NECESSARY.

FIRM & LEVEL FOOTING.

GOOD CONDITION.

TOP RUNG LEVEL OR JUST

ABOVE STEPPING OFF POINT.

4 : 1 RATIO (APPROX. 75)

NOT PAINTED.

PROJECTING AT LEAST 1.05M

OR WITH SUITABLE HANDHOLD.

48

HAZARDS WITH
LADDERS

UNSECURED.

OVER BALANCING.

SLIPS ON RUNGS.

DEFECTIVE.

FALSE STEPS.

49

INTERFERENCE

TIES REMOVED.

PLATFORM BOARDS REMOVED.

GUARDRAILS REMOVED.

BRICKGUARDS REMOVED

TOEBOARDS REMOVED.

STRUCTURAL PARTS REMOVED.

UNDERMINED.

50

PROTECTING THE PUBLIC

CAP TUBES BELOW HEAD HEIGHT
PROTECT ALL SHARP EDGES
HIGHLIGHT HAZARDOUS TUBES
AMPLE HEADROOM
PROTECTION FAN OR GANTRY
SIGNS AND BARRIERS.
SHEETING / DEBRIS MESH.
51

PROTECTING THE PUBLIC

52

PROTECTING THE PUBLIC

53

PRE - ERECTION CHECKS

Points to check before allowing the
erection of any type of scaffolding:

Is the surface to be erected on firm and

level and will it take the weight of the
scaffolding and everything to be placed
on it.
Are there sufficient materials to
complete the scaffold or the part to be
erected.
Are the materials in good condition.
Is the access and egress suitable.

Are the persons erecting the scaffolding

competent & have they seen and
understood a risk assessment and if
required a method statement.
54

PRE - ERECTION CHECKS CONT.

On soft ground solepads or soleboards
must be used to spread the weight.
Any sole pad must be a minimum
length of 450mm (18).
On concrete or steel, base plates may
now be omitted.
At all times ladders must be used to
gain access to all levels of scaffolding.
Ladders should be placed at an angle
of 4 -1 (75) and should be tied at the
top.
Ideally ladder access towers should be
separate from the main scaffolding.

55

DISMANTLING PROCEDURES
Points to check before dismantling any
type of scaffolding:

Have any ties been removed?

Have any ledgers been removed?
Have any transoms been removed?
Have any braces been removed.
Have any other structural parts been
removed?
Is there any damage to the scaffolding?
Are there any changes to the ground
conditions?
Has the area been cordoned off with
barriers and signs to warn others?
56

DUTIES OF SCAFFOLDING

57

SCAFFTAG SYSTEM

58

SCAFFTAG SYSTEM

59

HANDOVER CERTIFICATE

This will show a scaffold is, Fit for use,

fit for purpose & will comply with all
legal requirements.
60

PROTECTION FROM
FALLS OF SCAFFOLDERS
Basic principles of SG4:10 Preventing Falls
From Scaffolding
Scaffolders will fit an advanced guardrail on
all lifts before accessing it, if this is not
possible they will follow these rules.
Scaffolders will wear harnesses at all times
while erecting, altering & dismantling
scaffolding.
Scaffolders will work on a three board wide
correctly supported platform.
Scaffolders will work behind a minimum of
a single guardrail protection.
If the two bullet points above can not be
followed and the scaffolders are at four
metres or above , then they will clip on their
harnesses to an adequate anchorage point
above head height or if not possible at foot
height or above.

61

SCAFFOLD INSPECTION QUESTIONNAIRE

Name: ---------------------------------------------- Date: ----------------------Company: -------------------------------------------------------------------------1)
a)
b)
c)
d)

Name the 4 instances when scaffold requires to be inspected?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2)
a)
c)
e)

On inspecting a ladder on a scaffold, what will you be looking for?

----------------------------------------- b) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- d) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- f) -----------------------------------------------

3)
a)
c)
e)

Give the 5 legal requirements of a working platform with dimensions

----------------------------------------- b) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- d) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

4)
a)
c)
e)

What are the 5 most common methods of tying scaffold?

------------------------------------------ b) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- d) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

5)

What type of fitting should you not use for butt joining ledgers & sway
braces?
------------------------------------ what should you use? ----------------------------

6)

What three checks should you be looking for at the base of a scaffold?

a)

------------------------- b) ---------------------------- c) -------------------------------

7)

What type of fitting or coupler must be used for tying scaffolds?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

62

8)

As a rule of thumb what should you be looking for in the spacing of ties?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

9)

Show allowable safe working loads and bay sizes for the following ?
BAY
SWL

a)

Very light duty

---------

----------

b)

General Purpose Scaffold

---------

----------

a)

Heavy duty

----------

----------

10)

What spacings for transoms for the following thickness of boards?

a)

38mm ------------------------------- b) 34mm ----------------------------------------

11)
a)
c)
e)

What faults would you be looking for when inspecting a boarded platform?
------------------------------------------ b) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- d) -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

12)

Explain the following scaffolding terminology?

a)
b)

Bay size:
Lift height:

13)

Explain the purpose of the following braces?

a)
b)
c)

Ledger brace:
Sway brace:
Plan brace:

14)

What is the maximum length of a raker tube and why?

15)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Give 5 precautions you should look for to protect members of the public?

a)
c)
e)

------------------------------------------ b) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- d) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- -------------------------------

63

16)

What must be done with a scaffold inspection report after the inspection has
taken place and by what time scale?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

17)

Although not a legal requirement what are the 3 benefits of asking for a
handover certificate?

a)
b)
c)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

18)

Using the Scafftag system, what is the weight allowable on a light duty
scaffold in either kilonewtons / kilograms or men & tools?

19)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Using the Scafftag system, what is the weight allowable on a heavy duty
scaffold in either kilonewtons / kilograms or men & equipment?

20)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Name 6 things which can contribute to scaffold collapses?

a)
c)
e)

--------------------------------------- b) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ d) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ f) ------------------------------------------------

MAXIMUM POINTS ACHEIVABLE:

--------------------

ACTUAL POINTS ACHIEVED:

--------------------

64

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ALL OF

OUR COMPETENCY TRAINING COURSES
PLEASE CONTACT:

Bob Robinson AIIRSM AIOSH

Proprietor
A1 Training & Safety
10 Trenholme Road,
Middlesbrough,
Cleveland,
TS4 2JX.
Tel/Fax: 01642 - 292178
Mob: 07790 675193

E- Mail:
info@a1trainingandsafety.gbr.cc
Web site: www.a1trainingandsafety.co.uk