Dimensions
What is a platform width?
Platform width is the working width of a scaffold platform, usually expressed as a number of boards. It follows from the duty the scaffold is built for.
Use this diagram+
Free to use on your own site, in training material or in a course handout, as long as the credit link stays on it. Paste this where you want the diagram to appear.
<figure>
<img src="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/platform-width/diagram.svg" alt="platform width — scaffold diagram from ScaffoldOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
<figcaption>
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/platform-width">What is a platform width?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk">ScaffoldOptix</a>
</figcaption>
</figure>Width is set when the transoms go in, because the transoms fix the distance between the inner and outer standards. A scaffold's board count per lift is a decision taken early rather than adjusted later.
Heavier duties need wider platforms, because the work involves material that has to sit somewhere as well as people who have to move past it.
A platform narrowed by stored material is narrower than it was designed to be, which is the commonest way a compliant width stops being one.
What goes wrong on site
- Material stored on a platform, leaving less passing width than the design assumed.
- Boards removed for access, reducing the effective width.
- Width chosen to suit available material rather than the duty.