Above is a photo showing how we currently set scaffolding on slope conditions. I designed and fabricated the bottom section of scaffolding that works on all slope conditions we face in our business.

My name is Pat Thompson. I am a foreman of a construction crew working for a concrete specialty company. Most of the work that my company does is repairing deteriorated concrete on bridge abutments, piers, and concrete bridge beams, in the state of Pennsylvania.

I started years ago as a carpenter for a small residential home building company. During my years there, I had to at times set up scaffolding on different terrains and slope conditions. As a carpenter, I was always able to build something under the scaffolding to take up the unevenness of the terrain. And every time I set up scaffolding, I always thought to myself that there must be a better way, a different piece of equipment perhaps that already exists that can be used on various slope conditions.

After leaving the home building company to take the job I have now, I find myself setting up scaffold towers every day, most of the time on anything but level terrains underneath bridges. I began searching for scaffolding accessories that could be used on all-terrain conditions. I was not able to find any accessories that would solve this problem.

One day my crew and I began setting up a several scaffold towers on a very steep slope. This ended up taking two days to accomplish and a truck load of heavy oak planks to crib up all of the scaffold towers.

All those oak planks had to be hand carried from up on top of the bridge to down under the bridge where we needed to set up our scaffold towers. It takes a lot of extra time on steep slopes to get a scaffold tower in just the right spot, get it level, and then feel safe when working off a scaffold tower that has been cribbed up like this. After we completed the concrete repairs on the bridge at this location, we spent another day and a half carrying all those oak planks back up the hill to load them back on the truck all by hand.

I had had enough of this. If there are no scaffold accessories available to eliminate using all these oak planks, then it’s time I design and fabricate something that will make this part of the job easier and safer.

After some brainstorming, I came up with my own scaffolding accessory design and fabricated a number of these accessories for my company to use. All of my company’s crews are now using this accessory when setting up scaffold towers on various sloping conditions. This makes the activity of setting up scaffold towers much less time consuming and safer. My crew was always uneasy working off a scaffold tower that had 3 feet of oak plank cribbing underneath one or two legs of the scaffolding.

They always complained about how long it took and how hard it was to get it level until I handed them my first prototype accessory. “Here, try these and let me know what you think.” They loved it and now feel very safe when working off scaffolding on various sloping conditions.

And the best part is that it doesn’t take much time at all to get set up, which is good for the company as far as production costs.

I invite you to take a look at my scaffold tower accessory for all terrain conditions and let me know what you think about it. If you have ever struggled with the same things I mentioned, you will appreciate my idea.

For more information, please leave a comment on this site.

What is the most common component utilised in the construction industry today? As soon as this particular question was presented to a large group of people recently, most of the people who were not involved in the industry struggled to think of a reply. But if you mentioned the key clamp you would not be too far away from the truth of the matter. What is a key clamp? It’s employed in so many areas that we most likely neglect its existence. Without this, though, we may not be able to access buildings and other structures, store and keep different items, go shopping in a regular home improvement warehouse, use our motor vehicles, illuminate our own world or even play around a playground.

The modest key clamp is made of sturdy metal elements. Usually, because of the specific demands and prerequisites they are created from cast iron in accordance with a specific process and in accordance with a certain design. Fundamentally, the actual clamp itself is a metal housing within which a tube or pipe assembly, for instance handrails, will sit. The actual clamp is, consequently, essentially utilised to join various other elements or components together to establish a solid framework. Whenever you view a railing or a fence look closely and you will discover these specific clamps in use to hold almost everything together and also to ensure it is sturdy.

Whenever you look closely at it you will find that these clamps are to be seen almost everywhere. They are not only basically made to connect in a straight line. Any elbow joint, for example, functions as a corner element, even while other styles could be made to link a variety of components at one go. These kinds of specialised pipe clamps are featured in virtually any industrial construction you can possibly imagine. For instance, when you go into that home improvement warehouse the very next time you will see that it wouldn’t be possible to exhibit the thousands of items effectively and productively without having all those complicated shelving structures, all held in concert with these specific clamps.

Isn’t it amazing what we tend to take for granted inside our marvellously intricate world? Without such a humble creation as the clamp we simply wouldn’t be able to go about our everyday lives in the productive way in which we all do. The person who conceived these practical items seems to be lost in the mists of time, however in relation to a contribution to the present day world they simply can’t be overestimated. So, could we improve on the original design and come up with something which could be all the more contributory to modern society? Maybe it is time for that inventor within you to turn to your drawing board, to find out what can be done!

