16 Mar 2013
The Story
Following the recent round of NASC Annual Meetings which included a presentation given to members by Terry Roberts of CADS regarding the upcoming release of TG20:13 and the accompanying 'eGuide', we have been asked for our thoughts! Firstly, its great to be asked, but secondly, we thought that we would share our response here.
The question we were asked by the editor of Scaffmag.com is:
"I am about to start writing an article on the positive reaction that the new TG20:13 has had from NASC members after seeing the new E-guide in action. What I would like to know is, could I get a comment to add to the article from yourself, as the concern is that with this new guidance a lot more scaffolds will not need a design which in-turn will reduce designers work load and maybe revenue?"
A valid question indeed, here is our response:
"The new revision of TG20 looks like a considerable improvement, the hard work CADS and the NASC working group have put in will be of benefit to everyone in the industry and will no doubt turn into a worldwide benchmark for scaffolding with tube & fittings.
48.3 Scaffold Design Ltd are in full support of this new document - a document of this scope is overdue and desperately needed within our industry. The new range of standard designs will ease the burden on scaffolding design engineers in the UK. Most busy design engineers are not spending their time designing loading bays, short bridging sections or towers. Yes, we all design them, but generally as part of bigger schemes and projects. When these items are the only aspect of scaffolding that should be designed on a smaller site they often go undesigned! TG20:13 will now provide a solution to this problem, the standard designs will mean the scaffolds that often 'slip through the net' can be erected by a competent scaffolder to the compliant TG20:13 design.
The feedback from the NASC contractors that have seen the 'e-guide', all say that it looks like it will be a really useful tool. It provides a quick scaffold selection process which results in a concise and effective document to demonstrate the suitability of the scaffold and list key erection criteria."
Having thought about this more over the past week or so and discussed its wider impact within our team, we also feel that TG20:13 will be a useful tool for main contractors and procurers of scaffolding. The standard designs will show main contractors exactly what they should be (or should have been) getting on site, therefore creating a more 'level playing field' for these smaller designed scaffolds. As we all know, loading bays provided on building sites say, can vary wildly in configuration, with main contractors unsure of the scaffold they 'should' be getting.
We also feel that the research and testing that CADS and the NASC have completed on the use of fixed-end 'Ready-lok' style transoms will be of benefit to everyone who stocks them. For a long time the use of 'Ready-lok' transoms with and without ledger bracing in un-sheeted, sheeted or netted scaffolds has been debated with little hard evidence available. Hopefully TG20:13 will bring new clarity to this situation.
48.3 are looking forward to reading and using the new TG20:13 document as soon as it is released later on this year!
