final-report-of-the-advisory-committee-on-falsework-bragg-report - Flipbook - Page 41
The client must, inter alia, designate an individual to
"Bau Berufsgenossenschaft"
act as a 'responsible building supervisor'. His duties
include seeing that all the regulations and agreed
designs are followed, and supervising the general
safety of the work on site. It is desirable on legal
grounds to have one person clearly responsible. In
a bridge building context he will be employed by the
Roads Department, but he could be employed by the
contractor in other cases.
This national body is in effect the insurance organisation, one of whose main duties is to ensure good
safety on site. It decides the level of insurance premiums so its recommendations on site practice are
treated seriously. Members visit sites and attempt to
improve practices. The organisation has power to
impose fines where its regulations are broken. In
some cases it will examine a method or a piece of
equipment and approve it in principle.
Responsibility
Technical information
The 'responsible building supervisor' should only
permit work to proceed when he is satisfied. How
much this requirement is side stepped, or what real
knowledge or experience he must have, is conjectural.
But where an engineer is brought in to check a
design ("Pru:fingenieur"), the responsibility rests
jointly with him and the contractor. In the event of
the falsework design being faulty, it appears that the
contractor would be primarily liable at contract law.
The Pru:fingenieur's penalty would be his loss of
reputation and doubtless difficulty in renewing his
licence. However he is required to carry insurance up
to £50,000.
The main document is DIN 4220, currently under
revision. It is effectively a Code of Practice for the
design 'of scaffolds and falsework. Supplements have
been issued and it will be split into two main sections
in the revision, one for access and one for falsework.
To become a Pru:fingenieur it is necessary to:
(i) have had appropriate education
(ii) have had at least 10 years' experience in structural design
(iii) be between 35 and 60
(iv) submit oneself to a jury which includes government representatives and university professors
(v) request a licence in a particular field - such as
prestressed concrete or steelwork.
A licence is granted for 5 years, and it is issued to
a named Prufingenieur. The licence cannot be given
to a firm.
Because of the clear cut allocation of responsibility,
the road authority does not consider itself involved.
They have been given a Prufingenieur's certificate,
which they neither assess nor override.
While the main contractor is clearly liable in the case
of falsework failure he will have little difficulty in
passing this on to his falsework contractor, unless it
can be shown that the main contractor was negligent.
The Prufingenieur is merely a check and does not
relieve the falsework contractor by his approval.
The situation in practice will be a little more complex,
. especially if no clear cut cause of failure is discovered.
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Type testing
Individual proprietary components are assessed and
approved. This is sometimes done at state level,
sometimes nationally. A previously agreed set of tests
are carried out and these are vetted by the Bautechnic
in Berlin, a national organisation set up for this
purpose.
A final approval from a committee which includes
representatives of competing forms is normally
required. The equipment can then be used within the
scope of the approval without further investigation.
USA
Falsework collapses have occurred in the USA during
the construction of bridges and tall buildings. The
various States have developed their own regulatory
procedures, those in California being particularly
comprehensive. The advent of the Occupational Safety
and Health Act of 1970 which is part of the codification of public law and therefore applicable federally,
contains requirements "to assure safe and healthful
working conditions for working men and women
by authorising enforcement of the standards developed
under the Act: by assisting and encouraging the States
in their efforts to assure safe and healthy working
conditions by providing for research, information,
education and training in the field of occupational
safety and health and for other purposes". As far as
California is concerned the steps already taken have
been summarised in a much-quoted article by Arthur L
Elliot, Bridge Engineer, California Division of Highways, Sacramento. Mr Elliott considers that the
State's interest has been accentuated because the
spans of bridges are becoming progressively longer
