Structured products

Scaffolding is central to the safe construction of most major building projects.

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The equipment and safety standards for building at height have been a discussion point this summer following a spate of accidents.

Three on-site deaths linked to the collapse of scaffolding in Sharjah caught the attention of national media, while the deaths of four workers at the Ansar Mall when their maintenance cradle collapsed was attributed to the fact that they were not wearing safety harnesses.

Scaffolding work is perhaps the most precarious element of construction, with workers occasionally hundreds of feet off the ground on temporary structures.

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Industry initiatives to improve the awareness of safety at height have led to a healthy debate as to where the main responsibility lies, along with discussions about the origin of safety rules: industry-wide generic legislation against management-focused schemes.

At ConstructionWeek’s ‘Building at Height… Safely’ conference in Dubai in May, panelists concluded that a balance needed to be struck between generic guidelines and those directly implemented by a project’s management.

Mark Warrington, of the Al Ain Municipality for Atkins, said: “To answer the question as to whether it needs to be prescriptive or implemented from a management perspective, the answer is both. There have to be guidelines and I think it has to be tailored to the region.”

Basic scaffolding comprises galvanised steel (or aluminium) vertical ‘standards’ and horizontal ledgers. There are also ‘transoms’, which rest across the parallel ledgers so that the walkway resembles a ladder laid flat (before the timber boards are placed on top). The whole structure rests on a square base plate to spread the load.

Scaffolding firms constantly need to promote safety standards due to these inherent dangers. Mizra Nadeem Baig, general manager at Ajman-based KHK Scaffolding & Formwork, explains that the scaffolding needed when pouring concrete for slabs and beams within each floor is designed by the company for the client and checked during operation.