jonnyoneye
Well-known member
Anyone else read the article in the latest online Scaffmag news bulletin, regarding the incident involving an offshore scaffolder and a slipping dropper, from which the guy had a luck escape ?
In the Key Lessons section at the end, the first one is listed as: 'It is considered good practice to install check couplers above the suspension scaffolding coupler.....'
In the scaffolding World that i come from, it is 'ESSENTIAL' practice to install such a check coupler. Am i in the wrong World ?
Terms like 'good practice', or 'best practice', are totally misleading and just infer that it's a nice-to-have and not something that if not fitted leaves the structure only one slightly loose bolt from disaster, as this lucky (or unlucky), guy nearly found out.
I was certainly very happy that they were fitted when i was erecting hangers, especially the first one i ever did as a youngster about 30' up, at Dow's in Barry.
In those days, no one wore a harness and the thing that i (and the others, 'cos i'd watched them), stood on at the bottom of the tube was the bolt of the fitting that you were about to erect off, as trying to balance on the check fitting became too awkward when trying to fit the first ledger.
Anyway, shaking, i dropped down about 10-12' and waited for my mate to drop down the other side......but he didn't, and roaring with laughter the others loosened the top fitting and allowed the dropper to slip through, probably only about 2-3", but it felt like 2-300 ! It obviously stopped at the checker, swung about a bit and left me sweating conkers - b*stards !
It did teach me a good lesson though - always check that the checkers are there, are tight (not overtight - that was another close shave), and there's no bl**dy gap between them !
Ahhhh, the good old days................
In the Key Lessons section at the end, the first one is listed as: 'It is considered good practice to install check couplers above the suspension scaffolding coupler.....'
In the scaffolding World that i come from, it is 'ESSENTIAL' practice to install such a check coupler. Am i in the wrong World ?
Terms like 'good practice', or 'best practice', are totally misleading and just infer that it's a nice-to-have and not something that if not fitted leaves the structure only one slightly loose bolt from disaster, as this lucky (or unlucky), guy nearly found out.
I was certainly very happy that they were fitted when i was erecting hangers, especially the first one i ever did as a youngster about 30' up, at Dow's in Barry.
In those days, no one wore a harness and the thing that i (and the others, 'cos i'd watched them), stood on at the bottom of the tube was the bolt of the fitting that you were about to erect off, as trying to balance on the check fitting became too awkward when trying to fit the first ledger.
Anyway, shaking, i dropped down about 10-12' and waited for my mate to drop down the other side......but he didn't, and roaring with laughter the others loosened the top fitting and allowed the dropper to slip through, probably only about 2-3", but it felt like 2-300 ! It obviously stopped at the checker, swung about a bit and left me sweating conkers - b*stards !
It did teach me a good lesson though - always check that the checkers are there, are tight (not overtight - that was another close shave), and there's no bl**dy gap between them !
Ahhhh, the good old days................
