Parts of a scaffold and their importance in construction

The parts of a scaffolding give it its versatility and make them a fundamental part of a work.

Parts of a scaffold and their importance in construction

Scaffolding has been a fundamental and intrinsic part of construction since time immemorial, the most similar to those we use today have their known origin in China, about 3000 years ago, where they were used even in war. Nowadays, they are a fundamental tool, even mandatory, in large works, and to understand why, we will review the function and the parts of a scaffold.

A scaffold is a provisional structure for construction, which can be used in different ways such as a tower, a walkway, a bridge, even a cantilever. They are made of almost any load-bearing material such as wood, steel, aluminum, or even those made of bamboo are still used in China.

One of the keys to scaffolding is its modularity, that is, it is made up of pieces that serve as replicable modules that allow them to easily adopt the height or surface area required on the site. In addition, a good scaffolding system has an almost infinite variety of parts or accessories, which allow it to be even more versatile and safe, such as wheels with brakes, hatches, or even automation accessories.

types of scaffolding

Although the parts of a scaffolding, in general, are always very similar and are repeated in the different provisional structures that are made with them, we can categorize the different types of scaffolding according to their functionality:

Work scaffolds: they are those that are used in the day to day of the construction works, they must be safe and anticipate the constant movement and the work tasks that the workers carry out.

Safety scaffolding: They are used to protect certain steps or specific areas within a work, these allow passage below and protect passers-by from falling objects.

Service scaffolding: they are scaffolding used to transfer material within the work, they can be walkways, stairs or debris removal tuffs.

Scaffolding for public use: these are removable structures that are installed on the outskirts, or in works that interfere with public roads, to allow the circulation of pedestrians or vehicles.

Shoring scaffolds: they are those that are built provisionally to keep some structural element of the work in place.

parts of a scaffold

Within the almost infinite variety of accessories or parts, we can make a brief count of the most common in conventional construction:

The skirting board: it is an accessory mainly for safety, it prevents tools or pieces from falling to lower levels, and it consists of a not very wide sheet hooked to the bottom of the crossbars.

Crossbeams: they are safety bars that function as railings that are installed around the platforms, to increase the safety of workers.

Platforms: It is a board or plate strong enough that it is used to create flat surfaces where workers can move. They are normally perforated to prevent the accumulation of water and increase the anti-slip effect.

Ladders: they are very light portable ladders that allow the scaffolding to be raised or lowered, they are also very easy to assemble and disassemble to speed up the movement of workers.

Neck: They are pieces located in the union nodes, circular in shape with spokes where, through a metal wedge, the horizontal elements are secured to the vertical ones.

Base plate: it is a steel plate welded to a cylindrical tube where the entire scaffolding system is supported, it is what allows the entire scaffolding to be set and leveled with respect to the ground.

Wheels: it is a very popular accessory in low height scaffolding, they are placed instead of the base plate, to convert the scaffolding into a mobile element. the wheels must have a brake and a good level of grip, otherwise they can become a safety risk.

Beyond the fact that it is unlikely to achieve a work without scaffolding today, if as professionals we take the time to make an investment, and it is used correctly in all parts of a scaffolding, it can be streamlined and made much more efficient. work, reaching significant economic savings during the development of the work. Without considering, that the security in the work increases

It will reduce considerably, ensuring the well-being and the correct development of the work on the construction site, even improving quality.