SUPER-RS modular facade scaffold in practical use
In recent years, scaffold manufacturers have been working flat out to meet the strict and uncompromising requirements of TRBS 2121 with completely new scaffold systems or modifications to existing elements. In the process, the balancing act between these very requirements and the economic efficiency of the scaffolding companies had to be achieved. After all, hardly any user would be in a position to invest in a completely new scaffold stock on the one hand and devalue his own scaffold stock to zero on the other. That would be tantamount to a total economic loss. With the modular facade scaffold, the manufacturer Scafom-rux from Hagen, Germany, has brought a system
which forms a symbiosis of a facade scaffold and a modular scaffold. According to Scafom-rux, the aim in developing this system was to achieve a maximum safety for the assembly and use of this scaffold - as required by TRBS 2121 - and at the same time to enable scaffolders to continue using large stocks of their existing scaffold material. The heart of conventional facade scaffolds, the vertical frame, has been broken down, so to speak, into its four components, in order to achieve a significantly higher level of safety and flexibility. Safety in terms of advancing guardrails and flexibility in terms of the choice of decking from existing material stocks.
Ideal test construction site
Gerüstbau Theiß GmbH from Velbert has now used the SUPER-RS modular facade scaffold for the first time on a construction site in Heiligenhaus. On behalf of the WEG, a concrete and balcony refurbishment was to be carried out on a residential block dating from 1960. According to Gerüstbau Theiß, this 26-meter-high project was the ideal opportunity to test the new system in practice. The balcony areas and the transition to the main entrance were scaffolded. On the one hand, this was not a technically demanding challenge for the company, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, on the other hand, high enough in terms of difficulty to be able to form an opinion of the SUPER-RS modular scaffold system. Ease of assembly, speed and safety were tested. For the elevated transport of the scaffold the erectors were supported by a GEDA 300Z scaffold elevator.
Changed processes require rethinking on the part of the operators
Whenever new technologies are used, users have to rethink. This was the case with the changeover from tube-and-coupling scaffolds to modular scaffolds, as well as with the wooden ladder scaffolds that were replaced by frame scaffolds in the seventies. Each time, the erectors had to get used to a new technology and change over well-worn processes. But time and again, the trade has adapted to the technological leap in a very short time - according to the motto: The better is the enemy of the good. Even the professionals at Gerüstbau Theiß, who have been practicing the processes of conventional facade scaffolding or modular scaffolding on a daily basis for three decades, had to adapt to a different workflow. In particular, the start of the scaffold at level 0 required a bit of rethinking. But for someone who has understood the "scaffolding principle", this different approach is internalized after a short period of familiarization, according to the Theiß managers.
The practical verdict: Perfect occupational safety
Particular emphasis was placed on the occupational safety of the SUPER-RS, which was described as "perfect" by the employees of Gerüstbau Theiß. Thus, this modular scaffold system not only meets the requirements demanded by TRBS 2121, but which the development engineers of Scafom-rux also imposed on themselves. After all, they wanted to come up with a perfect solution that also complies with the TOP principle, which is so important in occupational safety. This principle states that hazards must always be eliminated or mitigated directly at the source. The best example of this in scaffolding is the advancing guardrail, which always secures the topmost scaffold level before it is even stepped on. This problem has also been solved with the SUPER-RS.
