February - Scaffold and Access Industry Association

Transcription

February - Scaffold and Access Industry Association
FEBRUARY 2007
Platform Council Issues
Plank Guidelines
An Update on
A92 Standards
SIA Members Participate
in Mast Climbing Initiative
How to Prepare for
Immigration Raids
VOLUME 35
ISSUE 2
Table
Of Contents
FEBRUARY
> VOLUME 35 > ISSUE 2 > 2007
On the Cover:
Bothwell Enterprises has introduced a new plank system. (Can you guess what is missing from this photo?
Answer: Toeboards)
Feature
Buying Scaffold
Plank 6
departments
5
9
29
35
36
SIA Platform Council
provides guidelines for
engineered wood
products
President’s Message
Technically Speaking
Column
Planks and
Platforms 11
Industry Briefs
Schedule of Events
Selecting, installing and
maintaining the right scaffold plank for the job
Advertisers’ Index
New Product
Designing A New Plank System
Column
Safety First 24
SIA active in new mast
climbing work platform
safety initiative
Department
Industry
Briefs 29
13
Atlantic Industrial
names Sisney
president.
Bothwell introduces lightweight and durable alternative to
traditional scaffolding platforms
www.scaffold.org
Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
3
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
VOLUME 35
ISSUE 2
PUBLISHER
Were You Not Entertained
COMMITTEE WEEK
PROVIDES GLIMPSE OF THE FUTURE
Mike Mehno
(972) 819-1460
EDITOR
Natalie Keith
(561) 439-0854
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Mike Baker
(626) 932-6197
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Chuck Muela
(626) 932-6147
AD COORDINATOR
Terri Wujek
(212) 904-3903
ACCOUNT MANAGER
Elizabeth Dambouradijan
(832) 524-4947
ACCOUNT MANAGER
Joan Callahan
(972) 819-1496
Scaffold Industry is published monthly with
an extra issue in March by the Scaffold Industry
Association Inc. Subscriptions are $85 for an annual
subscription / $45 for additional subscription.
Postmaster: Send address changes to: Scaffold
Industry Assocation Inc., P.O. Box 20574,
Phoenix, AZ 85036- 0574
For further information, please contact the SIA
office at:
Scaffold Industry Assocation Inc.
1617 E. Rairdan Lane #5
Phoenix, AZ 85034 - 5710
As I write this, I am
currently 33,000 ft
somewhere above
Denver, Colo. heading home after a
highly productive
Committee Week
in Las Vegas. The
weather was cold,
the action was hot,
and the support
John R. Miller
and enthusiasm for
all things SIA was rewarding. Our first event
of the year definitely set the bar for the rest
of the year, a year I believe is the most important in our association’s existence. You see,
2007 is the year that the SIA retains its perch
as the recognized voice of the scaffold &
access industry.
Registrations for Committee Week far
exceeded last year and that doesn't even
include those of you who showed up without
registering. In addition, the quality of the
attendance was noticeable as many new faces
were present, some for the first time, and
took active roles in the process of furthering
council initiatives. Both the Suspended and
Supported Scaffolds Councils presented
final drafts of new safety training DVDs to
the Technical Oversight Committee for
review and acceptance. Members can look
for those product offerings to become available before our Long Beach convention.
The Plank & Platform Council submitted its
final draft for the newly updated Solid Sewn
Handbook which should be ready within the
Phone: (602) 257-1144
Fax: (602) 257-1166
[email protected] • www.scaffold.org
Scaffold Industry is the official publication of the
Scaffold Industry Association Inc. Opinions expressed
herein are those of the respective authors and do not
necessarily reflect the official view of the SIA.
The material contained in this publication is for
informational purposes only and, unless otherwise
noted, is not to be considered as the official position
of the SIA, its members or advertisers; does not constitute legal advice; is not to be considered as approving or recommending any product or advertisement
by the SIA; and the SIA does not promulgate rules or
regulations governing the industry or its members.
next few months. In addition, the council
continues to educate the industry on the
importance of third party testing and the
potential perils of imported scaffold plank. It
also shines a spotlight on the industry’s first
venture into composite plank. Once again,
the Aerial Work Platform and Fall Protection
Councils continue to impress with their
attendance, content and plans for the
future. The AWP Council, in collaboration
with Lift & Access Magazine, is planning a
“Members from China,
Japan, Peru, Holland,
Canada, Finland, and
the United Kingdom were
present and involved in
council functions”
safety conference to be held within the SIA
35th annual convention in July. Breakout sessions presented by experts within the lift &
access industry along with equipment demonstrations and exhibits are planned and
designed to reinforce the fact that the SIA
stands for more than just scaffolding. The
Fall Protection Council is planning a
U.S./European comparison on safety regulations as they relate to the scaffold & access industry while promoting the recent revision
to the letter written and endorsed by a
President’s Message continued on page 35
2006-2008 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
JOHN R. MILLER
President
The Millstone Companies
STEVE SMITH
Secretary
Edge International
RANDY MOODY
Board Appointee
XServ, Inc.
CHUCK HUTCHINSON
Presidential Appointee
Bil-Jax, Inc.
BILL BREAULT
President Elect
Breault Industrial Group, Inc.
LIZ CALLAHAN
Treasurer
Power Climber
JEFF STACHOWIAK
Board Appointee
Sunbelt Rentals
HOWARD SCHAPIRA
Immediate Past-President
Action Equipment
& Scaffold Co. Inc.
JOHN BRASIL
Vice President
Etobicoke Ironworks Limited
Published by:
Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
5
Feature
Planks and Platforms
Buying Scaffold Plank
SIA Platform Council provides guidelines for engineered wood products
Engineered wood products (EWP)
such as laminated veneer lumber, pinned plank and edge-laminated plank
have been used successfully as scaffold
plank for many years. New products
and manufacturers are continuing to
enter the EWP market place.
To maintain and
verify the consistency
and quality, EWP
manufacturers must
employ a comprehensive
quality-assurance
program outlined in a
product manufacturing
standard approved by
the qualified agency.
Therefore, the Platform Council
has found it important to provide purchasers of EWP planks with guidelines
for consideration during the buying
decision process.
Section 5.2.10 of ANSI A10.8-2001
Safety Requirements for ScaffoldingAmerican National Standard for Construction and Demolition Operations
states: “All laminated planks shall bear
the seal of an independent, nationally
recognized inspection agency certifying design compliance with the design
criteria referenced herein.”
6
FEBRUARY 2007 Scaffold Industry
Example of manufacturer embossings.
Because it is a regulatory requirement, it is important for a purchaser of
EWP plank to know what independent
qualified inspection agency (a.k.a.
qualified agency or third-party) the
plank manufacturer uses. The plank
supplier or manufacturer should be
able to provide accreditation information for the qualified agency.
Besides meeting the above regulatory requirement, the qualified agency
provides other important functions for
both the manufacturer and the user of
EWP scaffold plank. So what exactly is
a qualified agency?
The EWP industry in North Amer-
ica has utilized qualified agencies to
audit the quality-assurance program
and to witness testing that verifies
material design properties and performance criteria. Section 8.2 of ASTM D
5456-06 Standard Specification for
Structural Evaluation of Structural
Composite Lumber Products defines a
qualified independent inspection
agency as one that:
Has access to the facilities and
trained technical personnel to verify that the grading, measuring, species,
construction, bonding, workmanship
and other characteristics of the products as determined by inspection, sam-
1.
www.scaffold.org
Planks and Platforms
pling and testing comply with applicable requirements specified herein.
Has procedures to be followed by
its personnel in performance of
the inspection and testing.
Has no financial interest in, or is
not financially dependent upon,
any single company manufacturing the
product being inspected or tested.
Is not owned, operated or controlled by any such company.
A qualified agency must be nationally accredited. Accreditation could
come under the International Organization of Standardization, or ISO. For
example, a qualified independent inspection agency is considered accredited if it is registered as a Quality Managed System under ISO-9002. Another
example relates to EWP manufacturers
that maintain building code approvals
from the ICC Evaluation Services.
These manufacturers are required
to have a qualified inspection agency
that is approved by the International
Accreditation Service.
The qualified independent inspection agency’s most important function
is to monitor the manufacturer’s quality assurance and production process on
a random, unannounced basis. During
the inspection, the qualified agency will
point out where the manufacturer is
deviating from the manufacturer's
plant quality-assurance manual and initiate corrective action procedures.
If, and when, the qualified agency
finds deficiencies, a qualified agency
will conduct follow-up inspections. The
qualified agency may also test product
sampled from the plant or from the
marketplace.
As the EWP designation indicates,
these products are designed using
principles of materials science, industrial engineering and statistical process
control to produce a product that is
consistent with low variability.
To maintain and verify the consistency and quality, EWP manufacturers
must employ a comprehensive qualityassurance program outlined in a prod-
2.
3.
4.
www.scaffold.org
uct manufacturing standard approved
by the qualified agency.
Manufacturing standards will include, but not be limited to, raw
material specifications, product testing and sampling procedures, and
the manufacturer's certification.
When the qualified agency pulls the
manufacturer's certification, the manufacturer can not stamp or emboss the
qualified agency logo on the plank
and must remove all references to the
The qualified independent inspection agency’s
most important function is to monitor the
manufacturer’s quality assurance and
production process on a random,
unannounced basis. During the inspection,
the qualified agency will point out where
the manufacturer is deviating from the
manufacturer’s plant quality-assurance manual
and initiate corrective action procedures.
production parameters. The qualified
independent inspection agency ensures that the manufacturer follows
the manufacturing standard. If the
manufacturer does not, the qualified
agency is well within its power to pull
qualified agency in any literature.
Although the inspection agency serves
to provide the above stated functions, it
should also be noted that building consistent quality into engineered wood planks
Continued on page 8
Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
7
Planks and Platforms
Continued from page 7
is the sole responsibility of the manufacturer, not the inspection agency.
