e s s & H e i g h t S a f e t y
Scaling the heights ofan exciting career
New Zealand's scaffolding industryhas long suffered from a significant
shortage of skilled scaffolders, but theituation could be changing if more
le follow one man's example\
"We work on a lot of different work sites in different industries and the work is really varied andstimulating," explains Senior Foreman and Advanced Scaffolder Alan Bradley
Imagine beginning working life as
a plumber in the United Kingdom
but ending up as a scaffolder in
New Zealand, helping with the Can-
terbury rebuild.
It's an unlikely and admittedly
unplanned journey but one that
Senior Foreman and Advanced Scaf-
folder Alan Bradley is "very glad"
happened.
He initially moved to Australia in
2008, but wasn't impressed so he
came to New Zealand to travel and
fell in love with the country and with
Christchurch.
However, there weren't a lot of
jobs going for plumbers at the time,
his UK qualifications weren't recog-
nised here and without regular work
he couldn't afford to pay for the
courses he needed to do to become
qualified.
So he took what he intended to be
a temporary labouring job with Nick
Pfahlert's Christchurch-based Up-
right Scaffolding, starting training
again from scratch as a "groundie"-
and hasn't looked back.
Alan says he instantly enjoyed the
variety of work. "We work on a lot of
different work sites in different in-
dustries and the work is really varied
and stimulating," he explains. "It's
very different to plumbing, where
you might be on the same site for
months."
Upright starts out by putting all
new groundies through a half-day
Site Safe Building Construction
Passport course - providing basic
health and safety knowledge. Once
it's felt they are ready to move on to
the next stage they undergo Height
& Harness Safety training.
"No-one gets off the ground with-
out having done that," says Alan.
"Then you can start to progress to-
wards becoming a 'spannerhand'
- which means you can support the
scaffolders, learning as you go."
Once Alan had significant expe-
rience as a spannerhand under his
belt, he entered a training agree-
ment with the company so he could
train for his Elementary Scaffolding
ticket - the first of the National Cer-
tificates in Scaffolding.
Upright paid for all of Alan's na-
tional scaffolding certificate training
and is now sponsoring him through
computer and business manage-
ment training.
Excellent opportunities
Mr Pfahlert, the President of
Scaffolding, Access & Rigging
New Zealand (SARNZ), says
scaffolding provides excellent op-
portunities, both for newcomers to
the job market and those consider-
ing a career change.
Many scaffolding companies pay
to put their staff through the Na-
tional Certificates in Scaffolding
training programme, and through
management diploma courses if
they want to go further.
However, there's no fast-track
route into scaffolding: regardless of
previous experience anyone consid-
ering it as a career must be prepared
to start as a labourer or 'groundie'
- part of the rigorous process of en-
suring no-one 'gets off the ground'
before they are ready.
Courses can only be accessed via
a work-training agreement with a
scaffolding business and trainees
can only progress to the next stage
of training on the recommendation
of a supervising qualified Advanced
Scaffolder.
"However, for people with the
right qualities, who are prepared to
work steadily through the process,
it's a career which offers variety and
great opportunities," Mr Pfahlert
maintains.
Many scaffolding companies opt
to pay for their staff members' train-
ing. "It is a significant investment
but the biggest challenges for the
According to a BRANZ study
commissioned by SARNZ, the Best
practice guidelines around working
at heights in New Zealand is
estimated to have resulted in 90
fewer deaths and severe injuries a
year and will save the New Zealand
economy $1.13 billion over the
next 25 years
industry are lifting health and safety
standards and addressing skills
shortages."
Staff shortages
Recruitment is a major issue, he
concedes. "There are 40 or 50 scaf-
folding companies in Christchurch
now, so a lot of competition," Mr
Pfahlert advises. "You need a very
good culture to retain people."
That means developing people
and having excellent health and
safety practices, identifying and
managing risks and hazards on a
job-by-job basis.
