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AUGUST 2017 | 47 Scaold PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY PERI FORMWORK SYSTEMS INC. Leading experts in the scaold industry continue to push for safer standards by LAURA WALKER W hile industrial and commercial slow downs may also mean a slow down for businesses that provide scaffold systems, suspended working plat- forms, mast-climbing platforms and fall arrest safety equipment, the pursuit of improved safety and efficiency within the industry continues despite any waxing and waning within the marketplace. In Ontario, new legislation surrounding swing stage equipment, which came into effect in January 2017, has recently been supplemented with further technical guid- ance from the Ministry of Labour to ensure enhanced safety of these systems. Roger Marsland, president of the Scaffold Industry Association of Canada's Ontario chapter, explains that the development of this guidance document has been supported by a close co-operation between the association and the Ministry of Labour. "Through our management partner Policy Concepts, we have created a very pos- itive dialogue with the Ministry of Labor that has led to a good working relation- ship," says Marsland. The document, Suspended Access Equipment on Construction Projects – Technical Guideline, which was released on June 13, 2017, more clearly defines tech- nical terms within the legislation. "We're pleased with the guidance documents that have just been released on the new suspended access equipment regulations," says Marsland. "We're currently reviewing those, and informing our members of the interpretations, guidelines and what it means for industry, and expect to have continued dialogue with the Ministry of Labour regarding this new legislation." Efforts to improve safety do not stop there, notes Marsland, who says the Association will continue to work with the government to address further safety concerns as they arise within the industry. John Grassa from PERI Formwork Systems Inc. explains that his company is using current challenging times within the industrial markets – which are particularly being felt in Western Canada – to build a different type of clientele than traditional scaffolding companies; highlighting the unique offering that the company provides in the process. "The majority of the cost on the scaffold site would be 80 to 85 percent labour and 15 percent rentable equipment; we don't focus on the labour charge out, but instead we work to save labour for clients," says Grassa. "We have all the tools and the productivity of our PERI system, which monitors all of the manpower on-site as well as the equipment, and tracks scheduling, among other things, giving clients the advantage by saving them money." Grassa also explains that PERI's system scaffold is a unique offering in itself, with all scaffolds the company supplies manufactured by PERI. "We make sure that our equipment is not mixed with anybody else's," says Grassa, adding that "the common practice in the industry right now is to make cop- ies of copies and mix them all – creating a risk for both the installer and the cli- ent." In contrast, PERI's system is noted to fit only within that system, and has been designed using the metric system. "Everyone else's systems use a metric and imperial mix. When you start mixing, you also start creating gaps and tripping hazards, among a lot of other different problems," explains Grassa. "We've identified gaps in industry and come up with a system that closes those gaps." Grassa says it does not seem likely that the Canadian market is going to turn- around anytime soon as far as the oil and gas market is concerned. "As far as the power sector goes, we don't have the demand required to go after new clients such as nuclear plants, coking plants, or LNG facilities," says Grassa. "The industrial market is largely at a standstill right now and waiting to see what the global market is doing before it can become stronger. So there's a waiting period that has to happen – a changing of the guard." Looking to the positive, Grassa suggests that when the market does bounce back it will be under a leaner system in contrast to what he calls the "gold rush mentalities" of the past, where the cost for development and production on the road to profit was less of a consideration. "Now I think they'll come back with a whole different attitude where they will be focusing on systems that are more efficient, and contractors and clients will be a little bit more open to embracing technologies that can enhance this efficiency, such as modelling," explains Grassa. Regardless of any market fluctuations, for Paul Tomei of Bogdonov Pao Associates Ltd., the biggest challenge his company is currently facing is finding qualified per- sonnel that have the specific required knowledge, skills and abilities. "Market conditions are always an issue, but providing that we have a robust mar- ket and there is lots of construction activity, I would say that the biggest challenge is finding qualified people that are experienced in how to assemble scaffolding and how to work with it safely," explains Tomei, noting that the same can be said for the design side of the business. Tomei suggests that this challenge largely stems from the fact that many engi- neers prefer to work on permanent buildings rather than temporary structures; a problem that is also being experienced by contractors. Looking at the big picture, Tomei says that his company, among others, has been working to influence the curriculum of universities and colleges in order to provide future engineers more experience in dealing with temporary structures. Acknowledging that university and college curriculums are already quite full, Tomei notes that other avenues toward better training must also be pursued to ensure that the qualified people are working with scaffolding systems. "On the contract side, I think that the industry has been pushing for a long time now to have scaffolding certified as an actual trade," says Tomei. "Having the equiv- alent of a Red Seal certification just for scaffolding would ensure that such trades people are competent, meet a minimum criteria and have relevant experience." Tomei further suggests that a great deal of communication and co-operation is needed within the industry to ensure availability of qualified personnel and the development of the right systems – a process that he says starts with the profes- sional engineering and construction associations working together. "Probably the most important thing to highlight is that nobody does this on their own: contractors don't work in isolation; engineers don't work in isolation," says Tomei. "The real key for engineers is to work hand-in-hand with the contractors to understand what they're trying to accomplish, to make sure the problem at hand is accurately defined, and work to establish appropriate design solutions that are cost- effective, have a high level of constructibility and protect the safety of the public." Tomei explains that working hand-in-hand with contractors sometimes means that his company designs its systems the way that contractors would like them built. "Traditionally we designed it and they built it, but contractors know the needs and capability of their personnel, their equipment and the materials better than any- body else, so we work with them to meet their needs." Grassa echoes Tomei's concern over the challenges related to finding qualified personnel. "We are always looking for good engineers, good product development people and business development people," says Grassa. As a company, Grassa says PERI takes a proactive approach to the challenge by attending job fairs, talking to professors to identify top students, as well as utiliz- ing internal programs to ensure personnel have the required knowledge, skills and ability. For example, the PERI Internal Consulting (PIC) program works spe- cifically with new talent to shape the company's future managers, engineers and sales professionals. Marsland says the Scaffold Industry Association of Canada is also taking a proac- tive approach to ensure increased safety and qualified personnel across the industry through various avenues, including co-operation with government industry bodies. "We work closely with the carpenters union and we'll continue to work closely with them. They provide us with good qualified people," says Marsland. A Support Network The flexible PERI UP scaffold system. 10:19 AM

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