EWP planks have several pieces of
information contained on the edge
embossing for identification purposes.
Some EWP plank manufacturers
choose to put certain information on
their planks, but the common thread
for all that information is the seal of
the qualified inspection agency.
Most manufacturers emboss their
name or the plank trade name and the
plank grade (i.e. 2.15 or 2.2 E) on the
edge of the planks. The manufacturer's name on the plank guides the user
to the proper product literature containing plank grade, performance
claims and handling procedures.
The 2.2 E grade mark relates to the
stiffness (how much a plank will deflect
under a given span length) or modulus
of elasticity (MOE) of the plank (2.2 E
means that the average MOE of planks
produced will be 2.2 x 10^6 psi). The
grade of the plank also has bending
(Fb) and shear (Fv) capacities or
design values associated with the MOE.
The qualified agency will witness the
manufacturing, sampling and testing of
the material to verify the manufacturer's claims on the literature.
Many EWP planks have the term
“Proof Tested” or “Proof Loaded” embossed on the plank edge. It is an indication that every plank is tested before
leaving the plant. Proof loading is defined as nondestructively testing planks
in bending. Proof loading is a valuable
tool in the overall quality-control program but is not valuable if it is a standalone test to evaluate plank quality.
The elements of the proof loading
system should be included in the manufacturer's quality assurance manual.
Therefore, the qualified independent
inspection agency assures that the
manufacturer is proof loading its
planks on an on-going basis. The qualified agency will require that all equipment have periodic calibrations and
that the test setup meets the requirements of the quality-control manual.
The date stamp on the plank edge
indicates the time of proof loading and
is a valuable tool to trace back to quality assurance records.
Another commonly used stamp is
the acronym for the Occupational
Safety and Health Agency. The OSHA
upcoming
issue...
acronym does not indicate OSHA approval. It is an indication the plank
meets the requirements of ANSI
A10.8-2001, which includes that EWP
manufacturers have a qualified agency
backing the production and quality
assurance process.
Clearly the independent qualified
inspection agency is a necessary component for EWP manufacturers production and quality assurance process.
Besides fulfilling the regulatory requirement, the independent qualified
agency provides a valuable link between the manufacturer and consumer. Working with the qualified agency,
the manufacturer can provide a quality
plank to the consumer.
As the choices of EWP plank increase in the marketplace, knowledge
that the planks are manufactured under the inspection of an independent
qualified agency should be a strong
consideration in the plank purchaser's
buying decision process. ■
This information was written and compiled by
Patrick Farrell, Jeff Jack and Colby Hubler on
behalf of the Scaffold Industry Association
Platform Council.
Innovative Access Applications
Committee Week Recap
For Advertising Rates
or to submit an article, please call:
Elizabeth
Dambouradjian
(832) 524-4947
Joan
Callahan
(972) 819-1496
8
FEBRUARY 2007 Scaffold Industry
www.scaffold.org
Column
Technically Speaking
Plank or Platform?
Defining scaffold plank an important first step in ensuring safety
By David Glabe, P.E.
Is it plank or a platform that you
stand on? Is this a
tough question?
Why is a concept so
easy in theory so
difficult in application? The simple
answer to the first
David H. Glabe
question is that
scaffold plank can be used to construct
a platform. For a variety of reasons, it
gets complicated, or so it seems.
The U.S. Occupational Safety and
Health Administration describes scaffold platform as a “work surface elevated above lower levels.” Platforms can
be constructed using individual wood
planks, fabricated planks, fabricated
decks, and fabricated platforms. In an
attempt to include the largest variety
of products for platform, OSHA refers
to the various components as “platform units.” While the experienced
scaffolder will recognize that wood
plank can be platform units, those not
so knowledgeable will easily become
confused since “platform unit” is not
defined in the OSHA standards other
than to say: “Each platform unit (e.g.
scaffold plank, fabricated plank, fabricated deck, or fabricated platform)” as
a way of defining a platform unit.
The intent of the platform standards is to ensure a safe work surface
for the scaffold user. This means that
the worker should expect a surface that
has sufficient strength, doesn't deflect
too much, doesn't have any big holes
to fall through, and is relatively flat.
www.scaffold.org
Having stated these expectations,
where does that leave us when it comes
to the specifics? It depends on what
you are using for “platform units.” It
also depends on the applicable scaffold standards. Is it general industry or
construction? The following are some
of the factors involved in ensuring safe
scaffold platform:
•All platform units shall have a safety factor of four. This means that if you
are going to put 250 lbs on the platform unit, it has to hold at least 1,000
lbs before it breaks.
it does not have to be scaffold grade but
the SIA recommends that only scaffold
grade solid sawn plank be used.)
•You can use Styrofoam as a platform unit but you better make sure
you have that 4-to-1 safety factor!
•If you are using laminated veneer
lumber, or other platform units fabricated from wood, they must have a 4to-1 safety factor.
•The minimum width of a scaffold
platform for most supported scaffolds
is 18 in. You can use narrower widths if
you can show that you don't have
If you are using solid sawn lumber for a platform
unit (plank cut out of a tree), it must be scaffold
grade if OSHA general industry standards apply.
It must have a 4 -to-1 safety factor if OSHA
construction industry standards apply.
•If you have a 2x10 plank, it has to
be four times stronger than the load it
will hold.
•If you are using a 2x10 wood plank,
fabricated plank (such as a laminated
veneer lumber 2x10) or a fabricated
deck (hook plank), the space between
units cannot be more than 1 in.
•If you are using solid sawn lumber
for a platform unit (plank cut out of a
tree), it must be scaffold grade if OSHA
general industry standards apply. It
must have a 4 -to-1 safety factor if OSHA
construction industry standards apply.
(In construction industry applications,
room to construct an 18-in. platform.
•Platforms are to be “fully decked”
between the front uprights and the
guardrail system. This is a great idea
when a guardrail is being used. I have
no idea what that means when there is
no guardrail. Some people think that
means the full width of the scaffold.
Suppose you have a 9-ft wide (not long
but wide) bay? Does this mean the
platform should be 9-ft wide?
•Platforms constructed with plank
and plywood are legal, and safe too,
notwithstanding an incorrect OSHA
Continued on page 10
Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
9
Tecnically Speaking
Continued from page 9
letter of interpretation that claimed
one couldn't inspect the plank if it was
covered by plywood.
•OSHA has a plank span chart in
non-mandatory Appendix A of the construction scaffold standards. You can follow this chart if you want. Just make
sure the plank you are using equals the
strength used for the chart. Of course, if
your plank is stronger than what the
chart is based on, then you can't use the
chart. Get a qualified person to tell you
what your plank can do.
•Make sure you know what you are
buying when it comes to plank. Unscrupulous purveyors of scaffold plank have
a tendency to overstate their product’s
capability. (If the deal sounds too good
to be true, it probably is.)
• If you choose to construct your
platform with joists, such as aluminum
beams, and plywood, make sure it is
designed to support the intended load.
10
FEBRUARY 2007 Scaffold Industry
In other words, have a qualified person design it.
•It is assumed that if platform units
hang over their supports at least 6 in.,
they won't fall off. If you think your
platform units may fall off, secure
them so they don't.
•Don't let your platform units hang
over their supports too far because this
will result in a diving board (also called a
widow maker). This is not good. Unless
you secure the opposite end, don't let
your platform units stick out more than
12 in. for platform units 10 ft or less in
length or 18 in. for longer plank.
• Overlap your platform units at
least 12 in. unless you secure them.
These are a few things to consider
when you are installing or working on
platform units. Consult the OSHA,
ANSI and SIA standards and codes for
additional important information. Remember this: There is no back-up for
a failed platform unit like there is for
other scaffold components. In engineering jargon, the platform has no
redundancy.
If the platform unit you are standing on breaks, you are history. Some
believe that the deck below a failed
platform unit will break a fall. Unfortunately, by the time a worker hits the
deck below, it will have built up
enough momentum to break that one
too. By the time you hit the ground
you will have broken a lot of plank that
you will have to pay for as soon as you
get out of the hospital! Don't take
chances on damaged product, misrepresented product, faulty product, or
poorly placed product. That's what the
standards say, in spite of the use of the
term “platform unit.”■
David Glabe, P.E., is president of D.H. Glabe
& Associates Inc. of Denver. Glabe also serves
as the SIA's liaison to OSHA. E-mail him at
[email protected].
www.scaffold.org
Column
Planks and Platforms
Planks and Walkboards
Selecting, installing and maintaining the right scaffold plank for the job
By Chuck Hutchinson
Providing a safe work surface is an
important part of overall worker safety.
OSHA regulations require that all
work surfaces be completely decked or
planked, allowing no more than a 1-in
gap between two planks laid side-byside, or between the plank and an outside vertical member. However, there
are three scenarios where exceptions
are made: (1) during scaffold erection,
(2) in demonstrated confined areas
after scaffold erection is completed,
and (3) when planking is used solely as
a walkway. Since most scaffold manufacturers use a 5-ft wide frame, what
exactly does this mean?
First, let's talk about wood plank.
There are two types of wood plank,
manufactured (commonly called laminated) and sawn plank. Sawn plank is
typically produced from Southern yellow pine, Douglas fir, or spruce. It is
available rough-sawn or dressed, which
is differentiated by thickness and the
amount of surface treatment. Nominal
2-in. rough-sawn dry lumber is usually
1-3/4 in. to 1-7/8 in., and receives no
surface treatment. Nominal 2-in.
www.scaffold.org
dressed lumber is surface planed on
four sides, commonly 1-1/2 in. thick
after kiln drying.
These wood planks are then graded
by a certified lumber grader and must
meet the minimum grade of DI65 or
better to be considered scaffold grade.
