Guidance for people running scaffolding firms.
Practical writing on TG20, inspections and competence, from the team building ScaffoldOptix.
Gang scheduling without a whiteboard
The yard whiteboard works until the person who understands it is off. Here is what a scheduling system has to do before it is an improvement rather than a second place to look.
Types of scaffolding: every arrangement, drawn and explained
Facade, birdcage, cantilever, truss-out, tower, gantry and the rest — what each type is, when it is used, and which ones always need a design. With a labelled diagram for every one.
Keeping the design and what is standing in step
A compliant design leaves the office and the site adapts to what it finds. The structure standing is frequently not the one that was signed off.
Choosing scaffolding software: what to look for
Most platforms sold to scaffolding contractors are generic field-service tools with the words changed. Here is how to tell, and what to ask before you sign.
Loading bays and getting materials onto a scaffold
A loading bay is a designed structure carrying a concentrated load — and the commonest cause of overload is nobody agreeing what goes on it.
Handover certificates and tags: getting the paperwork to match the scaffold
A tag says the scaffold is safe to use. A certificate says what was handed over, to whom, and to what loading. They should never disagree — and on plenty of sites they do.
Rolling out scaffolding software without losing a job
The software is rarely the long pole. What stretches a rollout is discovering how much of the firm's knowledge was never written down.
Seven-day scaffold inspections: what the regulations actually require
Before first use, after anything that could affect stability, and at intervals not exceeding seven days. What that means in practice, and what has to end up in writing.