Whilst the rust visible on the beams' outside surface may appear superficial, it is virtually impossible to determine the amount of rust that has occurred on the inside surfaces. When in use, ladder beams naturally deflect (slightly), allowing any water ingress from rain, etc., to flow down to the lowest point of the beam chord and remain there, sometimes for a considerable time. This may cause the inside surface of the beam to corrode much faster than the outside. In such cases, whilst the outside of the beam may appear to have only surface rust, the wall thickness within the chords could be severely reduced. The result is that the beam may become severely weakened and may not then be adequate to support the required imposed loading.
Therefore, it is always preferable to use hot-dipped galvanised ladder beams as they will remain in serviceable condition while the zinc coating is intact. However, as in this case the beams are already in situ, it would be prudent first to contact the beam supplier to see what quality checks have been made to ensure their integrity.
Under CDM and Temporary works BS5975, if decided to use in the scaffold, the engineering scaffold designer must be informed that Black steel components are being used so that they can evaluate the appropriate safety calculations in ensuring stability and strength.
As it is nearly impossible to check the inside of the beam, it would be best under Risk Control to eliminate the risk by replacing black steel with galvanised components. If the rest did happen to form under the zinc coating, it would be easier to identify when professional checks are carried out.
ScaffSafe Ltd was recently contracted by a vast UK construction principal contractor to undertake scaffold and temporary works checks on many of the client's sites. Whilst it would be unfair to name that contractor or any scaffold companies, what was highlighted is that these companies are purchasing components from reputable material providers. These are not as part of their sales selling spiel informing the customer of the legal compliance of these materials and the failings that purchasing the black steel compants could potentially have against their businesses.
As one person said during our investigation, if a customer asks for a base plate, I, as the salesman, would say we have some at 40p each, 52p each, 89p each, and £1.22 each plus VAT. They said, "It's not my job to tell them that only the £1.22 base plates meet the UK EN74 standard of 5mm in thickness."
For anyone reading this article, this is not to ridicule anyone but to spread safety awareness across the construction industry. Once clients sign the handover for a scaffold, they accept full responsibility for that structure and know that what they believe is compliant scaffolds are non-compliant. We provide a service to help keep you protected with full UK coverage.
If you are unsure, we are specialists in the field who protect our clients.
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