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Bryan You always have the bodgey scaffold of the week. This time I have one that must take the prize for the best scaffold of the week. What do you think? Casper This is a fine example of a galvanised tube-and-coupler hung spurred scaffold. Note the use of check couplers . A check coupler is a coupler fixed hard against a loadbearing coupler, to restrict or prevent slippage of that coupler along the tube. If you look closely you will see that the load-bearing hung standards and spurs in tension have check couplers fixed immediately below the right-angle couplers to which the lower lift of ledgers is fixed, whilst the spurs in compression supporting the outermost ledgers of the working lift have check couplers immediately above their connection to the lower ledgers, and immediately beneath their connection to the upper ledgers. The butt tubes near the base of the hung standards have also been provided with check couplers immediately below their connections. The butt tubes are there to provide support for the scaffolders during the initial erection and final dismantling of the scaffold. They are fixed to the standards before they are lowered into position and fixed to their overhead supports. Prior to and upon removal of the working platform, scaffolders erecting and dismantling a hung scaffold such as this should be equipped with safety harnesses and inertia reels securely anchored to the overhead supporting structure. In this case, as the scaffold is over water, the scaffolders would also require life jackets. In Australia, hung scaffolds from which a person or object could fall more than 4 metres must be erected, altered and dismantled by, or under the direct supervision of, persons holding the Advanced Scaffolding certificate of competency (Class code SA). For further information on recommended rules for this sort of scaffold, refer to Clauses 9.8, 10.6 and 10.9 of AS/NZS 4576, Guidelines for Scaffolding. |