Common lumber is not considered
scaffold grade. The scaffold grade designation is critical because most lumber is graded for other uses such as
floor joists, where the board face is vertical and loads rest on its edge.
Scaffold plank, on the other hand, is
tested for use horizontally with loads
bearing on its face.
Most scaffold-grade plank nominally measures 2 in. by 10 in. Actual
dimensions are typically 1-1/2 inches
by 9-1/2 inches. This applies to both
sawn and manufactured plank. If this
is the case, it will take six planks to
completely deck a 5-ft wide frame.
Many times, heavy tools and building materials are placed on the plank
in addition to workers. Contractors
need to remember to review the plank
load chart that is in the appendix to
the OSHA Standards for Scaffolding to
ensure the maximum load capacity of
the plank is not exceeded.
Let's talk for a minute about laminated plank. This is a manufactured,
wood plank product that's made from
layers of thin, dried veneers, which are
both visually and ultrasonically graded
to meet specific standards.
Similar safety rules apply for manufactured walkboards as well. Walkboards are typically made from aluminum with either a plywood top or
aluminum top and measure 19 in. wide.
Load-bearing capacities are normally
stamped right on the walkboard and
are usually either 50 lbs per sq ft or 75
lbs per sq ft, depending on the length
and width of the walkboard. Capacities
for both plank and walkboards assume
uniform loading to reach their rated
capacities, not point loads.
Point loads have the entire load
centered in one spot instead of a uniform distribution of the weight along
the entire length and width of the
plank or walkboard. Other walkboards
Continued on page 12
Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
11
Planks and Platforms
Continued from page 11
can be constructed of steel, or steel
and expanded metal. Using these
materials may allow contractors to
attain higher load capacities than are
normally attainable with either wood
or manufactured plank.
Selecting Scaffold Plank
When buying or renting scaffold
frames and planking, contractors need
to consider their needs carefully and
be prepared to answer three important questions.
What materials will be used
on the job?
1.
2.
3.
How will those materials
be stocked and stored?
How many workers will be working
from a scaffold plank at one time?
Masonry work generally is considered light-duty (25 per sq ft) or medium-duty (50 per sq ft) loading, but this
doesn’t always hold true. A scaffold
plank that must hold palletized brick
or block, or accommodate several
workers at a time, may need to be rated
for heavy-duty (75 per sq ft) loading.
Instead of assuming uniform loading, contractors should assess their
material loading process and determine how much actual point loading
they have. For example, each worker
with tools is considered a 250-lb load.
OSHA and ANSI standards define oneperson loading as 250-lb placed at the
center of the plank or deck span. Twoperson loading is 250 lbs placed 18 in.
to the left and right of midspan. Threeperson loading assumes 250-lb loads at
each of the points noted above, one in
the center and one 18 in. left and right
of midspan.
The distance a plank spans between
supports is also important. The permissible span depends on the size,
strength and stiffness of the plank, as
well as the loads imposed.
Proper Installation and Use
Selecting adequate plank is only
part of overall plank safety. Plank also
12
FEBRUARY 2007 Scaffold Industry
must be correctly installed and used
properly to help prevent accidents.
Ideally, planking should come within a few inches of the wall, although
OSHA does allow a distance of up to
14 in. Adjacent parallel planks should
be no more than 1-in. apart to prevent
workers and tools from falling through
any gaps. All planks should be secured
to supporting brackets, bearers, or
ledgers to minimize plank movement,
or plank ends should extend 6 in. to
12 in. beyond the supporting members
and overlap other planks by at least 12
in., with the overlap at the supports,
not the midspan.
Most contractors, though not
equipped to perform sophisticated
deflection testing on used plank, can
visually monitor their plank for excessive deflection. As a general rule,
Southern yellow pine, Douglas fir, and
manufactured plank that deflects more
than 1/60th of the span when loaded is
considered overloaded. When this
occurs, the load should be redistributed, or the planks rejected.
Maintaining Scaffold Plank
Contractors should treat scaffold
plank as the important safety equipment it is. Because impact loads can
affect a plank’s serviceability, don’t
drop or throw it. Load planks carefully
and store them in a safe place, away
from potential damage from forklifts
or other machinery. Don’t use the
‘gorilla jump’ testing method. Laminated veneer lumber is most susceptible
to damage.
Band plank ends with metal to prevent splitting. Clean mortar off plank
and store it properly between jobs.
Don’t use plank for mud sills and then
reuse it on the scaffold, as this will
overload and weaken it. Routinely inspect plank for visible damage and
never paint scaffold plank, since paint
can conceal defects. If notches, cracks,
or saw kerfs are found in plank, they
must be cut shorter to eliminate hazards. Metal banding or rodding may
reinforce plank with splits.
Be aware, too, that not all damage is
visible. Plank that has been overloaded
or subjected to severe impact may be
weakened, even if it’s apparently intact.
Some people advocate periodic re-testing and re-certification of scaffold
plank to detect such damage, but this
procedure is neither required nor widely practiced. Still, if a contractor suspects that a plank has been overstressed
and has any doubts about its condition,
it should be rejected.
Consider the reduction in a
plank’s load-carrying capacity caused
by high moisture content (above
19%). If plank is sold and used green,
or is treated with fire-retardant chemicals, refer to grading standards for
any necessary adjustments to safe
spans and loadings.
Rainwater on the face surface of
plank normally has little effect on its
moisture content, but water entering
the ends of plank can. Plank ends
should be sealed, while the ends of cut
plank should be resealed. Check the
weight of plank that gets thoroughly
wet on the job. If a plank is unusually
heavy, it may have absorbed enough
water to negatively affect its strength.
Manufactured wood plank may be
more susceptible to moisture absorption than solid-sawn plank. If manufactured wood plank gets soaked, or even
if it is exposed to prolonged periods of
high humidity, consult the plank manufacturer. ■
Chuck Hutchinson is vice president sales & marketing for Bil-Jax, Inc. in Archbold, Ohio. He
may be reached at (419) 445-8915. This article
first appeared in Masonry Magazine.
www.scaffold.org
New Product
Planks and Platforms
From Concept
To Reality
Bothwell introduces lightweight and durable alternative to traditional
scaffold planking
The Bothwell Plank System is a new
innovative composite scaffold plank
designed for, and compatible with,
existing frame and system scaffolding.
The plank is a unique lightweight and
durable alternative to the current scaffolding platforms on the market today.
It meets or exceeds all OSHA/ANSI
standards for access platforms.
A few of the features and benefits of
the plank are that it is non-conductive,
www.scaffold.org
non-corrosive, non-slip and non-lap. It
won't absorb water, is chemical resistant and light weight and can be
ordered in custom colors.
Inventor Tim Bothwell
Bothwell set scaffolding for 15 years
and owned and operated his own company for 12 of those years. His fascination with Lego blocks and Erector sets
led him to an inevitable career in scaf-
folding. At 23 he started his own scaffolding company, Bothwell Custom
Scaffolding, which gained industry
recognition, with a reputation for
innovation and setting more specialized and complex jobs. During those
years, he thought a plastic plank made
sense, but did not take the idea seriously until after he sold his company
in 1998. After designing his first plank
Continued on page 15
Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
13
Planks and Platforms
Continued from page 13
in 1999, Bothwell filed a patent application, established Bothwell Enterprises Inc. and made a full-time commitment to the project. A U.S. patent
was issued in August 2002, a second
one issued in August 2006. Two additional patents are currently pending.
Design and Development
It took seven years with a team of
top designers, engineers, and manufacturers from around the world to
bring this plank to fruition.
It wasn’t until his introduction to
CEO Peter Bemis, of Bemis Manufacturing in Sheboygan Falls, Wis. in 2002 that
the plank development moved into
high gear. Bemis took a personal interest and, with no hesitation, put a team
of experts on the project. One team
member was Roy Watson, an industrial
design consultant with a vast experience
in plastics design. He spent 11 years with
G.E. Plastics in Europe and the U.S.
where he was manager of advanced
design and development. For the last 15
years he has been president of his own
company, Trigpoint Design.
With Bothwell’s scaffolding expertise and Watson’s design-engineering
and plastics experience they made a
great team in designing an interlocking scaffolding plank system compatible with the traditional steel and aluminum scaffolding frames used today.
It was Bemis who insisted on a non-lap
system, constantly reminding the team
to “think outside the box.” After an exhaustive period of design, development, and fine-tuning, the result was
the Bothwell Plank System, a system
made of hollow planks, with steel-reinforced injection molded hooks.
After another two years of design improvements, prototypes were developed
and tested for the best manufacturing
process. Ultimately, a pultrusion process
proved the most successful in creating a
strong, stiff, lightweight plank. The endconnectors are injection molded thermoplastic reinforced with a steel insert.
Although Bemis was the perfect company to develop the injection molded
end connector it was not set up for the
www.scaffold.org
pultrusion process. Bemis brought in a
pultrusion specialist, Chris Edwards, of
Fulcrum Composites. Edwards had performed the engineering and strength
analyses for the planks and introduced
Bothwell to Alfonso Branca, president of
TopGlass s.p.a., one of the world’s foremost pultrusion companies, based in
Milan, Italy.
Branca had an interest and passion
for the project right away, and in
September 2004, the first planks were
produced using the pultrusion process
at TopGlass. These planks, made from
a composite of polyester resin and
glass fiber reinforcement manufactured by Owens Corning, became the
backbone of the whole system.
Testing and Improvements
Bothwell and TopGlass designed a
special test machine to comply with
OSHA and ANSI standards. The testing equipment tested for real life
usage. State-of-the-art testing equipment was developed to establish design
values and working load capabilities.
