Access Design & Safety Blog

Contract: Monster Slip and Slide

Contract: Northampton General Hospital.

Equipment: Tube & Fittings with 750 Alu Beams and Ubix 450 Deep System Roof.

Design Brief:

Provide design drawings for a full access scaffold and Ubix temporary roof over the Willow Ward at Northampton General Hospital. Complicated by having to bridge over adjacent and adjoining buildings and limited opportunities to tie to the main structure.

Contract: Edgbaston, Birmingham – £85m development of 375 apartments.

Equipment: Tube & Fittings with Pre-fabricated Transom Units + Alu Beams + Sheeting

Design Brief:

Provide design drawings for a full access scaffold with loading bays and high load hoist run-offs for this new building residential accommodation complex in central Birmingham.

Contract: Aston Hall, Aston Munslow – Grade II listed, stone and brick built manor house.

Equipment: Tube & Fittings + Alu Beams + Sheeting + UBIX System Roof

Design Brief:

Provide design drawings for a temporary roof and side protection over a former manor house. To be free standing with kentledge or anchored to ground.

Contract: Oxford University Press – Stone University Building. Built 1826-1832 

Equipment: Tube & Fittings + Alu Beams + System Roof

Design Brief:

Provide design drawings for a temporary roof to provide weather protection and access scaffold to the stone university building. Supporting scaffolds to be founded on grounds and bridged / cantilevered over the perpendicular parts of the building.

Contract: Weston Park Shifnal – 17^th Century Mansion

Equipment: Tube & Fittings + Alu Beams + C.I. Sheeting roof

Design Brief:

Provide drawings & calculations for a temporary roof to provide weather protection to lower-level roof of main building. Supporting scaffolds to be founded on top of the surrounding higher-level walls. Uplift forces to be restrained via window reveals.

Introduction

TG20 is a guide to good practice for tube & fittings scaffolds produced by the NASC. The latest version of this guidance TG20:21 builds on the previous version TG20:13. There are a number of differences between TG20:13 & TG20:21. Perhaps the biggest change is in the way the new guide is delivered. Previously TG20:13 was outlined in two physical books, the TG20:13 Operational Guide & the TG20:13 Design Guide. These were accompanied by the TG20:13 e-guide software for producing the TG20 compliance sheets, but the software was only licensed for use on one machine. For TG20:21 the Operational Guide, Design Guide & e-Guide software have all been incorporated into a subscription based online portal called the NASC e-Portal. This allows for several devices including computers, tablets & smart phones to access the guide with one subscription.

There are a number of changes within the guide itself & the e-Guide software has also been updated to allow TG20 compliance sheets for a wider range scaffolds. Below is a list of some of the changes that have been made. Although this list is not exhaustive, we have tried to include the most important changes. A full list of the changes are listed within TG20:21 itself.

Introduction

Whether work is taking place on a domestic or commercial property, one of the main considerations that clients have is whether scaffolding arrangements require a design. While the HSE has compiled a useful list of scaffold arrangements that
need a design prior to work taking place, it’s understandable that confusion
sometimes arises.

Historical practices throughout the scaffolding industry and documents which highlight when scaffolding needs a design – such as the TG20:21 guidance literature - often clash.

That’s not to say TG20:21 isn’t specific or prescriptive in regard to the requirements of scaffolding which can be erected without further design requirements – factors such as the estimated wind load, whether the scaffolding is netted/sheeted, where the scaffolding is located etc. are usually taken into consideration. Ultimately, your scaffold configuration could meet some or all of these criteria, but perhaps the ultimate guidance as to whether you need a design is to consider what your customer wants.

It’s possible to argue that certain scaffold configurations won’t require a design if it complies with the British Standard/TG20. In these circumstances a TG20:21 compliance sheet can be used instead of a full design. However, if your customer insists on a design, in most cases you’ll have no choice but to provide one. Most large-scale contractors won’t allow scaffolds to be erected on-site without a design. These designs often form a vital component of the contractors’ Health & Safety management – and furthermore, designs are useful to co-ordinate all tradespersons who may need to use the scaffold.

Did you know there is no guidance for temporary ramps in TG20?

The latest of the TG20 amendments, TG20:13, came out in 2014. It was created by the NASC (National Access & Scaffolding Confederation) and aims to impose a good, universal level of consistency in the use of tube and fittings scaffolds. Though it is not a statutory necessity, the TG20 guidelines are taken among contractors and scaffolders to be a core value of their trade. Not only this, following TG20 guidelines ensure that you comply with the Work at Heights Regulations 2005, which is a legal requirement. TG20 guidance covers an array of standard scaffolds such as tied independent access scaffolds, Loading bays, Internal birdcages and more, however TG20:13 does not cover all scaffolds. When it comes to temporary ramps there is no guidance within TG20:13 to fall back on, so a temporary ramp must be constructed from a bespoke design. Here is a quick rundown of some important aspects to consider.

In general, most scaffolds need to be tied to an existing permanent structure. There are exceptions where there is a necessity for a scaffold to be designed without any ties. Usually this involves adding buttress bays and may also include the need for counterweights. Most scaffolds, however, require some form of tying arrangement, whether that’s a wall, a column or exposed steelwork.