MAY 24 SCAFFOLDING & ACCESS
Growing complexity
of façade access
Mohamed Merchant, an associate director at TÜV SÜD’s UK real
estate façade access division, explores how the introduction
of increasingly convoluted building envelope designs has
introduced a new challenge of maintainability
The growing complexity of façade
access
The increasingly convoluted build-
ing envelopes means that economi-
cal and effective façade maintenance
is now a prime concern within the
overall design concept. Façade ac-
cess should therefore be part of the
early design phase, to ensure that its
provision can be thought out prop-
erly and that the form (design) meets
the desired function (operations).
The development of a façade ac-
cess solution must also be a long-
term process, with the building main-
tenance strategy covering the life of
the building.
The provision of access for future
maintenance should therefore not be
an afterthought, because trying to
work around inappropriate decisions,
made early in a building design pro-
ject, can be both inefficient and non-
complying to industry standards.
Despite its growing importance
within the construction industry, fa-
çade access remains highly spe-
cialised, with very limited expertise
on a global scale. Façade clean-
ing and maintenance has dramati-
cally changed, due to the demand
for bespoke systems, increasingly
tight operating spaces, and the ev-
er-increasing demand for replacing
façade panels and MEP plant com-
ponents.
Ensuring safety
Maintenance demands vary widely,
from simply cleaning the windows to
more significant structural repairs.
Once options relating to the ‘avoid-
ance to work at height’ and internal
access are exhausted, Façade Ac-
cess Equipment (FAE), whether it
is temporarily hired or permanently
installed, is the obvious option to
provide access to maintain building
elevations (and roofs).
This of course must be in full com-
pliance with statutory codes and lo-
cal regulations.
Design challenges
From a design perspective, multiple
problems can occur if the FAE sys-
tems are not designed appropriately
during the pre-construction phase,
or incorrectly installed. For example,
achieving full building coverage is a
particular problem for non-rectilinear
façades, which will demand non-
standard/greater reach and therefore
require bespoke FAE.
In this instance early discussions
with FAE manufacturers will be nec-
essary to help mitigate risks.
Visibility and garaging problems
can also arise if this element is only
an afterthought during the building
design phase.
Permanently installed Suspended
Access Equipment (SAE) should,
whenever possible, be stored in
a weatherproof environment, or
parked FAE must not be along the
line of sight.
Other considerations should also
include:
• Safe maintenance of FAE - to en-
sure that it remains fit for purpose
and safe to use.
• Clash-free and clear FAE operat-
ing space.
• Structural adequacy - FAE will ap-
ply significant loads to the structure
supporting it.
Of course, some buildings will be
more problematic than others when
it comes to providing effective FAE.
For example, complex façades, such
as planar glazing walls with bow
trusses and tension wires, not only
make close contact with the glazing
very difficult, but also the disruption
caused by having to work around
many individual elements results in
a façade with much higher mainte-
nance costs.
If poor façade access provision is
made during the design phase, there
is an increased likelihood of civil ac-
tion, against employers or building
owners. Other additional costs may
also be engendered, such as addi-
tional insurance premiums and even
loss of use of the current FAE.
While this is the worst case sce-
nario, on a day-to-day basis, poorly
designed and ill-considered FAE can
have a significant and escalating fi-
nancial impact.
Not only may additional staff be
required to undertake tasks safely,
extra time may also be required to
undertake those tasks and sup-
plementary staff training needed to
overcome the problems caused by
deficient façade access design.
Mohamed
Merchant
Fit for purpose
It is vital to ensure that façade ac-
cess systems retain their integrity
throughout the lifespan of the build-
ing, without the need for repair or re-
placement.
Safe and efficient access to all of
the external and internal areas is
therefore vital to maintain longevity
of the building envelope and struc-
ture.
The FAE system must also perform
as expected, without any health and
safety risk to the operatives, and
take minimal assembly time.
To ensure that the FAE systems
operate effectively and safely within
the local environment and around the
building’s services, correct design
provisions must be considered as
soon as the strategy is agreed with
respective parties and stakeholders.
For example maintenance zones and
clear space for periodic inspection
and testing of FAE should be consid-
ered.
As the equipment may well spend
much of its time idle, the impact of
the environment on its life is an im-
portant factor to take into account. It
is within the designer’s remit to avoid
long term corrosion, pitting, rotting
and degradation, in order to ensure
the safe operation of the proposed
façade access system.
An environmental study at the early
design stage is therefore important,
to specify the minimum required
level of protection and finishes, such
as waterproofing, galvanising, paint,
etc.
Points of failure
Ageing and poorly maintained FAE
poses a significant risk to both the
user of the equipment and the duty
holder.
Access systems which have ex-
ceeded their intended design life,
Continued on p26
MAY 26 SCAFFOLDING & ACCESS
Continued from p24
and are of basic construction, are
likely to be way behind the more
stringent requirements placed on
manufacturers of new equipment be-
ing manufactured today. As a result,
more expensive and laborious means
of access are employed, which may
demand road closures and local au-
thority permits.
Whilst many modern buildings have
integrated FAE, these may not al-
ways provide a satisfactorily practi-
cal solution for façade cleaning and
maintenance.
An in-depth site survey should
therefore review the safety of work-
ing conditions and the performance
of the existing façade access
system(s). This should include a re-
view of the overall access strategy to
identify issues, and the identification
of all hazardous activities undertak-
en via existing system during clean-
ing and long-term maintenance.
Relevant LOLER (Lifting Operations
and Lifting Equipment Regulations)
documents, maintenance logs and
other safety documentation, includ-
PERI hosts first BASE
scaffolding course
SCAFFOLDING manufacturer PERI
recently held its first BASE scaffold-
ing training course aimed at helping
non-scaffolders pursue a career in
the sector.
The five-day, CISRS-accredited
course took place at NETA Training
Group’s training centre in Middles-
brough, with a group of local appren-
tices from J.MAC Scaffolding.
Designed with the goal of increas-
ing the number of skilled operatives
coming into the industry and demon-
strating the benefits of system scaf-
folding, the BASE training course
replicates real-life site situations dur-
ing training.
Trainees are taught the fundamen-
tals of scaffolding, which provides
them with the basic skills and knowl-
edge to erect, modify and dismantle
scaffolding across five days.
Mark Holmes, PERI’s scaffolding
instructor who led the course said, “I
feel this course gives apprentices a
good insight into system scaffolding
as they embark on their scaffolding
careers, including the opportunity to
erect basic structures. It also gives
them an understanding of Working at
Height Regulations 2005 and safety
guidance from NASC SG4.15 Pre-
venting Falls in Scaffolding Opera-
tions.
“Seeing the apprentices learning
and grasping the PERI UP system
concept by the end of the course
ing method statements and risk as-
sessments, must also be reviewed.
The appropriate management con-
trols, which are required to suitably
and sufficiently mitigate any residual
risks which cannot otherwise be
eliminated, must also be identified.
Where deficiencies are found, clear
recommendations must be outlined
and acted upon.
At any early stage of the building
design process, experienced façade
access designers should be brought
in to help minimise the operational
and cost-related hazards associ-
ated with non-feasible façade ac-
cess strategies. Any FAE proposals
should also be based upon direct
discussions with the architect.
Multiple aspects of design devel-
opment and the selection process of
appropriate systems will affect the
ultimate solution. It is therefore im-
portant to realise the implications of
the access proposals and how they
will impinge on the overall building
designs, in order to achieve harmony
by blending the building design, as
far as possible, with the permanent
access equipment designs.
gives me great job satisfaction, and
I think it’s definitely a step in the right
direction for PERI.”
Successful completion of the BASE
training course meant the J.MAC ap-
prentices qualified for a BASE scaf-
folding card endorsed by CISRS,
which will enable them to carry out
basic scaffolding operations on most
project sites.
Brian Ward, lead instructor at NETA
said, “We are extremely happy with
how the BASE course was delivered.
Giving candidates an insight into
scaffolding is always great to see,
and creating skills in the industry can
only support the growing demand.”
J.MAC Scaffolding apprentice,
Jamie Brack added, “I have recently
joined the industry as a young ap-
prentice, so I have not had any ex-
perience erecting or handling scaf-
folding. The way the course was
delivered made it easy to follow and
provided me with a real insight into
system scaffolding.
“This is also the first time I have
been out on site and away from the
yard, so being able to receive prac-
tical training from an experienced
instructor has been great. I am now
aware of scaffolding operations like
the erection sequence and under-
stand how we build scaffolds. With
the skills I have developed, I am ea-
ger to get onto my first project site
and apply what I have learnt.”