In addition, a “longevity machine”
which runs 24/7 tested the plank at
various weights and positions to simulate continuous use. The knowledge
gained during this constant testing
since 2004 has resulted in several
design improvements to the plank
and the overall system. Several other
improvements to the system have
included a patented non-slip surface
which works in wet and dry conditions
and is permanently embedded in the
surface of the plank.
Field testing began in Southern
California in September 2005. Working closely with contractors, the BothContinued on page 17
Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
15
16
FEBRUARY 2007 Scaffold Industry
www.scaffold.org
Planks and Platforms
weight of just over 32,000 lbs. This
reflects a 40% weight difference.
Continued from page 15
well Plank System was rigorously field
tested. After use, contractors offered
input on changes and improvements.
Improvements included the patented
locking pin design now used to fasten the
connector to the plank. This pin allows
for easy removal of the end connector
from the plank should it be damaged or
a need arise to shorten the plank. The
plank can be cut to any length and the
connector reassembled with a new pin
and, voila, a shorter plank!
Another improvement was the plastic material for the end connector,
thanks to Richard Gagliardone, territory development manager for BASF
Corp., Engineering Plastics. Although
the current material was working, there
was still room for improvement on the
impact testing. During this time,
Gagliardone was introduced to the project and was convinced BASF had a better resin with the right impact strength
for the end connector. He was right!
BASF-the Chemical Co. is headquartered in Ludwigshafen, Germany with
its NAFTA headquarters located in
Florham Park, N.J. It has provided
Bothwell with incredible resources in
engineering and testing and is now the
designated material supplier for the
www.scaffold.org
end connector and locking pin.
The biggest discovery was the unexpected benefits of the lightweight construction. For example, last summer
Sahara Scaffolding Co. of Riverside,
Calif., was contracted to erect scaffold
on a local four-story job. The job used
801 Bothwell planks ranging from 3 to
10 ft. with no overlap and a total plank
weight of 19,483 lbs. Measuring the
job with wood plank using 6-, 9- and
12-ft. overlapping planks, the job
would have used 818 planks for a total
Sales and Marketing
Bothwell recognized early on that
they would need to team up with a sales
and marketing team that understands
the access platform market. Bothwell
chose Kennison Forest Products, Inc., of
Sulphur, LA. Kennison has been a leader
in the scaffold access market and an active SIA member for over 20 years. “The
Bothwell plank raises the bar for all system styled planks. It delivers on the promises where other system styled planks
have fallen short,” Kennison Forest Products western sales manager and SIA
California and Hawaii president John
Warlikowski. “We are looking forward to
working closely with Tim and his partners to help introduce one of the most
innovative planking systems that the scaffolding industry has seen in many years.”
Their market knowledge left them
the obvious choice and partner. Bothwell Enterprise has teamed up with
Kennison Forest Products and signed
an exclusive sales and marketing agreement for North and South America.
“We are excited to be the exclusive distributor for the Bothwell Plank System,”
said Kennison Forest Products vice-president and general manager Jared
Kennison. “The Bothwell Plank System
will allow us to service wider markets
and our new customer base.”■
Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
17
Column
Suspended Corner
Platform Options
for Suspended
Applications
Modular platforms become the industry standard
By John Purtle
In the early years of our industry, suspended scaffold platforms were the
ladder type, also known as “fixed
length.” These platforms were simple
to use. If you wanted a platform, or
board, to lift two persons, you purchased a 500-lb rated board. If you
wanted three persons to use the platform, you purchased a board with a
750-lb. capacity.
made two person crews mandatory for
delivery. As the lengths exceeded 30 ft,
larger trucks were required to deliver
these platforms legally to the jobsite.
When these platforms were damaged on site it was always difficult to
bill adequately for the damage. If a
customer damaged the end of a 36-ft
platform, some dealers would bill out
a proportional charge for length lost.
Modular platforms should have eliminated
some unsafe practices within the industry,
by making them unnecessary.
Rating this style of platform was as
easy as looking at the side information
tag on the deck. It was so simple that it
was used in OSHA and industry related
books as a standard. Even to this day,
this style of platform is considered the
standard in some areas of the country.
This platform had several drawbacks when compared to modular
style platforms. Because the platform
was fixed in its length, the longer versions were heavy and difficult to transport. The longer lengths, above 20 ft,
18
FEBRUARY 2007 Scaffold Industry
Even if they added in the extra parts
that needed to be ordered, it never
really covered the costs of damage.
The dealer originally purchased a
36-in. platform, because that is what
they rented. Though they could still
rent the repaired and shortened
platform, they did not have a 36-in.
platform to rent. Therefore they had
to purchase another 36-in. long platform, and after a few years they had
a yard full of 20-in. platforms and
some odd sizes.
Modular Style Platforms
After several years of trials, modular
platforms began to catch on, at least for
the more complicated building faces.
Modular platforms allowed the rental
company to access many more areas of
the building, safer than ever before.
Modular style platforms had corners with different size angles. Working inside and outside of a tank, a
tower, or on the latest new building
was easier than ever. The corners came
in standard sizes and could be used to
build squares, rectangles, triangle and
circular style platforms to meet the
building's need.
Modular platforms are lightweight
and easy to assemble. Longer length
platforms are now being delivered in
smaller vehicles with only one person.
With a little training, even the longest
modular platform can be set up with
only one person.
Modular platforms should have
eliminated some unsafe practices within the industry, by making them unnecessary. The unsafe practice of raising a platform into position at an
angle should have disappeared with
modular platforms. With fixed length
www.scaffold.org
Suspended Corner
boards some people decided that raising platforms at an angle was the only
way to install this type of platform
when obstructions were encountered
at the base of the building. This practice is not considered safe or the designed use of the equipment.
This practice was done when trees,
landscaping or smaller buildings existed
at the bottom of a building structure.
When obstacles at the base of a building
were encountered, other options for
installing these platforms were considered too costly and labor intensive and
therefore were not often used.
This practice poses a new set of hazards not originally present in the normal use of suspended scaffolding and
should be stopped. Depending on the
easily accomplished with fixed length
boards. Since the modular platform is
constructed from pieces, rental operators now have the ability to bill just for
the damage incurred with no penalty.
Modular platforms have so many
options that most platforms are easily
constructed without special engineering. Modular platforms have truly
increased the capacity of suspended
scaffolding in many ways.
The Process of Rating a
Modular Platform
Fixed length boards offered three
standard load ratings for their boards,
500, 750 and 1,000 lbs. Modular platforms have achieved load ratings
much higher than this.
Pricing is directly related to the number
of parts and labor that goes into the
production of the item.
job site conditions, this practice can
transfer unanticipated loads and forces
to the equipment. These forces can
cause damage to the equipment and
possibly injure the operators.
Some of the original perceived drawbacks of modular platforms were price,
weight and the number of parts.
Modular platforms were made from
many pieces, which has been one obstacle to their overall adoption within the
industry. More pieces meant more complicated estimating, order pulling and
rental check-in. More pieces also meant
more training for parts identification.
Many of the advantages of modular
platform come directly from the same
drawbacks. Pricing is directly related to
the number of parts and labor that goes
into the production of the item. The
number of parts associated with a modular platform gives a rental dealer, or
equipment owner, more flexibility with
the same pieces. Round, circular and
various other shaped platforms are not
www.scaffold.org
Though modular can achieve a higher load rating, for some persons, determining what is the actual load rating is
difficult. The simple answer is, just look
at the chart on the side of the platform.
The load rating of a platform is
equal to lifting capacity of hoist(s)
minus total weight of platform, if this
number is less than, or equal to, the
printed rating. The load rating may
also be the printed load rating on the
side of the platform when the platform is constructed according to the
attached chart only if the combined
lifting capacity of the hoists being used
is equal to, or greater than, the selfweight of the platform and the live
load capacity combined.
Let's define a few terms first. The
“self-weight” of a platform is the combined weights of all items on, or that
are part of a platform. This would
include the components that make up
the platform, the stirrups, the hoists,
the wire rope, the power cord and any-
thing else that is connected to the platform. This is sometimes referred to as
the “dead load” or “dead weight”.
The “Load Rating” of a platform,
also known as “Live Load” rating, is
the combined weight of objects that
are added to, or are lifted by the platform. Things that would be added to
the platform include the workers, their
tools, and their materials.
Once the terms are known, calculating the platform load rating is done with
a basic math formula (described above.)
For example, a modular platform
has a printed load rating of 2,000 lbs.
when constructed according to the
provided chart. The platform is using
two hoists with a lifting capacity of 750
lbs. each. Your actual load rating will
be no higher than 1,500 lbs. If this
platform has a self-weight of 1,000 lbs.
your load rating would drop to just
500 lbs. in this example.
Did You Know?
• The number one myth about
modular platforms is that the longer
the platform, the more load it can lift.
Longer platforms usually decrease
your load rating because their selfweight increases with length.
•Many modular platforms display a
load rating with this disclaimer;
“Evenly distributed weight or loading
applies.” This means that you cannot
place the full load rating at any one
position on the platform. It must be an
evenly distributed or spread out load.
Tips and Tricks
•On a mod platform with end stirrups, lay the stirrup down and attach
the hoist. Raise the hoist and the stirrup into position using the hoist with
power applied to it. ■
John Purtle is with Power Climber in Tukwila,
Wash. Comments can be sent to him at 365
Upland Drive, Tukwila, WA 98188.
Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
19
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© Alum-A-Pole Corporation 2005 Scranton, PA.
Patents Issued & Others Pending
MEMBER OF
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FEBRUARY 2007 Scaffold Industry
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Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
21
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22
FEBRUARY 2007 Scaffold Industry
www.scaffold.org
Column
Standards Update
ANSI A92
What's new for aerial work platform standards
By Dave Merrifield
The SIA is the secretariat for the aerial
work platform industry standards
(ANSI A92).
There are seven standards covering
most types of aerial work platforms.
