Scaffold types
What is a bridge scaffold?
A bridge scaffold spans an opening — a doorway, an access route, a road — carrying scaffold over the gap on beams rather than on standards within it.
Use this diagram+
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<figure>
<img src="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/bridge-scaffold/diagram.svg" alt="bridge scaffold — scaffold diagram from ScaffoldOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/bridge-scaffold">What is a bridge scaffold?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk">ScaffoldOptix</a>
</figcaption>
</figure>Where standards cannot land, the scaffold is bridged across on beams, and the load that would have gone into those standards goes into the ones either side of the gap instead.
That concentration is the point to understand: bridging does not remove load, it moves it. The standards flanking the bridge carry more than they otherwise would, and are set out accordingly.
Beamed bridges of any size are designed rather than configured, and are a common reason an otherwise ordinary scaffold falls outside a compliance sheet.
What goes wrong on site
- Bridged on site to clear an obstruction without revisiting the design.
- Flanking standards not strengthened for the load the bridge transfers into them.
- Beams coupled with fittings not suited to the connection.