How secure are our scaffolds?
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Metal scaffolding minimises the risks for construction workers dangling in the skies, finds out RANJANI GOVIND
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SOURCE OF SUPPORT: Scaffold an integral aid to a building.
No construction activity can be thought of without the scaffolding paraphernalia seen hanging about criss-cross from top to bottom of a building. Scaffolds are but integral aides to a building taking shape or can we say supporters to structures growing in size? It is ultimately an aid in a balancing act operating towards fashioning new insights. Yet, unfortunately, it is hardly given the importance it deserves, which is exactly why scaffolding accounts for a good percentage of accidents at the construction site. The recent lapse of safety measures observed in scaffolding in the Infosys Building in the city throws light on the nearly absent laws that protect construction workers in emergencies as this. Although some of the scaffold-related erratic slides could be endorsed as human error, the quality of scaffolds that give way at the site directly contributes to the peril factor too. While the whole of the West uses strong metal pipes enmeshed in safe holds, Asia uses metal selectively, with tough metal replacing the ever-slippery wood in most construction sites in India, while some States in the country still rely on bamboo and casuarinas, say sources in the market.
Even if metal supports are strong, they can give way when pressurised with loads higher than the stipulated load bear. Now if that sounds basic physics, what are the explanations to bamboo and casuarinas disintegrating because of fundamental disregard to scientific principles?
Many builders in tropical India, taking advantage of the tall casuarinas around the seacoast give a green signal to casuarinas framework. A supplier of metal scaffolding materials in Bangalore East, not wanting to be quoted, revealed that wooden scaffolds, up to seventy feet high, can be seen in several city constructions. Whither the rules, who is accountable for the "accidents" and who sets the standards for following safety measures? These are questions that can be answered only when the Government comes up with mandatory safety parameters that need to be scrupulously followed during constructions.
The metal mania
One learns from engineers at the construction sites that basic metal scaffolds are vertical pipes (called standards) driven into the shanks of square base plates so that the entire structure is well entrenched on the ground. The horizontal pipes (called ledgers) are positioned across the standards and fastened on to them with bracing clamps (or couplers). Ledgers themselves are joined one to another through joint-pins. A scaffold and the structure it serves are linked at various points through pipes that are drilled into the building on one end and attached to the scaffold at strategic junctions.
"Unlike steel tubes, wood loses its firmness soon, and wet conditions can be scary, and the process is further drawn out when you have to replace the wooden sticks and tie them again with coir ropes," says Manjunath Gowda, engineer who has undertaken more than 100 projects in and around Jayanagar. "How can we compare these vertical poles that are firmly sunk into the earth to metal bracing joints and joint pins that lock themselves with modern technology?" queries Manjunath.
Says Shyama Rao of Allied Constructions, dealing with metal scaffolding services, "A wooden scaffold can be taken up even 100 ft high but one has to keep a hawk's eye on the framework for frayed ropes and weakening supports. Metal pipes add value to my services. Big construction companies do not mind spending more, safety aspects are their priority to gain a reputation. If a construction company pinches penny on scaffolds, it will have to count the cost later."
But Manjunath is quick to add that erecting metal scaffolds alone does not ensure safety, a team has to ensure that the system is in place to avoid human error too.
Custom made
Senior Managers at Sakthi Scaffolding System, manufacturers and distributors of metal scaffolds in Asia, with more than two decades of experience in the field say, "We customise the requirements for the skyward efforts as we possess state-of-the-art machinery and qualified engineers. Our scaffoldings and accessories are used in buildings and flyover constructions." Termed the all-purpose scaffolding, Sakthi's offer can be browsed at www.sakthiscaffolding.in.
For every demand
If you Google search you will find Pacific Scaffolding of Auckland in New Zealand claiming to follow safety standards in quality and temperament with its staff members being construction industry's `SITE SAFE passport' holders. The company, open to residential and commercial construction, is also involved with a vast range of scaffolding for films and petrochemical sectors with both traditional `tube and clip' scaffolding and the newly introduced `all-round PROSCOFF system that addresses every possible demand. Go to info@scaffolding.co.nz
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