MBA NSW Magazine January – March 2020 Issue 1
Scaffshield™ is a patented, anti-tamper assembly
that can be applied to scaffold couplers and node
points to stop unauthorised loosening or removal
of scaffold ties, ledgers and hop ups along with ladder
beams, stairs and the like.
It is the first and only control measure of its kind to
reduce scaffold tampering.
The application of Scaffshield™ onto any structure will
reduce the risks of scaffold incidents leading to site
disruptions, major injuries or fatalities.
Scaffshield™ was developed following a tragic incident
in Macquarie Park, Sydney in April of 2019 where a fixed
scaffold collapsed killing a worker and seriously injuring
another man whilst working on a large scale residential
project.
From this devastating incident it became clear that
more control was required to ensure the safety of
workers involved in erection of scaffold and working on
scaffolding.
This was further reinforced by the findings in Safework
NSW recent ‘Operation Scaffsafe blitz’ which identified
numerous instances where scaffold had been altered
or modified by unauthorised personnel, or had missing
parts or components whilst still being used.
The Scaffshield™ assembly is comprised of a nut
within a free spinning outer sleeve, which is installed
on a typical scaffold coupler t-bolt using a custom
manufactured Scaffkey.
The free spinning sleeve is screwed down to sit over the
coupler nut, preventing any standard shifting tool from
loosening the coupler nut.
A custom manufactured key known as the Scaffkey
is used to install and remove the Scaffshield™ over
the coupler nut. Scaffkeys are numbered and leased
via a tightly controlled register. They are only available
to site authorised supervisors and can’t be copied or
purchased.
The installation is simple and non intrusive, with
Scaffshield™ installed as part of the erection process
or can be easily retrofitted. A single Scaffshield™ unit
can typically be installed within 10-15 seconds over the
existing scaffold coupler nut.
Scaffshield™ ultimate feature is the control it gives to
scaffold supervisors, site and safety managers as to
when and how components are removed for ease of
work or during dismantling of the scaffold itself. The
highly visible yellow Scaffshield™ caps bring piece of
mind that the structure is complete, untampered and
ultimately safe.
The product has received resoundingly positive
feedback following release in October 2019 with major
construction companies such as Lend Lease, Built,
FDC, Probuild, Kane Constructions and many more
agreeing to trial Scaffshield ™ on their sites.
www.scaffshield.com
1300 869 572
Scaffshield™ — An innovation
in Scaffold control & safety