Hillside Scaffolding by Pat Thompson

 

Let’s say for instance you have a house located on the side of a hill and you have to set scaffolding up next to it to place siding, soffit and fascia, and rain gutter on the house. My special scaffolding accessory is the perfect solution to the hillside problem. Designed to fit up to a 1.5 to 1 slope, my scaffold accessory will fit almost any slope you will run in to. And after being placed it provides a nice level means of erecting the rest of the scaffolding needed for this project.

 

How it works is when it is used in combination with screw jacks, it provides a longer leg for the width of your scaffolding that is stable, adjustable to different slope conditions, and very easy to set up.

 

Imagine your home being situated on a hillside, and then imagine a level surface following a wall that would be great for setting up scaffolding on. Now take away the level surface and you are left with what? Two legs, or maybe just one leg of you scaffolding is on the ground and would normally have place cribbing up from the ground to those legs that are not in contact with the ground.

 

My special scaffold accessory takes all that cribbing away making a quick, sturdy, and safe base to set the remaining scaffolding on. The 1.5 to 1 ratio combined with the screw jacks let you be very flexible as far as being able to set it on most slopes you’ll encounter. It has basic wing nut and brace supports, just as your standard scaffolding has and is compatible with Biljax Heavy Duty Scaffolding.

 

These special hillside scaffold accessories can also be used in areas where there is a wall or a step on the surface where the scaffolding needs to be placed. When used in combination with leveling jacks the height of this basic unit can be adjusted to put one leg on the wall or step, and the other leg on the ground, and you will be able to do it quickly and safely.

 

Setting up scaffolding on a severe slope the old fashion way placing cribbing underneath the one side.

 

 

Say you set a section of scaffolding up and by the time you get up to the work you are going to work on and you realize the scaffolding needs to be moved 2 more feet in the one direction to work the best. Now you got to tear down and move all that bulky cribbing and stack it again. With my special scaffolding accessory its as easy as just sliding it over the two feet and leveling the screw jacks.

 

When placing cribbing for a lot of scaffolding, it takes many truck loads of cribbing that you must handle. How many times on this project will you have to handle that stuff. Not much use for cribbing material for anything else except cribbing. And its heavy and bulky. And when you are finally done with it on this project, you will have to load it back up and haul it away. After all you will need the cribbing material on your next scaffold job that’s on a hillside. And by the time you need it again some of it will have gotten rotten.

 

With my special hillside scaffolding accessory, you’ll enjoy using it time and time again and you will be able to easily store it with the rest of your scaffolding items. But best of all you will never dread setting scaffolding up on a sloped surface again.

 

For more information, please leave a comment on this site.

 

For more visual details, see the previous article with pictures showing my special scaffolding accessories. The special scaffold accessory is always used as the bottom section of scaffolding.

 

Construction Scaffolding Safety

Construction scaffolding is one way of placing the worker close to the building that they are working on. Just like other construction equipment, scaffolding must be inspected and maintained on a daily basis. OSHA requires that someone specifically trained for the job must erect any type of scaffolding.

Once your equipment is erected, it should not be taken apart and moved except by the same-trained personnel. It must have guardrails and midrails so that a worker cannot tumble out. It must have planks that are sitting tightly next to each other, and must be made of quality planking material. It must be stable and strong so when people walk across it you are confident that it will hold. It must be erected 10 or more feet from all electrical lines.

Construction workers should be well-trained before stepping on the construction scaffolding, and taught how to inspect it. Generally, the supervisor will inspect it at the beginning of his shift before any worker is allowed to use it. The scaffolding itself should be structurally sound, and the supervisor should make sure that all the fasteners are tight, and the rigging is safe. After the initial inspection at the start of the shift, it should be reinspected during lunch break and at the end of your shift.

You should be able to get to the construction scaffolding via stairwells or special ladders made for that purpose. No one should ever climb up the sides of this equipment because this is an unsafe practice. It is imperative to go by all safety regulations when operating any piece of construction equipment. Construction is one of the top ten most hazardous jobs that you can have today. Keeping yourself and your crew safe at all, times should be your number one concern. You do not want any accidents on the job site because of faulty equipment.