Scaffolding design is an essential, complex component of construction projects, providing engineered solutions for small home renovations to large commercial scaffolding projects. In this blog post, you will observe some fundamentals of scaffolding design, and discover how Inner City Scaffolding use this within our innovative solutions.
Understanding the different types of scaffolding
There are several types of scaffolding available depending on the application needed. Popular designs among many include Independent, Birdcage, Tower, Suspended, Bridged scaffolds and Cantilever-style arrangements in either traditional tube and fitting components, or unitised system scaffolding. It’s essential to understand the type of scaffolding needed before producing the design. Different types have various load capacities based on arrangement, therefore knowing this can vastly change the scaffolding design. Importantly and in many instances, the design can be identified as achievable by technical compliance, where-by Inner City Scaffolding can work through the fundamentals of TG20:21 and produce a compliance report for our operatives to work with, achieving the result in a simplified format i.e., right tool, right job.
Design Brief
To ensure clear communication between us and our clients, Inner City Scaffolding will request a design brief. This is so we fully understand the project and can ensure the wholescope and requirements of the temporary works are delivered in the most efficient, cost effective way. The design brief highlights all information in the project relevant to the designer such as location, the purpose of the structure and much more. Each design brief will be bespoke per project.
Design
Once a contract is agreed upon, where required Inner City Scaffolding will start to work on the unique scaffolding design. It is the designer’s duty to eliminate, reduce or control foreseeable risks. Where not possible to fully eliminate the risks, the designer must reduce or control them by engineering the risks out and provide suitable information about any remaining risks to any other duty holders. With the drawings, supporting calculations will be included and specifically referenced to the design.
Audit/Checking
Once the design is complete, it is important a secondary review is conducted by any relevant parties. Each design is subject to ‘checking’ by a suitably trained and competent person. This is to ensure:
- All applicable standards have been applied where appropriate.
- The design matches the design brief and provides a safe engineered solution.
- Intermediate construction stages (if applicable) have been detailed.
- The design and any other documents contain clear information that facilitates the safe erection and dismantling of the structure.
Accreditation
Inner City Scaffolding is dedicated to ensuring our services are industry relevant, and therefore keeping all our processes and accreditations up to date. Being a trade member of an association and subscribing to the latest NASC information, ensures we have relevant, up-to-date literature and methodology ensuring our design services meet the required compliance and health and safety criteria.
If you are interested in our design service, you can see examples here:
https://innercityscaffolding.co.uk/scaffolding-design/
You can read more about NASC here:
