Guidelines for Judging Safety Standards of Scaffolding Materials

Whether the material of scaffolding complies with safety regulations needs to be comprehensively judged from three aspects: national standards, material properties, and inspection and acceptance. The following are the specific methods and criteria for judgment:

I. National Standards and Industry Norms

General Specification for Construction Scaffolding (GB55023-2022)‌
This specification will come into effect on October 1, 2022, and is a mandatory national standard for scaffolding safety. It requires that all scaffolding must:

It has stable and reliable performance
The materials and components comply with the design requirements
Special plans, product qualification certificates, test reports and other materials are completely archived
Gradually phase out traditional techniques such as bamboo (wood) scaffolding

Other specialized specifications ‌

"Safety Technical Code for Coupler-type Steel Pipe Scaffolding in Building Construction" (JGJ130-2011)
"Safety Technical Code for Wooden Scaffolding in Building Construction" (JGJ164-2008)
"Safety Technical Code for Bowl Buckle Type Steel Pipe Scaffolding in Building Construction" (JGJ166-2016)
Ii. Specific safety Requirements for Different Materials
Specification for Steel Pipe Scaffolding

Material standard ‌ :

Steel pipes should be made of ordinary steel pipes of grade 3 in accordance with the standards of GB/T13793 or GB/T3092
Outer diameter: 48-51mm, wall thickness: 3-3.5mm
The maximum mass of each steel pipe shall not exceed 25 kilograms
It is strictly prohibited to use severely rusted, bent, flattened or cracked steel pipes

Fastener requirements ‌ :

Made of malleable cast iron, in compliance with GB15831 standard
The bolt will not be damaged when the tightening torque reaches 65N·m

Structural requirements ‌ :

The vertical deviation of the vertical pole is no more than 1/200
The tie-in components are set up in two steps with three spans
A 1.2-meter-high guardrail and a 180mm high toe board are set on the outside
Specification for Aluminum Alloy Scaffolding

Material standard ‌ :

It is necessary to meet the requirements of strength (such as 6061-T6), durability and corrosion resistance
All accessories must be firmly connected without any looseness

Structural requirements ‌ :

For heights of 2 meters or more, four longitudinal beams and horizontal tie rods should be set up
Guardrails and safety tools must be set up
The wheels of the mobile platform need locking devices
Specification for Wooden Scaffolding

Material standard ‌ :

Peeled Chinese fir, with a small head diameter of ≥70mm
It is strictly prohibited to use rotten, cracked or withered materials
The load limit is 3kN/m²

Structural limitation ‌ :

The height of single-row racks is no more than 20 meters, and that of double-row racks is no more than 25 meters
The longitudinal distance between the vertical poles is no more than 1.5 meters (for single row), and the distance between the inner and outer vertical poles is no more than 1.2 meters (for double row).
Do not mix and match with metal frames
Iii. Inspection and Acceptance Standards
Inspection of incoming materials

Steel pipe inspection ‌ :

Measure the outer diameter (48.3mm±0.5mm) and wall thickness (3.6mm±0.36mm)
Check for defects such as cracks, depressions and rust

Fastener acceptance ‌ :

Verify the production license
Visual inspection (no cracks, bolts stripped)
Retest the mechanical properties by sampling

Scaffold board determination ‌ :

Steel scaffold board: Check for distortion, deformation and holes
Wooden scaffolding board: Thickness ≥50mm, both ends need to be bound with iron wire
Discard rotten or through cracked materials directly
Acceptance inspection after erection
Basic requirements: The thickness of hardened concrete should be ≥100mm, and the grade should be ≥C20
The error of the vertical pole spacing shall be no more than 50mm, and the verticality deviation shall be no more than 1/200
The tie-in components are set up in two steps with three spans, covering an area of no more than 27 square meters
The scaffold board should be fully laid and fixed, and the length of the probe board should be no more than 150mm
The scissor braces should be set continuously, with the diagonal bars extended by no less than 1 meter and no less than 3 fasteners
Iv. Comprehensive Judgment Process
Verify documents ‌ : Check whether the product qualification certificate, test report and other documents are complete
Visual inspection ‌ : observe whether the material has obvious defects (rust, deformation, cracks, etc.)
Measurement verification ‌ : Use measuring tools to measure key dimensions (outer diameter, wall thickness, diameter, etc.)
Structural verification ‌ : Check the erection parameters (spacing, step distance, tie-in components, etc.) against the specifications.
Load test ‌ : Conduct static load tests when necessary to verify load-bearing capacity

Through the systematic inspection of the above steps, it is possible to comprehensively determine whether the material of the scaffolding meets the requirements of safety regulations.