Access Design & Safety Blog

No matter the size or nature of your scaffolding project, the safety and durability of the scaffold is essential. Sometimes supplementary couplers are used to ensure the safety and strength of a scaffolding structure. So, what exactly are supplementary check couplers and what do Eurocodes say about them?

In 2019, BSI produced a fully revised and updated version of BS 5975, the code of practice businesses are recommended to comply with for temporary works procedures as well as stress design of falsework & formwork on-site. The first major revision since 2011, this significant update has provided further recommendation and guidance for the safety and control surrounding a vast range of construction projects. New advice has been included, as well as several smaller updates to bring the standard up to scratch for modern-day purposes.

Roofing edge protection is equipment designed to protect against falls, most commonly used during the construction of residential or commercial buildings. It commonly consists of a toe board, and primary guard rail and secondary intermediate rail. The Edge Protection Federation describes its purpose as 'to prevent people or objects from falling to a lower level'. There are actually many different types of edge protection on the market, but there are regulations to be followed for different types of roof.

Access Design & Safety were shocked to hear about the recent scaffolding collapse in Reading town centre, which left three people requiring hospital attention. The incident occurred on Garrard Street at the site of the old Friars Walk Shopping Centre. Shortly before 11:15 on 1st August, large sections of the scaffolding came crashing to the ground.

The UK is looking ahead and pondering what will change following the expected departure from the European Union (EU). In many cases, there seem to be more question marks than answers. The construction sector is no different - business owners, managers and workers wish to know if their day-to-day duties will be altered in any way after the country finally departs from the EU.

No matter what the nature or size of the project you are working on, if the project requires scaffolding, it is essential that the design of your scaffolding follows certain requirements. This is to ensure that not only your scaffolding will be safe for workers to use, but also that your project can be completed in the most efficient way possible.

Although both interior and exterior scaffolding can provide a similar function, there may be significant differences in the considerations taken during design. Here we take a look at some of the key potential differences between interior scaffolding design and an exterior design.

Being a company that specialises in scaffolding design, there are many areas of Health & Safety that we deal with, including building regulations and scaffold regulations. Brexit has cast a cloud of uncertainty over many compliance issues in the UK, including Health & Safety regulations, so in this article we take a look at the post-Brexit landscape and pre-empt which rules could change.

Every scaffolding project is different and has its own set of unique requirements. As such, it can be difficult to determine at what stage of the scaffolding process design drawings should be completed. Unfortunately, there is no one-answer-fits-all solution to this question, but, in general, design drawings should be considered as early in the design process as possible. We explore the reasons for this and look at planning scaffolding in more detail below…

Whether for a commercial or domestic project, knowing how to construct scaffolding correctly can be difficult, as it is hard to know whether your scaffolding build needs a design. Even if your project seems relatively straight-forward and has no special requirements, a design may still be necessary. So, let's explore scaffolding design in more detail…