These include A92.2-2001 VehicleMounted, A92.3-2006 Manually Propelled, A92.5-2006 Boom-Supported,
A92.6-2006 Self-Propelled (scissors),
A92.7-1990 Airline Ground Support,
A92.8-1993 Vehicle-Mounted Inspection and Maintenance Devices, and
A92.9-Mast-Climbing.
The SIA is the secretariat for this
group and as such handles all of the
administration duties including publishing and sale of the standards. Sale
of the standards furnishes a significant
income stream for SIA because every
work platform must have a current
standard on board.
The consensus body is otherwise
separate from SIA and answers to
ANSI on issues of fairness, balance,
due process, etc.
There is a degree of prestige that
The goal is to refresh all standards on a
five-year cycle. New and emerging issues will
be addressed by the subcommittees with the view
to improve the standards and keep up with
evolving designs and practices.
Each standard has an associated subcommittee that reports to the main
committee with draft standards. The
main committee (officially the “consensus body”) votes on the draft standards,
and when a consensus is reached, it
passes the draft standard on to the
American National Standards Institute
for review and public comment.
After dealing with the public review, the standard is published and
becomes the standard of the industry,
although compliance with it is technically voluntary.
www.scaffold.org
The goal is to refresh all standards
on a five-year cycle. New and emerging
issues will be addressed by the subcommittees with the view to improve the
standards and keep up with evolving
designs and practices.
In the coming years, among other
things, we will be addressing the relatively new International Standards
Organization standards and thinking
about how they may impact our national standards.
Also, we conduct routine business at
this meeting such as membership changes
and subcommittee updates. ■
Dave Merrifield, of Merrifield Safety
Consulting LLC in St. Joseph, Mo., is the
chairman of the ANSI/SIA A92 Committee.
He can be reached at (816) 364-1540 or
[email protected].
reflects back to SIA because the
ANSI/SIA standards are pre-eminent
in the industry and are regarded as the
authority on design and use of aerial
platforms. SIA's secretariat also collaborates with AWPT (Aerial Work Platform
Training Inc.) and IPAF (International
Powered Access Federation).
Each year the main committee and
various subcommittees-about 70 to 80
members and guests-meet. At this
year's meeting we were able to announce the publication of three new
standards.
Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
23
Column
Monitoring Mastclimbers
Mastclimbers to Receive
Regulatory Focus
SIA active in new mast climbing work platform safety initiative
Members of the Scaffold Industry Association and International Powered Access Federation recently took part in a
two-day workshop aimed at improving
regulations for the use of mast climbing
work platforms in the United States.
The event was a meeting of a committee formed by the Center for Protection of Workers Rights, a nonprofit
organization created by the AFL-CIO's
Building and Construction Trades
Department. Since the inception of
research initiatives in 1990, the CPWR
has become an international leader in
applied research, training and service
to the construction industry.
In November 2005, at its 12th Engineering and Work Practice Controls
Group meeting, the CPWR identified
mast climbing work platforms, or
MCWPs, as an area of interest for the
committee's 2006 meeting.
Among members of the 18-person
committee were Kevin O'Shea, IPAF
and Aerial Work Platform Training
U.S. liaison for MCWPs, and A92.9
Committee joint chairmen Greg Janda
and Jay Gordon. The committee also
included union training directors,
OSHA senior officers and related industry experts.
One of the areas of powered access
that has seen continued significant
growth in the U.S. is the MCWP. On
many jobsites the MCWP is now an
essential tool for masons, stucco contractors and a fast-growing range of
other contractors. However, when a
product grows in use as quickly as
MCWPs, there is a critical need to make
sure there are adequate regulations,
24
FEBRUARY 2007 Scaffold Industry
industry standards, training and other
measures needed to promote safe use.
The purpose of the two-day inten-
sive program was to identify new,
more stringent legislation, which
would effectively control and manwww.scaffold.org
Monitoring Mastclimbers
There are many benefits in the working
relationship between SIA and IPAF and there are
new advantages presenting themselves every day.
age MCWP use in the U.S.
As identified in the mission statement and objectives, the work group
aims to embark on important initiatives, such as:
•Identifying more stringent standards
and evaluating potential introduction
or adoption in the U.S.
•Evaluating the level of onsite expertise and determining training requirements.
•Identifying methods for introduction
of the identified improvements.
The committee heard supplementary information in presentations by
O'Shea and Janda. O'Shea discussed the
MCWP market in the U.S. and MCWP
use and regulation in Europe. Janda
brought the committee up to speed on
the SIA and its' secretariat of A92.
While the findings of the committee are not yet published, O'Shea's presentation highlighted the areas that
were big discussion points:
•The lack of expertise in the U.S.
MCWP market, which is being further exacerbated by MCWP population growth.
•The immediate need for training and
certification for users, installers, operators and instructors in addition to
the training received by owners from
manufacturers.
•The need for in-depth risk analysis.
•The identification and skills/experiential verification of the “competent
person” and the “qualified person.”
•Third-party verification of competent
and qualified persons, installers, instructors and advanced users.
•Minimum training durations and
pretraining qualification criteria.
•The need to identify common factors
that could lead to accidents.
•The need to identify how anchors, supwww.scaffold.org
port structures and engineering changes
should be managed and verified.
•The need to identify what the user
should be aware of before he or she
begins to operate the MCWP.
During his presentation, O'Shea
told the group: “MCWP use is growing
so fast in this country that legislation
has fallen off pace, creating the potential for confusion. For instance, the distance an MCWP can be erected off the
building face without having to fit
front hand rails is found in fixed scaffold legislation, but an MCWP is a
moving platform.”
OSHA legislation is clear on certain
areas that tend to be generic to the access industry. For example, the scaffold
standards clearly define competent
and qualified people. It also clearly
defines the enclosed platform principle, as well as stipulating who should
carry out training.
But the ability, stipulated in the
same OSHA standard, to erect a moving platform 18 in. away from the
building face, without front handrails,
is an example of where the CPWR
workgroup can specifically analyze the
merit of these apparent points of con-
flict and suggest alternatives that are
specific to the risk factors.
One of the decisions the committee made early in the process was to
send two members to Las Vegas to
attend the A92.9 committee meeting.
Having heard about the work done
through the SIA and its secretariat of
A92, the committee felt that there
would be merit in close liaison. The
A92.9 committee will have a firsthand
account of what occurred during the
two-day workshop.
Although
manufacturers train
owners of equipment,
there is immediate need
for training and
certification for users,
installers, operators
and instructors.
“The MCWP industry was in the
same position in the UK 10 years ago,
and since the subsequent, and necessary, introduction of increased legislation and guidelines, MCWPs have
gained the reputation as the safest
method of powered access available,”
O'Shea says. “It's time to act.” ■
upcoming issue...
Look in the next month’s issue for articles on
Innovative Access Applications
For Advertising Rates or to submit an article, please call:
Elizabeth Dambouradjian
(832) 524-4947
Joan Callahan
(972) 819-1496
Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
25
Column
Immigration Issues
Understanding
Immigration Law
Construction industry must prepare for immigration raids
By Leigh Ganchan
During the spring and summer, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Agency (ICE)raided and prosecuted
the key players of several businesses related to scaffolsding specialists and the
construction industry, including:
• May 2. ICE charged the owner of
an Indiana stucco-related services business working at construction sites in
seven Midwest states with money laundering, harboring illegal aliens, transporting illegal aliens and false statements in connection with an illegal
employment scheme.
The owner faces as many as 40 years
in prison and criminal forfeiture of
$1.4 million. His firm was allegedly
able to undercut the bids of contractors to perform work at construction
sites through cheap labor costs from
undocumented workers.
• May 9. ICE charged Fischer
Homes' supervisors with harboring
undocumented workers in a worksite
enforcement investigation. ICE arrested four construction supervisors and
76 unauthorized workers at construction sites.
• July 21. ICE agents arrested an
Arkansas construction business owner
on felony charges and apprehended 27
unauthorized workers. ICE also arrested the manager and a crew leader and
determined that the framing company
earned about $1.8 million last year
using an undocumented workforce.
ICE has stepped up efforts to prose-
26
FEBRUARY 2007 Scaffold Industry
cute those it deems to be “egregious corporate violators” - those that knowingly
and directly employ illegal aliens. The
government is also sending a strong
message to companies that knowingly
enter into contracts with those who
employ undocumented aliens, or those
who at least do not have a proper I-9 system in place, by holding such businesses
liable for the unauthorized employment
violations of subcontractors.
Such a policy strongly affects scaffolding companies and anyone else
who may have outdated policies regarding the detection of illegal aliens or
who deal with unethical subcontractors.
Given the increased likelihood of
ICE conducting a worksite enforcement operation at any given construction site, construction executives
would be well-advised to understand
their responsibilities under the law
and to put in place procedures for properly dealing with potential violations
by the staff charged with administering
the I-9 process for their company.
The Law
ICE expects companies using or
providing contract work to terminate any workers on their site who
are not authorized. This verification
system is administered through the
Form I-9 completion process. Violations of the employment eligibility
verification system carry potential
civil and criminal penalties.
Potential Penalties
Violations such as an error on the I9 Form or no I-9 at all can result in a
company being fined $110 to $1,100
for each individual. For the knowing
employment of unauthorized workers,
ICE may assess one of three tiers of
fines with an initial range of $250 to
$2,000 fine for each unauthorized individual. For second and third violations,
fines range from $2,000 to $5,000 and
$3,000 to $10,000 respectively.
Criminal penalties are also possible
where there is a finding of a pattern or
practice of violating the prohibition
against knowingly hiring unauthorized
workers. Penalties can be up to $3,000
for each unauthorized worker, imprisonment for up to six months or both.
The regulations define “pattern or
practice” as “regular, repeated and intentional activities” but not “isolated,
sporadic or accidental acts.”
