The two biggest problems when it comes to scaffolding are people removing ties and using it unfinished. The former can lead to an unstable structure and potentially a collapse, the latter to falls from height.

SGB has devised a new internal system to counter these problems. It consists of three tags. Scaffolders use a white tag with red writing saying ‘Danger Incomplete Scaffolding’ as soon as a scaffold goes up and at all access points; a green ‘Scaffold Inspection Record Tag’ goes on once the completed scaffold has been signed off; then yellow tags saying ‘Do Not Remove This Scaffold Tie Or Tag’ go on every single tie.

It is the yellow tags which differentiate SGB’s system from proprietary products such as Scafftag. They allow a quick visual inspection by the main contractor’s site manager to check that no ties have been removed.

‘Ties are usually placed in regular, rectangular patterns, so anyone can look up and see whether all the yellow tags are still there. It can be quite hard to see the ties themselves,’ says SBG group safety officer Neil Murray

SGB will use the system in all of the 13 countries in which it operates, which is why it made more sense to invent its own system rather than adapt Scafftag, which is a UK system.

‘It’s not rocket science,’ admits Murray. ‘It’s about communication.

I don’t want anything to happen to scaffold when we are on site, or when we are not on site.’

Source

Construction Manager