Loughborough University Access Scaffolding Research Questionnaire (1 Viewer)

David Girling

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Hello, my name is David and I'm a researcher in the Civil Engineering department at Loughborough University. The department has been undertaking research into the 'Design and control of access scaffolding'. To assist this research the attached questionnaire has been developed to help answer some of the research questions. It would be most helpful and appreciated if you could forward it to any persons within your organisation who are either involved in the design of access scaffolding or the on site control and checking of scaffolding.

To complete the questionnaire simply open the attachment in Microsoft Word, fill in the appropriate check/ text boxes and email back to cvdjg@lboro.ac.uk
It should take no longer 10mins to complete.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could respond by Friday 20th April.

Please send email responses to: cvdjg@lboro.ac.uk

All information gathered will be treated in the strictest confidence and will not passed onto any third parties.

I would like to thank you for you cooperation and assistance and look forward to receiving you completed questionnaires.

Copies of the completed report can be made available upon request
 

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Hi David, I have already filled in your questionnaire but did wonder why I got it in the first place and why are you carrying out this research.

I hope you don't mind but I already posted it on the forum a couple of weeks back to let someone have a look.
 
Your looking at scaffold design and never mentioned BS5975?
 
Your looking at scaffold design and never mentioned BS5975?
A fair point, it has been discussed in the research project but it was my understanding that BS5973 covered scaffolding, in its broadest sense, with access scaffolding being a large part of that. BS5975 was for temporary and false work design, so the scaffolding design in it was for false work, which from the information I collected said it was works that support the permanent works structurally. The focus of this research was looking at access scaffolding not structurally supporting.

If my understanding is wrong please let me know. Also feel free to send me any points or thoughts you have to the email address on the questionnaire any feed back that can be gathered from the guys that work with scaffold every day can only benefit the research.
 
And the point of the research is?
 
David,

I would steer well clear of 5973 references as it was withdrawn quite a while ago now... therefore all your responses to 6.1 should be 'not applicable'.

5975 covers all aspects of temporary works including all scaffolding, most importantly 5975 covers the management and control of temporary works and gives guidance on complying with CDM 2007.

I will complete and return the form for you.
 
And the point of the research is?
I'm a final year student doing an MEng in Civil Engineering. This research project is my final year project. I work in a Consulting Structural Engineering office in East Anglia and the topic of scaffolding was suggest to me by my boss, who does the scaffold and temporary works designs for the office.

He suggested that the withdrawal of BS5973 and replacing it with BS EN12811 caused significant problems with the scaffolding community, and that there some other problems that affected the industry as a whole.

The aim of the research is to establish what the potential problems were/are and see how and what the industry does or has done, to deal with these problems.
 
The aim of the research is to establish what the potential problems were/are and see how and what the industry does or has done, to deal with these problems.


The industry has been put back probably 20 years because of the need by supposedly knowledgable people to interfere with something that served us all perfectly well, BS5973.

Because of the changes, jobs that were being erected 5, 10, 20 + years ago, now require a design drawing unless it is a "basic" scaffold.

This has added unecessary expense, time wasted and confusion.


This is my own personal opinion and there are others that may see the changes as a good thing.

I do know that a majority of people on this forum object to the changes being forced upon the industry without consultation
 
Dass,

The sad thing is, the whole construction industry in the UK was consulted about the introduction of 12811-1 back around 2000 or 2001. "We" as industry professionals didn't respond.. I think only two people commented on the 12811-1 proposal at the time (Peter Pallet and someone else), I don't know why.. maybe it wasn't publicised enough, but the fact it, we were consulted.

Being put back 20 years? Hardly.. TG20:08 is a copy (95%) of 5973.

You could build less without a design to 5973 than you can to TG20.. don't believe me? Read the codes.. I promise you that is the case. Example: you could not build a scaffold with 2 inside boards to 5973, it wasn't included, you can to TG20, those options are in table 1.

The simple fact is this, now TG20 is enforced (by the HSE, main contractors and clients). 20 years ago 5973 wasn't enforced. 10 years ago it was enforced a little.. but not really. The emergence and precedence of health & safety in the industry over the last 10 years has forced people to become aware of the codes.. basically as they need to cover their ar*e. So now they require scaffolds to TG20/SG4/5975 whereas before they were happy to let you get on with it... "ignorance is bliss!"

Now Im NOT saying we should be designing all these little towers and birdcages, fact is, a decent scaffolder can go out and build them just fine.. but that's not the point I'm making... I just can't let people think that just cos the codes changed suddenly we need a design, everything else remaining the same except 5973 still in existence, you would still need the designs.

B.
 
BMB,
I appreciate your points and no doubt you are correct. In all honesty I was probably letting off some steam at the wrong time and possibly about different things.
All in all, our industry has changed over the last 5-10 years and I wouldn't say it was for the better.
SG4 has had several updates for what seems like change for changes sake. We now have the infamous scaff-step which can actually be more dangerous to use than not using it at all.
Every 6 months there seems to be some other piece of guidance or changes to legislation. Every new thing seems to make the job harder, not always safer and it usually costs money
 
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