It is also a crime punishable by five
years in prison for any person to knowingly hire at least 10 individuals with
actual knowledge that the individuals
were unauthorized aliens who were
illegally brought into the U.S. To be
liable under this provision, the employer must have actual knowledge both of
the alien's unauthorized status and of
the fact that the aliens were brought
into the U.S. illegally.
In the last term, Congress considered legislation that would have significantly increased these penalties.
www.scaffold.org
Immigration Issues
New Prosecution Trends
In a new trend, ICE now typically
pursues in U.S. District Court with the
cooperation of the U.S. Attorney's
Office charges for additional violations
of federal law such as alien smuggling,
alien harboring, document fraud,
money laundering, immigration fraud
or worker exploitation. In some cases
executives have even been held personally liable for violations. Finally, private citizens or entities that have suffered damages due to companies that
profit by violating U.S. immigration
law can now bring a private lawsuit to
enforce those laws.
Harboring
It is a federal crime to “harbor” illegal aliens, which encompasses concealing or shielding a foreign national
when the person knows or recklessly
disregards the fact the the foreign
national is in the U.S. illegally.
Harboring can include providing shelter and any action that helps an alien's
unlawful presence in the U.S.
Criminal penalties for harboring
violations can be severe, especially if
the violation is for commercial gain in which case the defendant can be
fined, imprisoned for not more than
10 years or both. Even where commercial gain is not established a defendant
can be imprisoned for up to five years.
Document Fraud
Corporations can also face criminal
liability under various document fraud
provisions. Penalties for such also
include fines and prison time.
Immigration Fraud
It is a crime punishable by fines and
imprisonment ranging from terms of
five to 20 years to knowingly make
under oath any false statement with
respect to a material fact in any application, affidavit or other document
required by the immigration laws. It is
also a criminal offense to knowingly
present any such document that conwww.scaffold.org
tains a false statement or that fails to
contain any reasonable basis in law or
fact. Additionally, an individual who
helps a foreign national commit immigration fraud could also be found
guilty as a conspirator.
gling and harboring undocumented
aliens. The RICO Act is now a strong
tool in the hands of private parties
against persons and companies that
profit by violating U.S. immigration law.
Individual Liability
While most prosecutions focus on
the activities of nonexecutive staff such as payroll, HR supervisors and
general managers - lead executives can
also be the target of a federal investigation. Pertinent regulations define
“employer” for I-9 enforcement purposes as both corporate entities and
individuals. There are various documented cases of the extension of personal liability to principals in addition
to liability on the part of a corporation.
For example, one CEO was held
personally liable because he had stipulated to personally hiring the alleged
undocumented aliens and had even
provided transportation and board at
his home for the undocumented workers so that they would be in a position
to render employment services.
Another court held the corporate
principals personally responsible for
hiring violations because they were
closely involved in the hiring and
supervising of company personnel.
Violation Response
and Preparation
Given the range of potential issues,
violations and penalties, executives
should immediately review their company's employment eligibility verification compliance program.
The existence of a written policy is
the best assurance for managing the
hiring process throughout an organization to avoid breaking the law. If a company does not have such a policy, then
it should develop and implement one
immediately. Where the possibility of
potential mistakes exist, company executives should call for prompt and thorough investigations.
Courts frequently consider an
employer's response once they are put
on notice of potential employment of
unauthorized employees. In addition
to consulting a qualified immigration
attorney to assist with all phases of this
process, executives should consider
retaining a federal criminal law attorney to advise regarding criminal
charges. ■
Organized Crime
The Racketeer Influenced and
Corrupt Organizations Act allows private plaintiffs to seek compensation
from any citizen or entity that causes
injury to his business or property by
engaging in a pattern of specific criminal acts. In 1996, Congress expanded
RICO to include violations of federal
immigration law.
Under RICO, an entity that engages
in a pattern of racketeering activity for
financial gain can be held both criminally and civilly liable. Violations of
immigration law that are now actionable under RICO include employing
unauthorized workers, encouraging or
inducing illegal immigration, smug-
Leigh N. Ganchan is partner at the Houstonbased law firm of Epstein Becker Green Wickliff
& Hall. She can be reached at (713) 750-3100
or at [email protected].
Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
27
Department
OSHA Update
OSHA Names
New Executive
Appointments
SIA to open dialogue with new directorate of construction
Assistant secretary of labor for Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) assistant secretary of labor Edwin G.
Foulke, Jr., recently announced key executive personnel appointments at the
agency, including the appointment of
two deputy assistant secretaries and a
new chief of staff.
for activities of OSHA, the Mine Safety
and Health Administration, and immigration-related issues relevant to DOL.
Prior to arriving at the labor department, Little served for six years as senior
director for government relations with
the American Farm Bureau Federation.
Shalhoub has held a variety of posi-
“Initial contact has been made with the
new faces within the office of the
directorate of construction,” stated
SIA president John R. Miller.
“We look forward to working
together in the very near future.”
C. Bryan Little, formerly of the
Department of Labor's (DOL) Office
of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs (OCIA), and Donald G.
Shalhoub, formerly the ombudsman
for Part E of the Labor Department's
Energy Employees Occupational
Illness Compensation Program, were
appointed by Foulke as deputy assistant secretaries.
Little served for more than four
years as a senior legislative officer in
OCIA managing congressional contacts
28
FEBRUARY 2007 Scaffold Industry
tions in the DOL's Office of the
Solicitor since 1985, most recently as
the deputy associate solicitor for the
Occupational Safety and Health
Division for more than 15 years.
Shalhoub was appointed by the secretary of labor as the department's first
ombudsman for Part E of the compensation program created by the Energy
Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. He served in
that capacity since February 2005.
Also joining OSHA as its new chief
of staff is Gabe Sierra. For the past six
years, Sierra worked for Emerson Process Management as a senior marketing manager, overseeing new technology development programs for the industrial process automation industry.
Sierra also worked as a project manager for large scale construction projects
in the petrochemical industry. As
OSHA's chief of staff, Sierra will serve
as a senior member of OSHA's management team and work with Foulke
and others on agency policy, oversight
and management.
Finally, Foulke announced the appointments of Steven F. Witt as director
of the directorate of construction, and
Dorothy Dougherty as director of
OSHA's Directorate of Standards and
Guidance (DSG). Witt recently served as
an acting deputy assistant secretary for
OSHA and has been with OSHA since
1983. Dougherty, an OSHA professional
since 1991, has been serving as the DSG's
acting director for the past two years.
“We are fortunate to have the caliber of professionals like these men
and women in our agency,” Foulke
said. “Their experience and long history in the safety and health community will only strengthen and improve
OSHA's operations as we continue to
further safety and health throughout
this new century.” ■
www.scaffold.org
Department
Industry Briefs
XServ to be Acquired
by the Brock Group
Aquisitions continue to reshape scaffold and access industry
The Brock Group (Brock) has agreed
to acquire XServ Inc. (XServ), a majority owned portfolio company of
Mezzanine Management's Fund III.
Terms of the acquisition agreement
were not disclosed.
With this acquisition, XServ will be
merged into Brock. The combined
business will be a provider of coatings,
scaffolding and insulation for the
country's industrial businesses. Operations of the two companies are spread
throughout the United States, with
additional operations in the Caribbean
and South America. The combined
business will have approximately 7,500
employees working at numerous locations. The companies will be held by
Brock, which is owned by Lindsay
Goldberg & Bessemer, a New Yorkbased investment partnership, the
Brock family and members of management of the combined companies.
The transaction is expected to close
in the first quarter 2007 and is subject to
customary closing conditions, including
regulatory approval. The acquisition is
being funded with equity provided by
Lindsay Goldberg & Bessemer and the
Brock family as well as debt provided by
Bank of America and JPMorgan. Weil,
Gotshal & Manges LLP is serving as
counsel to Brock and Lindsay Goldberg
& Bessemer. Porter & Hedges LLP is
representing XServ. JPMorgan served as
financial advisor to XServ.
www.scaffold.org
“Brad (Brock) and I believe this is a
case where the whole is greater than
the sum of its parts,” said Brock coCEO Todd Brock. “It allows us to take
our 60 years of faithful service to our
customers and add a company having
similar values.”
Brock and XServ provide a broad
range of industrial specialty services.
The combined company will be the
premier multi-craft services provider,
an agreement to be acquired by private equity firm First Reserve Corp. for
$1.1 billion.
First Reserve will acquire a majority
of Brand's common stock from current owner J.P. Morgan Partners LLC.
The agreement, subject to regulatory
approval and other customary closing
conditions, is expected to be completed by end of the first quarter. Paul
Wood will remain president and CEO
“We have successfully executed our business
strategy over the last few years thanks to
tireless work by our employees and loyal
support from our customers.”
allowing Brock to bundle services in
ways that provide better productivity,
greater safety and lower total installed
costs for their customers.
“Our combined philosophies are
completely aligned,” said XServ CEO
Mike McGinnis. “Brock and XServ are
two excellent companies that are dedicated to fulfilling our customers' needs and
we are not going to lose sight of that.”
Private Equity Firm to
Acquire Brand for $1.1B
Kennesaw, Ga.-based Brand Energy
& Infrastructure Services has reached
and the existing senior management
team will continue to lead Brand following the transaction.
“This is a tremendous opportunity
for our business and employees to partner with First Reserve in the next phase
of Brand's evolution,” Wood said. “We
have successfully executed our business
strategy over the last few years thanks to
tireless work by our employees and
loyal support from our customers.”
Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan and
Credit Suisse served as financial advisors to Brand in this transaction.
Continued on page 30
Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
29
Industry Briefs
Continued from page 29
“Brand is an excellent strategic fit
for First Reserve and complements our
other successful portfolio companies,”
First Reserve Corp. director Timothy
Day said. “As a world leader in scaffolding and related services, Brand is an
important player in the energy infrastructure sector.”
