Ken Cain
Active member
BS 5973, BS EN 12811-1:2003 versus Legislation
I believe that between the members of the Scaffolders Forum there is a pool of extensive knowledge and experience of scaffolding that it places them at the forefront of the industry. The amount of knowledge and experience of those members makes the Forum a formidable force to be reckond with.
British Standards are produced for voluntary use only and in themselves have no regulatory status, unless mandated by British or European regulations, although they may support UK legislation and regulation such as The Working at Height Regulations 2005 Regulation,
An example of this is Regulation 7 (2) of The Working at Height Regulations 2005
“An employer shall select work equipment for work at height which –
(a) has the characteristics including dimensions which –
(i) are appropriate to the nature of the work to be performed and for
foreseeable loadings; and
(ii) allow passage without risk; and
(b) is in other respects the most suitable work equipment”.
The regulations are quite explicit about what has to be accomplished, but not how.
Take (i) for instance
“Characteristics including dimensions which are appropriate to the nature of the
work to be performed and for the foreseeable loading”.
It would be impossible to comply with this regulation without having some sort of guidance, and this is where the (BS) British Standard and (EN) European Normalisation come into play.
For information and guidance for “dimensions and foreseeable loading” we would now look at
BS EN 12811-1:2003 TEMPORARY WORKS EQUIPMENT – Part 1:
Scaffolds – Performance requirements and general design.
Clause 6 Requirements for structural design
6.1 Basic requirements
6.1.1 General
‘Each working scaffold shall be designed, constructed and maintained to ensure that it does not collapse or move unintentionally and so that it can be used safely. This applies at all stages, including erection, modification and until fully dismantled’.
Before the introduction of BS EN 12811-1:2003 we used BS 5973 as follows:
BS 5973 (withdrawn June 2004) Section 2. Standard scaffolds – 8.5.1 General ‘Unsheeted access and working scaffolds may be constructed up to a height of 50 m without calculations’
Tie tables in accordance with BS 5973 were in accordance with table 1(a) Unsheeted independent tied scaffolds with non-movable ties the frequency was every 40 square metres.
The effects of horizontal lateral load specified in BS EN 12811-1:2003 means that tie assemblies will normally need to be designed for tension as well as horizontal shear. As a rule of thumb tie frequency should not exceed 16 square metres (every two lifts and every two bays) 4 metres maximum vertically and horizontally.
Therefore to comply with Regulation 7 of the Working at Height Regulations 2005 we would need to be working in accordance with BS EN 12811-1:2003
Should an incident occur with the scaffolding and it was discovered that we had been working to the superseded sections of BS 5973 and not to BS EN 12811 then a prosecution may follow.
But of course it may not end there because your insurance company may infer that because you have failed to carry out you work in accordance with the WAH Regulations 2005 you may have committed a criminal offence resulting in your insurance being null and void.
It is so important that the HSE Infoline provide the correct information and not tell us something that if we followed could result in a criminal prosecution.
I believe that between the members of the Scaffolders Forum there is a pool of extensive knowledge and experience of scaffolding that it places them at the forefront of the industry. The amount of knowledge and experience of those members makes the Forum a formidable force to be reckond with.
British Standards are produced for voluntary use only and in themselves have no regulatory status, unless mandated by British or European regulations, although they may support UK legislation and regulation such as The Working at Height Regulations 2005 Regulation,
An example of this is Regulation 7 (2) of The Working at Height Regulations 2005
“An employer shall select work equipment for work at height which –
(a) has the characteristics including dimensions which –
(i) are appropriate to the nature of the work to be performed and for
foreseeable loadings; and
(ii) allow passage without risk; and
(b) is in other respects the most suitable work equipment”.
The regulations are quite explicit about what has to be accomplished, but not how.
Take (i) for instance
“Characteristics including dimensions which are appropriate to the nature of the
work to be performed and for the foreseeable loading”.
It would be impossible to comply with this regulation without having some sort of guidance, and this is where the (BS) British Standard and (EN) European Normalisation come into play.
For information and guidance for “dimensions and foreseeable loading” we would now look at
BS EN 12811-1:2003 TEMPORARY WORKS EQUIPMENT – Part 1:
Scaffolds – Performance requirements and general design.
Clause 6 Requirements for structural design
6.1 Basic requirements
6.1.1 General
‘Each working scaffold shall be designed, constructed and maintained to ensure that it does not collapse or move unintentionally and so that it can be used safely. This applies at all stages, including erection, modification and until fully dismantled’.
Before the introduction of BS EN 12811-1:2003 we used BS 5973 as follows:
BS 5973 (withdrawn June 2004) Section 2. Standard scaffolds – 8.5.1 General ‘Unsheeted access and working scaffolds may be constructed up to a height of 50 m without calculations’
Tie tables in accordance with BS 5973 were in accordance with table 1(a) Unsheeted independent tied scaffolds with non-movable ties the frequency was every 40 square metres.
The effects of horizontal lateral load specified in BS EN 12811-1:2003 means that tie assemblies will normally need to be designed for tension as well as horizontal shear. As a rule of thumb tie frequency should not exceed 16 square metres (every two lifts and every two bays) 4 metres maximum vertically and horizontally.
Therefore to comply with Regulation 7 of the Working at Height Regulations 2005 we would need to be working in accordance with BS EN 12811-1:2003
Should an incident occur with the scaffolding and it was discovered that we had been working to the superseded sections of BS 5973 and not to BS EN 12811 then a prosecution may follow.
But of course it may not end there because your insurance company may infer that because you have failed to carry out you work in accordance with the WAH Regulations 2005 you may have committed a criminal offence resulting in your insurance being null and void.
It is so important that the HSE Infoline provide the correct information and not tell us something that if we followed could result in a criminal prosecution.
