Types and Components

Common types

• Tube and fitting — flexible, suitable for complex shapes, entirely dependent on correct assembly.
• System (modular) scaffold — prefabricated components with fixed connection points, faster and more consistent.
• Mobile access tower — lightweight, moveable, and the type most often erected incorrectly because it looks simple.
• Birdcage — an independent scaffold providing a working platform over an area, typically for ceiling work.
• Suspended access — cradles and platforms suspended from above, with their own specific regime.

Components and their purpose

Component	Purpose
Standards	Vertical members carrying the load to the ground
Ledgers	Horizontal members along the length, tying standards together
Transoms	Horizontal members across the width, supporting the boards
Braces	Diagonals providing stability — the component most often omitted or removed
Ties	Connections to the building, preventing the scaffold moving away or collapsing
Base plates and sole boards	Spread the load into the ground
Guard rails and toe boards	Prevent people and objects falling from the platform

Ties and braces

These are the two components whose removal most often causes collapse, and both are removed for exactly the same reason: they are in the way. A tie removed to allow window installation, or a brace removed to move material through, can compromise a whole structure — and the person who removes it is frequently not the person who understands what it was carrying.