How long is a piece of string....?
The basic answer is it all depends on the type of lift being erected. But it used to be 8ft/10ft per target hour with 10 boards per hour extra above the first boarded platform. The target hourly rate was usually quite low, if your average hourly rate was a tenner then your target rate would be a fiver (2:1 ratio)
I know I'm going to ramble on with this but...
The AVERAGE output for a 2 man gang is approximately 10 metres every hour, complete with boards and double guardrails for a base lift and 12 - 15 metres per hour up to the 4th lift or until top out when it will drop back down to the base lift value again.
But before you apply that to an 8 hour day they are only really productive for 5 to 6 hours of the day, the other hours are taken up with breaks, smokes, nattering, walking to the job, wash up etc etc.
So if the production only consists of 5 hours inthe AVERAGE day. That would equate to 50 metres for a 2 man gang on the base lift and upto 60 - 75 metres on the 2nd/3rd.
Easyfix/Readylock will increase the production by 15% and a system scaffold by 50%.
As regards to a rate, your average hourly pay out rate to a scaffolding gang would be used i.e. chargehand = £120/day and top hand = £100 per day = gang pay out of £220.00
Therefore the target rate is £220.00 divided by 50 metres for base lift = £4.40per metre run and £220 divided by 60 metres for 2nd and 3rd = £3.67 per metre run.
On top of this we have on costs (EL & PL, NI contribution, PPE, holiday stamp etc) typically this amounts to 40% increase.
From this we can easily do an example.
Take a typical detached house 3 lifts (hips ends so no table lifts) 10 metres frontage 12 metres side.
10m + 12m + 10m + 12m + returns one way at 4 no. @ 1.5metres = 50 metre run
so base lift 50 metres x 4.40 = £220.00
2nd lift 50 metres x 3.67 = £183.50
3rd lift 50 metres x 3.67 = £183.50
total = £587.00 plus 50% to dismantle = £880.50
add on costs @ 40% = £1232.70
< 4 weeks hire period (50% Labour Return) = £2465.40 (16.44 per metre run)
4 - 8 weeks hire period (45% LR) = £2737.78 (18.25 per metre run)
8 - 12 weeks hire period (40% LR) = £3081.75 (20.55 per metre run)
Of course the more productive you can make your operatives will reduce this metre run rate and still give you the required margin to have a profitable business.
I hear of companies in at £12 per metre run on housing sites and stating they are making money...well yeah they are if they dont believe in paying for their gear and replacing it, and they dont service it and their trucks are on their last legs and they dont believe in training for the lads.
