Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/1149947
AUGUST 2019 | 23 Scaold PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY BOGDONOV PAO ASSOCIATES LTD.; LAYHER INC. Safety top of mind when it comes to new scaolding products by ROBIN BRUNET A s construction overall continues to thrive in Canada, so too does the scaffolding business, with many companies developing systems that make workers – and the general public – safer. A case in point is Layher Scaffolding Inc., the direct manufacturer of integrated modular scaffolding systems. Mark Kondratski, Layher's Western Canada sales and branch manager, says his company is experiencing a busy year, with its Brampton, Ontario location grow- ing quickly. "Layher has also been very busy internationally, necessitating the continual expansion of our factory in Germany, which now has the largest hot dip galvanizing facility in that country." Kondratski adds that Layher has also been busy with its commitment to provide new products to customers that reduce risk and costs. "The FlexBeam is one of our more exciting new products. The aluminum FlexBeam and its accessories are supple- mentary components for Allround Scaffolding. It is a high load, low-profile aluminum box beam that is ideal for bridge, pipe rack, and other suspended work, particularly when required to build up or suspend from the beams with Allround Scaffolding. "Another improvement is the addition of capacity to the heavy-duty column system, which uses standard Allround components augmented with a few addi- tional parts to create a high-capacity column or structure. To meet the needs of customers that require additional capacity, Layher has introduced Meganewton components that allow loads up to 200 tons." Layher has also undertaken product enhancements to support the improved safety regulations of countries where fixed leading edge guardrails must be in place prior to the scaffold workers ascending to that working level. "With the current Layher Advanced Guardrail System, which is being adopted by forward- thinking companies in the Canadian and U.S. market, the system is removed once the scaffold guardrails are in place," says Kondratski. "The new products Centre STAGE are designed to remain in place in order to reduce the risk to the workers even further. As is typical with Layher improvements, the new systems integrate and work with previous innovations." Calvin Dunn, owner of Safetech Scaffold Ltd., says, "With a lot of new products being created,and the enclosure business growing – with complete enclosures apparently being the flavour of the day – we have positioned ourselves at the front of this curve." Safetech embraces these developments. The company has a new "Keder" style roof scaffold system with higher capacity from North Scaffold Products (Safetech's manufacturing wing), which is currently being used over the St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church restoration, a project for which Dunn's firm is also providing interior scaffolding and other components. The restoration will take nearly two years to complete, including many new interior walls, roof, electrical system, and seismic upgrading. Of the roof system, Dunn says, "The scaffold beams we use in this system match up with North American industry standard sizes, so you can also use cross braces for frame and brace scaffolding in the assembly. It simply has the adapt- ability other systems do not have. North Diamond beams have the ability to span larger spans than other systems, giving us a distinct advantage when creating sloped or flat canopy structures." Lougheed Town Centre shopping mall renovation, Burnaby, B.C. FlexBeam supplementary components for the Allround Scaffolding system. Layher Advanced Guardrail System.