In one of our most recent blogs, we have covered why you should work in the scaffolding industry. After you read this blog, you might be asking what does a typical day in the life of a scaffolder entail? Like most workers, you cannot quantify each individual component of a day. While certain aspects will also be pleasant, for example scaffold erecting and safety checks are always present, each day brings new and exciting challenges. 

At Network Scaffold, we thought we would try our hand at this seemingly impossible task. So let’s detail what a typical day looks like for your average scaffolder. 

Identify Your Working Location 

When you work in the scaffolding industry, your day will technically start before you even arrive at work. 

As we have previously mentioned, the scaffolding industry on the whole is very mobile and versatile. Depending on the demand for the scaffolding support in a certain; your job could lead you to one of numerous locations. This could potentially change at late notice too. If a new project requires urgent assistance, you might be required to change location to suit your clients needs short notice. 

This is one of the many perks or benefits of working in scaffolding. Because you are not pinned to one location, the role offers your day a great deal of flexibility and variety. This reassures that you never get fatigued or bored of one location, project or place. 

Greet Your Fellow Co-workers 

Now you have established where you will be working for the day and have arrived at the location safely; you will want to greet your fellow co-workers. 

The shared sense of comradery is famous between work colleagues in the scaffolding industry. One of the many reasons for this is the fact that there is an unbelievable amount of trust showcased on a daily basis. Afterall, you are entrusting your work colleagues with your general safety and wellbeing. 

The greeting is essential to improve mental health and of course for more practical reasons; including illustrating what is on your agenda to your fellow colleagues and/or what you plan to do with the rest of your day.

Scaffold Erecting 

Depending on the stage of the project you are currently working on; you might then be required to erect the scaffolding project in its entirety. 

The erecting process can be quite convoluted and complex to explain. While there are many circuitous ways of getting to the same end goal; the general consensus is that all workers are effectively supported by their fellow co-workers, all workers have carried out the relevant training and the site has been rigorously audited for safety precautions. 

The actual erection process can take multiple days. But once the structure is up, it is paramount that all workers have full confidence in the integrity of the scaffolding.  

Various Daily Tasks

There are many tasks for the average scaffolder to conduct on a daily basis. Whilst the daily activities can fluctuate and change on a day to day basis depending on the need of the business; we thought we would list a few of the key tasks you might see scaffolders carrying out: 

Laying out safety planks and decking– every successful and safe site needs sufficient decking. Planks must be securely fixed and cleaned beforehand to ensure the anti-fall precautions work effectively.

Unloading the correct equipment– due to the nature of the business, the majority of the structure must be mobile. Because of this, the equipment must be quickly unloaded at every new site. 

Setting up the scaffolding poles– once you have all of the equipment successfully unloaded, you might need to build the scaffolding poles. The poles can be constructed via implementing the base plates into the floor at regular intervals. This ensures the weight of the scaffolding is spread evenly. When finished, poles should be slid into each other enabling a firm and sturdy pole structure. 

Actually fixing the scaffolding to the structure– once you have all of the above, you can get to work on fixing the scaffolding to the intended structure. 

Dismantling The Scaffolding 

Once the project has been carried out, it is a scaffolder’s job to dismantle the structure. Dismantling scaffolding can seem like quite a long and arduous process, however, after the first few projects the technique becomes significantly easier. 

Going Home

Scaffolding is a very involved and, dare we say it, fun job. After your typical 8 hour day, you simply bid farewell to your co-workers and travel home. 

Want To Know More About What It’s Like to Work In Scaffolding? 

Do you have more questions about working in the scaffolding industry or in a OHSAS 18001 accredited site? Or do you have an inquiry about installing your own scaffolding construction. 

If so, please get in contact with us. For more information on scaffolding in Staffordshire, Derby, Tamworth, Nottingham and many more locations, please keep up to date with our website.