Marshall Named SIA
Executive Director
The Scaffold Industry Association
welcomed Richard Marshall as executive director on Dec. 20. As executive
director, Marshall assumes responsibilities for the operations of the SIA.
ty and leadership development. She
has worked with organizations in many
industries including manufacturing,
retail, hospitality, academia, local government and professional associations.
Orey will work with the Accredited
Training Institutes to further the
goals and mission of the SIA training
program. She can be reached at
(619) 475-8397 or via email at [email protected].
Triton Buys Alimak Hek
for $309M
Private equity owners Ratos AB and
3i are selling their interest in Stockholm, Sweden-based Alimak Hek to
private equity owner Triton for $309.4
“The additions of Mr. Marshall and Ms. Orey
represent building blocks for the future
of the SIA,” stated
SIA president John R. Miller.
“As we continue to implement
and execute the specifics of our strategic plan,
teamwork and professionalism for our staff
is of paramount importance.”
“The SIA welcomes Richard to the
team,” said SIA president John Miller.
“We are confident that his appointment will make a significant difference
in the way services and benefits are
provided to our membership.”
Marshall joins the association from
the Scottsdale Area Association of
Realtors where he served as the director of finance and technology for 13
years. He can be reached at (602)2571144 or via email at [email protected].
Orey Named SIA Director
of Training and Education
Maureen Orey has been named the
new director of training and education
for the Scaffold Industry Association.
Orey stepped into the position in late
November. She has over 20 years of
experience in the fields of management, training, human resources, safe-
30
FEBRUARY 2007 Scaffold Industry
million. Triton is based in Stockholm,
Frankfurt and London.
3i and Ratos invested in Alimak
Hek in 2001. The acquisition generates profit of approximately $104 million and an IRR of 30% for 3i. “It has
been great to be involved in the development of Alimak Hek. We have,
together with management, completed a number of important acquisitions
and developments,” said 3i Nordic
director Christer Nilsson. “For example, we supported to establish a factory
in China that enables Alimak Hek to
have access to the important Asian
market. Through our international
network Alimak Hek has been able to
build new useful contacts. Our targets
set for the investment in Alimak Hek
have been fulfilled.”
Alimak Hek is a world leader in
rack and pinion based vertical access.
Key products include construction
hoists, mast climbing work platforms,
transport platforms and industrial lifts
used for moving and lifting people
and materials at a worksite. “Alimak
Hek has had an exceptional development during the past five years. This
progress comprises of restructurings,
organic growth, two big acquisitions in
the U.S. and Australia and starting new
production in China. The group has
now a very stable platform for further
expansion,” said Alimak Hek managing director Petter Arvidson.
ABG Sundal Collier and Mannheimer Swartling acted as advisors to
the sellers. The sale of Alimak Hek is
subject to approval by the relevant
competition authorities.
Atlantic Industrial Names
Sisney President
Steven Sisney
has been appointed
president of Atlantic Industrial Inc.
Sisney will be responsible for daily
operations of the
parent company
and will manage
Steven Sisney
and direct the organization to meet its financial and
strategic goals.
“Steve's role as president will be to
help us grow and improve the efficiency of our business as we continue to
expand,” Atlantic Industrial chairman
and CEO Pete Vrettakos said. “Steve
was our top choice after a thorough
and focused selection process.”
Prior to joining Atlantic, Sisney
worked for nearly 20 years at Cooper
Industries Ltd. in a variety of positions
including director of corporate development, president of the CrouseHinds division and, his most recent
assignment, as president of the tool
and hardware group. As group president, Sisney was responsible for 52
manufacturing and sales/service facilities and over 5,200 employees worldwide. During a two-year period, he was
able to grow earnings by 70%.
Sisney has a master of business adwww.scaffold.org
Industry Briefs
ministration from the Harvard Graduate School of Business and an undergraduate degree in industrial engineering from Texas A&M University.
Lindemer Named
President of SSFI
Safway Services national engineering manager, product applications
Dale Lindemer has been named president of the Scaffold, Shoring and
Forming Institute.
SSFI is a trade association whose
members are manufacturers of scaffolding, suspending scaffolding,
shoring, forming, planks, platforms
and related components. It focuses
on developing ANSI testing standards and promoting the safe use of
its scope products.
tion by previous chairman Bud Hayden who decided to step down after
many years of service.
Boehler's appointment was made
official at a Nov. 7 meeting of the A92
main committee. The ANSI A92.6 subcommittee is responsible for the standard ANSI/SIA A96.2 Self-Propelled
Elevating Work Platforms and any formal interpretations of the standard.
Boehler has been active with the
A92 committee and various subcommittees, such as A92.3 Manually
Propelled Elevating Work Platforms,
A92.5 Boom Supported Elevating
Work Platforms, for the past four years.
He is also involved with the Canadian
CSA B354 Elevating Work Platforms
Technical Committee and the ISO
Technical Committee 214 (TC 214) -
The ANSI A92.6 subcommittee
is responsible for the standards
ANSI/SIA A96.2 Self-Propelled
Elevating Work Platforms.
Lindemer has been with Safway for
over 30 years. During his career with
the company, he has been involved in
many aspects of engineering and safety
including applications, site visits and
training. Among projects he has been
involved with include Wisconsin State
Capitol, Michigan State Capitol, Statue
of Freedom, Pacific Bell and Soldiers
& Sailors Monument.
Lindemer holds numerous memberships, including National Fire Protection Association, International
Code Council and SIA. He has served
as an instructor for the scaffold class at
the OSHA Training Institute and holds
a degree in Architectural Building
Construction Engineering from the
Milwaukee School of Engineering.
Boehler Appointed Chairman
of ANSI A92.6 Subcommittee
Skyjack Inc. director of product
safety has been appointed chairman of
the ANSI A92.6 subcommittee.
Boehler was nominated for the posiwww.scaffold.org
Elevating Work Platforms. Other
industry associations include being an
approved Aerial Work Platform Training (AWPT) instructor and serving on
the AWPT Advisory Council as well as
being chairman of the AWPT Practical
Evaluation Working Group. Boehler is
also a member of the International
Powered Access Federation (IPAF)
Manufacturer's Technical Committee
and the FEM Mobile Elevating Work
Platforms, Product Group.
Safway Awarded Contract
for Golden Gate Bridge
Safway Services Inc. has signed a
contract with the Golden Gate Bridge
Highway and Transportation District
to provide its QuikDeck suspended access system for the Golden Gate Bridge
in San Francisco.
The system will be used by workers
to perform ongoing maintenance on
the bridge. The QuikDeck access system is a suspended modular platform
decking system used in bridge con-
struction/repair, shipyards, offshore
rigs, atriums, temporary stages and
other uses.
AWPT Hires Groat as
Membership Director
Aerial Work Platform Training has
hired industry veteran Tony Groat as
its North American membership development director.
Groat is responsible for acquiring
new members, training centers and
developing services for IPAF's North
American members. Based in Albany,
IPAF is the parent organization of AWPT.
Groat has been involved with the rental
industry for 31 years, starting with Albany
Ladder and NES Rental. During his
career, he has held positions such as
sales, COO, district manager and regional vice president. He was accountable for
up to 20,000 rental assets (mostly AWPs
and forklifts), 850 employees and 43
locations in 13 states. He is a past president of the North East Subcontractors
Association, a former board member for
Associated Equipment Distributors and a
long-term member of the American
Rental Association and the SIA.
“Quality processes, procedures and
training in all aspects of the business,
including sales, service, delivery, are
essential to achieve a safe work environment in the access industry,” Groat
said. “I plan on enlisting many new
members and AWPT training centers
through increased awareness of AWPT,
its training programs and the quality
and value it brings to the industry.
Having an industry standard for AWP
training is the first critical step to
ensuring compliance and implementation. The ultimate goal is to ensure
safe operation of AWPs in the field.”
Collins Appointed Branch
Manager
Mike Collins has been appointed as
Safway Services Inc. Fort McMurray,
Alberta branch manager.
He will be responsible for branch
operations and growth within the Fort
McMurray market. Collins has 25 years
of mechanical experience, including
15 years in management. ■
Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
31
Column
Tech Trends
Network Security
As business moves to the Internet, security takes center stage
Two of the most frequent topics of discussion with information technology
(IT) clients are network security and
network remote access. Usually the
questions or concerns center on a specific element of these two broad subjects. Perhaps the question may be “is
my virus protection up to date?” or “do
we need a firewall?” or “how can I
access my files from home?”
and network. At least three type of files
fall into this category: viruses, trojan
horses, and worms. These items are
similar in that they attempt to compromise your system, though they have
distinctive characteristics.
A computer virus is malicious code
attached to another file. It spreads in a
similar fashion to biological viruses in
the human body, which infect healthy
A worm is similar to a virus except for one
distinction - it replicates on its own, without user
intervention. It may send out multiple copies of
itself to multiple sites. Often this is accomplished
by using an email address book to redirect the
worm to other targets.
These may not necessarily seem related, but each of these issues centers
around network security. Volumes can
and have been written about network
security. Here, we are going to break
down the subject of network security
into the following categories: malicious
programs, deliberate intrusion and
compromise, firewalls and operating
system security. Finally, we will discuss
remote connectivity as it applies to network security.
Malicious Programs
Malicious programs are programsdesigned to harm your computer, data
32
FEBRUARY 2007 Scaffold Industry
cells in order to replicate. Viruses require human intervention to infect
other sites. Usually the executable file
that contains the malicious code must
be deliberately opened.
A worm is similar to a virus except
for one distinction - it replicates on
its own, without user intervention. It
may send out multiple copies of
itself to multiple sites. Often this is
accomplished by using an email
address book to redirect the worm
to other targets.
