# What Is Scaffolding?
Scaffolding is a temporary structure that is typically made from metal poles and wooden planks, providing support for construction workers, inspectors, cleaners, and others who need to work at height.
*Note: This article focuses on scaffolding in the context of industrial work. If you're interested in learning about scaffolding in education, I recommend reading this article from Grand Canyon University.*
The use of scaffolding dates back to the Stone Age—there’s even evidence that scaffolding was used over 17,000 years ago by the creators of the famous Paleolithic cave paintings at Lascaux.
Throughout history, scaffolding has been used across the globe, with documented instances in ancient China and Egypt, where rudimentary scaffolds were made of wood and tied together with ropes.
In modern times, scaffolding has evolved far beyond its early forms, offering a variety of designs and materials to suit different needs.
This article will explore how scaffolding is currently utilized, its types and components, the process of making it, and whether to rent or purchase it. We'll also delve into how new drone technology is helping workers in various industries significantly reduce their reliance on scaffolding.
## What Is Scaffolding?
A scaffold, also known as scaffolding or staging, is a temporary structure that provides a stable platform for workers to perform tasks at height or in hard-to-reach places. These structures are commonly used in the construction, maintenance, and repair of buildings, bridges, and other man-made structures. They support both workers and materials during these processes.
### The Benefits of Scaffolding
There's a reason scaffolding has been used for millennia—it's highly effective. To this day, scaffolding remains one of the most practical and efficient ways for people to work at height.
Here are the main advantages of using scaffolds:
- **Accessibility**: Scaffolding offers unrestricted, stable access to nearly any part of a structure.
- **Stability**: Scaffolds give workers a solid foundation, enabling them to maintain balance in various positions while working.
- **Ease of Construction**: Scaffolding is relatively simple to assemble and disassemble, and can be set up and taken down quickly.
- **Durability**: Most scaffolds can endure for a very long time, whether made from wood or steel.
- **Safety**: One of the greatest benefits of scaffolding is safety, as it provides workers with a stable platform for their work. However, the ultimate solution for work at height is to minimize or even eliminate the need for someone to be present. In the final section of this guide, we’ll discuss how drones can help inspectors reduce their need to work at height.
- **Bridging Points**: Many construction activities require workers to take long, circuitous routes to reach certain locations on the job site, which wastes a lot of time. Scaffolding bridging points can help reduce the distance workers have to travel.
### The Dangers of Working on Scaffolding
Any time someone works at height, there are inherent risks involved, and working on temporary structures like scaffolding is no exception.
According to OSHA (the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration):
- Scaffold-related accidents cause about 4,500 injuries and 60 deaths annually in the U.S.
- Falls from scaffolding account for roughly 25% of all workplace fatalities.
- Nearly 72% of those injured attributed their accidents to the planking or support giving way, slipping, or being struck by a falling object.
- The most common safety violation on construction sites is inadequate fall protection training.
While these statistics are specific to the U.S., extrapolating globally suggests there are likely hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands of injuries related to work on scaffolding worldwide each year.
Even though scaffolding work is common, the injury rates aren't alarmingly high. Still, it's important to recognize that scaffolding work carries inherent risks, and avoiding such work can improve safety for workers.
Curious about the most common dangers associated with work on scaffolds? Here they are:
- **Defects**: Scaffolding-related accidents are often caused by faulty scaffolding. Examples include compromised steel tubing or screws not aligning correctly.
- **Falling Objects**: Tools, construction materials, or debris falling from scaffolding are a frequent cause of injury. A best practice to prevent these injuries is to cover each level of scaffolding.
- **Weather**: Working at height on a partially-constructed building in fluctuating weather conditions can be extremely dangerous. Rain or snow can make the planking slippery, and temperature changes can weaken attachment points, causing planks to loosen, crack, and fail.
- **Ignoring Safety Standards**: Other factors can lead to serious and fatal accidents, such as overloading scaffolding or placing it too close to hazardous energy sources.
- **Inadequate Training**: Both constructing and working on scaffolding require specialized training. Scaffold builders and erectors must be trained in scaffolding construction and safety standards for the type they are erecting, while scaffold workers must understand the risks associated with scaffolding.
