Wti Scaffold Blog

To provide television viewing, studio and support facilities for the world’s media at key locations along the route of the British Royal Wedding, Media Structures chose modular scaffolding from Layher Ltd.

The centrepiece of the project was a dedicated media village in Green Park, which is located opposite Buckingham Palace. Here, a three-storey structure was built using 158t of Layher Allround scaffolding to provide up to 200 broadcast camera viewing points within 22 individual studios. The rosette coupler, which is at the heart of the Layher design, enabled a 70m long structure to follow a radius footprint with Layher stairtowers also used to provide multi-level access at key points. Alongside, Media Structures Limited also used the Layher system to create a number of additional studio facilities designed to provide viewing points at ground level.

The scaffolding system was also used in up to 30 camera and commentary positions along the route while at Westminster Abbey, the venue for the marriage ceremony, Media Structures used approximately 100t of Layher equipment to provide the multi-tiered media stand opposite the main entrance. This design also benefited from the use of transparent Keder sheeting to provide protection in the case of inclement weather. Additional camera positions were constructed on adjacent rooftops as well as within the Abbey itself – from cleverly disguised locations either side of the entrance door to the triforium viewing position high in the roof area.

Andy Needham, managing director at Media Structures Limited said, “The Royal Wedding project was an overall team effort including, not least, the back-up and support from Layher’s UK office which helped to deliver a successful conclusion. Less than a month was available from start of build to hand over so it was vital that we selected a scaffold system which was versatile, robust, enabled the optimum use of manpower and allowed the wide range of installations to be completed quickly.”

Sean Pike managing director of Layher UK said, “We believe this is an excellent example of the benefits associated with our scaffolding system designs, particularly when compared with conventional tube and fitting alternatives. The latter, we believe, would have needed vastly more equipment, greater manpower and would have put extreme pressure on the time scale involved. Moreover, factors such as the neat appearance of Layher scaffolding also clearly made a major contribution, given the prestige of the event.”

Two men were injured when scaffolding at the site of Hendrick Medical Center’s $86 million Project 2010 construction project collapsed Monday afternoon.

Neither man was identified, and one was still receiving treatment at the hospital as of Monday night.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration officials said they are launching an investigation into the incident at the site, which is managed by Hoar Construction.

The construction company said it employs about 100 people at the site on any given day.

Project superintendent Joey Mathews said one man, a glass subcontractor, was working on a swing stage — an aerial platform commonly used by window washers — when the collapse occurred. He was driven to the emergency room by a supervisor and was reported to be in good condition by hospital officials earlier Monday. He was released from the hospital Monday night.

Elizabeth Todd, spokeswoman for OSHA, said she could not confirm whether a complaint had been filed against the company by the end of the business day Monday.

She said inspectors had been sent to the scene from the Lubbock office and that they were opening an investigation into the incident.

“Once an investigation is opened, it can take up to six months to complete. OSHA does not comment on open and ongoing investigations,” she said.

Mathews said work on the site was suspended immediately after the collapse.

Hospital spokeswoman Lynne Bruton said work was expected to be suspended for less than 24 hours, and that no delays in the completion of the project were anticipated.

Bruton said the new addition was expected to open sometime in December or January

Mathews could not indicate how high the swing stage was at the time of man’s injury, but the apparatus is rigged to the roof of the new construction, which is six stories tall.

The other man, a framing contractor, was the only person working on the scaffold when it collapsed. Witnesses said the scaffold appeared to reach the roofline of an adjacent building, about three stories up.

An Abilene Fire Department rescue crew, working alongside construction workers, managed to free the man after about 90 minutes. He was taken to the emergency room by ambulance, and was listed in good condition as of Monday night.

In total, about 30 AFD personnel responded to the scene, according to Lt. Greg Goettsch.

Rossana Costa said she was just leaving the Hendrick Health Club when a loud metallic sound drew her attention.

“I had just finished working out and was getting in my car when I heard this sound. I looked back, and saw the whole thing start to fall. First, it started leaning, about 20 degrees or so, and then it just fell,” she said.

“It was very scary. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing,” Costa said.

The cause of the collapse was not immediately known, but Doug Eckert, spokesman for Hoar Construction, said the company would work very closely with OSHA to determine the cause.

Eckert said Monday evening that accidents like the scaffolding collapse are rare, and that the company has a strong record of workplace safety. Eckert said Hoar has received the Associated Builders and Contractors’ Safety Training and Evaluation Process (STEP) award every year since 1997.

“As a company, we’re committed to safety. We have been recognized within the industry on numerous occasions. I’ve been with the company six years, and to my knowledge, we’ve never had a safety-related OSHA violation,” Eckert said.

After the collapse, Bill Myers, an electrical subcontractor working at the site, said he attended a regular safety meeting Monday morning at which Mathews, the Hoar project manager, indicated a worker had filed a complaint with OSHA.

“He (Mathews) made it perfectly clear that OSHA did not need to be involved on this site. He said they run a very safe operation, and that you stand a good chance of going to jail for making a false report,” Myers said.

Myers said the nature of the alleged complaint was not disclosed at the meeting, and he could not say whether or not it was safety related.