Trojan horses masquerade as useful
software, but are actually harmful. This
false veneer lures users to open the
program, whereby it may do damage.
Unlike viruses or worms, trojans do
not replicate or reproduce.
Deliberate Attacks
Unfortunately, many times threats
are not random or untargeted, such as
the malicious programs outlined
above. Rather, they are deliberate
attacks aimed at compromising a network. Often times these types of threat
comes from existing or former employees, or other people familiar with the
network. These individuals may know
sensitive passwords, the location of corporate data, or have institutional knowledge regarding the best way to disrupt
office workflow. Corporate policies limiting employee access to data and terminating accounts and passwords after
employee termination are paramount
in addressing this issue.
Attempts to compromise the network by outside agents, either opportunistically or with a specific goal of
obtaining information or causing damage, are also a potential threat. A key
factor in mitigating these attacks - like
thwarting a burglary attempt - is to
make it as difficult as possible for the
intruder to gain entry. Some ways to
achieve these impediments are instituting firewalls, requiring strong passwords and mandating internal security
policies. It is also very important to
keep operating systems maintained
with the latest service releases and
security patches.
www.scaffold.org
Tech Trends
Firewalls
In the preceding section, the use of
a firewall was mentioned. A firewall is a
system that assists in preventing unauthorized access to a computer or network. Both hardware- and softwarebased firewalls exist. Software firewalls
can only protect a single PC, since they
are software programs that run in the
background of the machine. Hardware
firewalls are necessary to protect a network of computers. A hardware firewall
is a device (box) that, in most configurations, is installed between internal
local corporate network equipment
and a company's Internet interface.
ing systems in your environment are
vendor-supported. Another reason is
that software application vendors write
code for the most up-to-date operating
systems. For example, Symantec
Corporate Antivirus 10.x will not run
on Windows NT 4.0 Server - a Microsoft operating system that Microsoft no
longer supports - even though many
users still employ it in a production
environment.
Any operating system has flaws, such
as security holes, program inefficiencies
and downright errors. Operating system
vendors remedy omissions and problems on a consistent and frequent basis.
Firewalls will not prevent virus attacks. They are
one layer of network protection.
Firewalls will not prevent virus attacks. They are one layer of network
protection. Firewalls are configured to
allow authorized network traffic and
disallow unauthorized data packets
both inbound to a network and outbound to the Internet and ultimately
its intended destination.
Operating System Security
A very important additional layer of
security for your network is operating
system security. An operating system is
the program that runs your computer
or file server. Examples are Windows
XP Professional, Windows Server 2003,
and Windows Vista, which debuted in
January from Microsoft. Though there
are many operating system vendors,
most corporate desktops and servers
use Microsoft. For this article, I will
assume that Microsoft is the operating
system vendor in your office.
Microsoft and other vendors provide support for their operating systems for a finite number of years. This
is one reason to make sure the operatwww.scaffold.org
It is extremely important to maintain
operating systems by reviewing and installing critical security updates and service packs. Service packs are generally
large re-writes of the operating system
that address myriad flaws, enhancements and security lapses. Often times,
the vendors offer optional updates and
device driver updates that are not critical for security, but that provide enhanced performance or convenience.
Many applications or productivity
software (e.g. Microsoft Word, or
Excel) have security deficiencies as
well. This allows an attacker another
potential port of entry to cause mischief. For this reason, application program updates should be reviewed and
applied as necessary.
Remote Network
Connectivity
Earlier in this article, the topic of
remote network connectivity was
broached. Remote network connectivity is just a stilted way of saying connecting to your office network from out-
side the network. In the past, this was
accomplished by using two modems
and a phone line. A user could “dial
in” to the remote office network
through modem connections and
access a single computer. Although the
speed of the connection has increased
with the widespread availability of
broadband connections, the communication software supporting these
connections is much the same.
When a user runs an application
on a Windows 2000- or Windows
2003-based terminal server, all of the
application execution takes place on
the server and only the keyboard,
mouse and display information are
transmitted over the network. Each
user sees only his or her individual
session, which is managed transparently by the server operating system
and is independent of any other
client session.
Many companies are incorporating
remote access rights into their employee policy and procedures. When this is
the case, it is imperative to monitor
login user names and passwords as well
as safe IP addresses to ensure that
unauthorized access to the network is
not given to persons masquerading as
authorized users.
Conclusion
As more business activity moves to
the Internet, companies should implement a comprehensive approach to
proactive security policy that includes
monitoring the network and testing
for penetration of security holes in the
network. Done correctly, it will reduce
risk and computer down time and
impact a company's bottom line. ■
Brian D. Beard is vice president of technology for
Facchina Strategic Planning, Inc., a diversified
information technology and marketing firm based
in Edgewater, Md. He may be reached at [email protected]
Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
33
For advertising rates
and information, contact:
Elizabeth Dambouradjian
(832) 524-4947
or
Joan Callahan
(972) 819-1496
To submit an article,
contact Natalie Keith, Editor
[email protected]
Now Available
Manuals of Responsibilities
for Aerial Work Platforms
The Scaffold Industry Association announces
now available
2006 Manuals of Responsibilities
ANSI/SIA A92.5 Boom Supported Elevating Work Platforms
ANSI/SIA A92.3 Manually Propelled Elevating Aerial Platforms
For Dealers, Owners, Users and Operators, Lessors and Lessees.
Section 5.2.2 of the standard (A92.3 2006 & A92.5 2006)
The current Manual of Responsibilities for dealers, owners, users, operators, lessors,
lessees and brokers .... shall be provided and stored in the weather resistant storage compartment.
To order your copies, visit our website at www.scaffold.org.
For 2006
any questions,
please contact Aimee Siems via email at [email protected].
34 DECEMBER
Scaffold Industry
www.scaffold.org
34
FEBRUARY 2007 Scaffold Industry
www.scaffold.org
Schedule
Of Events
SIA New Members
Mobley Industrial Services
P.O. Box 596
Deer Park, TX 77536
(281) 470-9120
www.mobleyservices.com
Contact: Juan Granados
Industry Events
March 11-15
ConExpo-ConAgg
Las Vegas Convention Center
Las Vegas, Nev.
April 4-5
INTEX Expo 2007
Interior Exterior Commercial Construction
Walt Disney World
Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
April 23-29
BAUMA 2007
Munich World Trade Fair Center
Munich, Germany
www.bauma.de
May 22-25
NPRA
Reliability & Maintenance
Conference & Exhibition
George R. Brown Convention Center
Houston, Texas
June 24-26
Safety 2007 Exposition
ASSE
Orange County Convention Center
Orlando, Fla.
SIA Events
July 15-21
35th Annual Convention & Expo
Hyatt Regency Long Beach and Long
Beach Convention Center
Long Beach, Calif.
Were You Not Entertained
President’s Message continued from page 5
majority of the largest scaffold manufacturers that disallowed the practice of
tying off to scaffolds. Times change.
Thinking changes. Associations change.
This revision represents the flexibility
and proactive thinking that the new SIA
should be known for. The initial success
of these two councils is truly gratifying
as they represent future membership
growth, along with outreach to the end
users, and a more complete scaffold &
access association.
Committee Week also brought out
another important aspect of our associations future as many international members were in attendance. Members from
China, Japan, Peru, Holland, Canada,
Finland, and the United Kingdom were
www.scaffold.org
present and involved in council functions. As more scaffold & access products
enter the United States from abroad,
these foreign companies turn to the SIA
for guidance, education and insight.
Make no mistake, protecting workers at
height is a global initiative.
For those of you who attended Committee Week, I thank you. For those of
you who did not, I hope to see you in
Long Beach as we have a special celebration planned to commemorate our association's 35th anniversary. Stay tuned.
What's next!. ■
John R. Miller owns and operates the Millstone
Companies based in Upper Marlboro, Md.
He can be reached at (602) 257-1144 or emailed
at [email protected].
NES Rentals
8770 West Bryn Mawr
Chicago, IL 60631
(773) 695-2730
www.nesrentals.com
Contact: Teresa Kee
Oncore Construction
4703 Webster St.
Bladensburg, MD 20710
(301) 927-7700
www.oncoreconstruction.com
Contact: Martin Wetzler
Robert Sons Masonry Inc.
946 West Medina Road
Marshall, WI 53551
(608) 438-7161
Contact: Mike Lochner
Scaffold Gold
138 50th Ave. SE
Calgary, AB T2G 2A8
(403) 663-1380
www.scaffoldgold.com
Contact: Harrison Tse
Summit Swing Stage
12038-28 St. NE
Edmonton, AB T6S 1H4
(780) 406-2099
www.summitswingstage.com
Contact: Blake McGrath
Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
35
Advertisers’
Index
4 Action Scaffold Mfg.
actionscaffold.com
34 Advantage Lumber
IBC Hydro-Mobile, Inc.
hydro-mobile.com
14 Kennison Forest Product
kennisonforest.com
2 SIA Insurance
ncisltd.com
OBC Strong Man Building Prod.
strongman.com
4 Allied Tube and Conduit
alliedflo-form.com
1 Klimer Mfg.
klimer.com
20 STVA Scaffold
stvaonline.com
20 Alum-A-Pole Corp.
alumapole.com
20 Scaffold Depot
scaffolddepot.com
IFC Universal Mfg.
universalscaffold.com
16 BASF
basf.com
22 Scaffolding Today, Inc.
scaffoldingtoday.com
10 Direct Scaffold Supply
directscaffoldsupply.com
34 Scaffold Industry, Asso.
scaffold.org
22 Falcon Ladder
falconladder.com
36 Scaffold Industry, Asso.
scaffold.org
36
FEBRUARY 2007 Scaffold Industry
www.scaffold.org
www.scaffold.org
Scaffold Industry FEBRUARY 2007
ibc3