- **Weak Planking**: All types of scaffolding work require sturdy planking for worker safety. Fall risks can arise from weakened or inadequate scaffolding supports, posts, mast climbers, pump jacks, and other mechanisms.
- **Inexperience, Incompetence, and Negligence**: Working on a construction site with untrained or inexperienced individuals, or those who don't take safety risks seriously, is extremely risky. The negligence of coworkers can be particularly dangerous when scaffolding is involved.
- **Insufficient Safety Equipment**: Even when scaffolds are designed, manufactured, and constructed properly, workers still need access to appropriate safety equipment.
- **Poor Construction**: Improper scaffolding construction often leads to accidents, such as failing to attach all attachment points properly, neglecting to install bracing, or omitting guardrails.
- **Poor Maintenance**: Scaffolding must be properly maintained to remain structurally sound. Old materials can deteriorate over time, and inadequate maintenance can create slippery surfaces and other hazards.
## Uses of Scaffolding
Scaffolding is used for a wide range of activities today. Here are some of the most common uses:
### Cleaning
Workers frequently stand on scaffolding to clean windows and other parts of skyscrapers.
### Construction
Scaffolding is essential for construction, allowing workers to stand at height on a stable surface. This is particularly important for skyscrapers and other tall structures, but its use is also common for construction work done closer to the ground.
### Industrial Inspections
Inspections are among the top uses of scaffolding, as scaffolding enables inspectors to reach areas they couldn't otherwise access to perform visual inspections or other types of NDT testing.
Inspectors often use internal scaffolding or other temporary structures for internal inspections, such as those conducted inside large industrial boilers or pressure vessels, as well as for external inspections. Regardless of the specific inspection, the purpose of scaffolding is the same—to allow inspectors to stand at height and conduct various tests to meet inspection requirements.
### Maintenance
Inspections usually mark the start of a maintenance process, as they reveal areas that may need attention. Once inspectors identify these areas, maintenance workers will address the defects by standing on scaffolding to perform their work.
### Other Uses
Various types of scaffolding are also used for:
- Art installations
- Concert stages
- Exhibition stands
- Grandstand seating
- Observation towers
- Shoring
- Ski ramps
## Alternatives to Scaffolding: Using Inspection Drones
We’ve already seen that relying on scaffolding has drawbacks, from the risks of working at height to the possibility of dropping tools, as well as the time-consuming nature of erecting and dismantling scaffolding. There are alternative methods of access depending on the project. For instance, in some maintenance cases, rope access can be more adaptable and targeted than scaffolding.
For industrial inspections, including visual surveys and non-destructive testing, drones are proving to be a viable alternative to scaffolding. Drone inspections offer a way for inspectors to gather the data they need remotely, without putting themselves in danger.
Drones like Flyability's Elios 3 (shown above) can fly to locations at height to capture high-quality visual data, allowing inspectors to reduce or even completely eliminate the need to work on scaffolding or on ropes. These drones can also be customized—some have modular payload designs that let them carry different sensors depending on the project, such as ultrasonic thickness gauges or radiation dosimeters.
Here are some of the key reasons inspectors are turning to drones as an alternative to internal scaffolding:
- **Safety**: Since drones can collect visual data remotely, inspectors don’t have to put themselves at risk by working at height on scaffolding to gather that data.
- **Cost Savings**: The expense of setting up and tearing down temporary structures like scaffolding for inspections can be immense, sometimes costing tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. Using drones can significantly reduce the need for scaffolding, resulting in substantial cost savings for companies.
- **Reduced Downtime**: Erecting and dismantling scaffolding can significantly extend the downtime for an asset, leading to additional costs for a company. By reducing or eliminating the need for scaffolding for inspections, drones can greatly enhance savings for companies.
- **Speed**: Drones can collect visual data much faster than an inspector conducting a manual inspection, further improving the efficiency of the inspection process.
In conclusion, while scaffolding has been a cornerstone of construction and maintenance for centuries, advancements in drone technology are beginning to change the game. As drones become more sophisticated and capable, they offer safer, more efficient, and cost-effective alternatives for many tasks traditionally performed on scaffolding.
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