All the access scaffolding is now complete on this bridge column formwork. We are not quite ready for concrete yet because city council inspectors must give the okay first.

Column Formwork Almost Ready for Concrete

City Council inspectors will climb up the access scaffolding and make sure that the column forms and reinforcement steel inside the concrete forms are positioned according to the specifications on the plan. In most cases, the inspector will give it the go-ahead.

In my experience, the only times an inspector does not approve a concrete pour is when some formworker did not do what they knew had to be done. These formworkers hope that the inspector does not see that bit of steel too close to the concrete form, or that bar-chair that fell down to the bottom.

Or worse, sometimes a supervisor will instruct a formworker “not to worry about it”, then after the inspector picks it, they rush around like a freaking idiot trying to get it fixed

See the arial view of this formwork.

Thrust Block Formwork being constructed around slurry and water pipes.

Thrust Block Formwork

Timber scaffolding was used for access and work platform for inspectors, supervisors, concretors and formworkers.

Thrust Block Formwork with Timber Scaffolding

Arial view of formwork for bridge columns. The concrete forms have been braced with concrete counter-weights and scaffolding has been errected in order to provide access for construction workers to complete the formwork and steelfixing and place/finish the concrete.

Braced Column Formwork with Access Scaffolding

In a previous post, we asked what was wrong with the mobile scaffold, but that pales in comparison to the following photo taken today at a Beenleigh construction site 37 KM south of Brisbane CBD.

Dodgy Mobile Scaffold

Yep, that’s somebody actually working up there.

Dodgy Mobile Scaffold Wheel

Don’t you love technology? Somebody in Queensland takes a photo, sends it to me here in South Australia and minutes later it is live on the World Wide Web. Thanks Joe

Use scaffolding whenever there is a chance of falling from heights. Don’t feel under pressure to get up there without a scaffold just because the “concrete is coming”. You didn’t order the concrete, therefore it’s not your problem.

The laws for safe working heights differ from state to state, so remember that when you are working away from home.

Related Resources

• Working at Heights & Fall Prevention South Australia
• Work at Heights Guide Queensland
• Safety priorities for working at heights Western Australia

A Formworker built this work platform on top of a dodgy Guardrail around a Crane Base Penetration in order to do some Stripping and Back-Propping. Obviously he does not have the level of awareness required to work safely on high-rise construction sites. This is the result of poor training and supervision on behalf of the formwork company.

Dodgy Scaffolding and Guardrail Combination

What’s Wrong With This Scaffolding?

Firstly, some bloke comes along and erects a dodgy guardrail to prevent people and objects falling down the Crane Base Penetration, then some other guy comes along and builds a dodgy Work Platform on top of it. Criiiikey!

It is dodgy because the top Scaffolding Tube has a join with only one Post at each end and the Posts “wobble” because they are not anchored securely. This combination represents the danger of the two Scaffold Tubes separating at the join.

The Top-Rail in this situation should be one piece without any joins. When this is done on all four sides of the penetration, it makes a strong, rigid Guardrail protection for any square shaped penetration even if the posts are a bit wobbly (which they shouldn’t be).

Furthermore, the Sleeve-Coupler used to join the two pieces of Scaffold Tube is upside down. This type of Sleeve-Coupler should always be attached with the opening facing up and the bolts facing away from the user. The reason?

• Because the Sleeve Coupler is designed to be used that way.
• Because the Sleeve Coupler is stronger that way.
• The opening facing upwards provides a visual check-point to see if the Scaffold Tube is in fact inserted all the way into the Coupler.
• The bolts facing away from the user minimizes injuries.

Even if all the above corrections were made to this Guardrail, work platforms should not be built on top of guardrails anyway.

You don’t need to be an Einstein to figure out where this washer should go on this 90 degree scaffold clamp. Obviously, it should go under the nut to prevent wear and tear of the clamp and to stop the nut possibly slipping through the slot.

Scaffold Clamp Fitted Wrong

This scaffolding is used as a guardrail in a high-rise stairwell. On this job it is the responsibility of the formwork company to install these guard-rails.

Instead of saying thanks, The bloke that did this job wanted to debate the issue with me when I gave him the free tip. Sometimes this is what happens when you cast your pearls among the swine. Blokes like this should pull the cotton wool out of their ears, put it in their mouth and harden up a bit.

Sure this scaffold clamp will probably hold, however, when the Client you are doing this work for continually sees stuff like this, they will perceive your company as being dodgy and using incompetent people. When I see a scaffold clamp fitted like this, I straight away don’t trust any other safety rectification work performed by the rogue agent.

Some say that the client rarely uses the stairwell because they use the personnel hoist instead. However, I know for a fact that many construction management people who primarily work in the site office frequently use the stairwell as a form of exercise.

For this reason, all safety rectification work should be quality controlled.

It is also not a “good look” to use gear which has not received any maintenance for a long time. For example, scaffold clamps with visible rust. The threads on scaffold clamps should be oiled well before they start to look like this.

If they don’t bother to service scaffold clamps, what else don’t they service – The Hydraulic Jump Form? The Hydraulic Slip Form? The Personnel/Material elevator?

Whenever you hire mobile scaffolding, a drawing is supplied which shows the correct way to errect it, so how come it is common to see mobile scaffolds like this?

Dodgy Mobile Scaffold

So What’s Wrong With This Scaffold?

• Firstly, the ladder is on the outside of the scaffolding instead of on the inside.
• The Ledgers (The ones painted yellow) are fastened to the Transom (The horizontal one) instead of onto the Standard (The verticle one). The only ledgers that should be attached to the transom are the ones at the top for the guard rails.
• There is two Ledgers missing.
• It is braced incorrectly.
• The work platform is cluttered.
• The Brakes are off.

Although it is hard to see, it looks like there is one diagonal Plan Brace. Sometimes one is supplied and sometimes two.