Page 1 of 2
01 Jun 2015ISN - Industrial Safety News, New Zealand
Section: General News • Article type : News Item • Audience : 4,200 • Page: 60Printed Size: 1814.00cm² • Market: NZ • Country: New Zealand • ASR: NZD 9,161Words: 1668 • Item ID: 414851998
Provided for client's internal research purposes only. May not be further copied, distributed, sold or published inany form without the prior consent of the copyright owner.
Scaffolding, Access & Rigging New Zealand (SARNZ) President Nick Pfahlert says scaffolding provides excellent
opportunities, both for newcomers to the job market and those considering a career change
"Scaffolding, assess and rigging
is a demanding job requiring great
skill and strength, resilience, agility
and a head for heights," Mr Pfahlert
explains. "Good problem-solving
and management skills are also
essential if a scaffolding prospect
wants to advance their career."
He says it's therefore vital employ-
ers ensure people are ready before
they begin spannerhand or scaffold-
ing training. "In the old days you'd
probably be a groundie or spanner-
hand for several years before you
got to move up," Mr Pfahlert recalls.
However, today's tight labour
market means things are moving
faster.
"The industry needs to be aware of
that and not promote people before
they are ready," he believes. "As a
qualified scaffolder or rigger you
must be able to deal with a wide va-
riety of people throughout the day."
Not only does a scaffolder need to
empower his own crew members,
he must be able to communicate
well and work closely with construc-
tion foremen, engineers, project
managers and others. "It is a very
demanding job but a very reward-
ing one."
The main training providers are
Tai Poutini Polytechnic, Vertical
Horizonz and AMS Group, whose
National Certificates in Scaffold-
ing and Rigging qualifications are
aligned with SARNZ's Certificate of
Competency, the operator's licence
for a Trade Certified Scaffolder.
The new Advanced ticket is NZQA
level five, the equivalent of the
Craftsman Plumbing qualification,
where previously it was level four.
Clever combination
Alan studied through Tai Poutini,
enjoying a combination of theory
and practical assessments.
"After my Elementary ticket I went
on to do my Intermediate, which
meant I could certify more technical
scaffolding, and a year after that, I
did my Advanced and my Suspend-
ed tickets," he says. "Suspended
means you can work on cable-sup-
ported scaffolding. I have also done
confined spaces training."
Upright Scaffolding does a lot
of work on industrial sites such as
Lyttleton Port, a challenge Alan
particularly enjoys. "We build the
scaffolding when repairs need to be
SARNZ has led the way in the
drive to lift health and safety
standards and worked with the
government and the industry to
develop Best Practice Guidelines for
Scaffolding, which are now compul-
sory for all scaffolding companies.
To be accepted as SARNZ members,
companies also have to meet mini-
mum standards in a range of areas
including health and safety, public
liability insurance and training.
The organisation also provides
input into industry training through
its involvement with the Skills ITO
and training providers and has rep-
resentation on the Australia/New
Zealand Standards Group.
"If all upper and middle constructionsector companies used only SARNZmembers, that would drive healthand safety and best practice compli-ance further across the industry"carried out to cranes on the wharf,"
he explains.
Designing scaffolding is anoth-
er aspect of the job he particularly
enjoys. "You learn about that as part
of the courses but also through
working with experienced people,"
he adds.
Alan's team also builds scaffold-
ing in confined spaces - including
inside the empty petrol tanks. "We
have a watchman by the entrances
and exits and we have breathing
equipment and full face masks," he
explains. "If you are doing any hot
work, for instance using drills or a
hammer, then you will need to do
gas testing and also have a hot work
permit."
Mr Pfahlert says there is "still work
to do" in terms of lifting health
and safety across the construction
sector, but believes the drive to raise
standards in scaffolding will have a
widespread positive impact.
The majority of New Zealand scaf-
folding businesses enjoy voluntary
SARNZ membership, but one of Mr
Pfahlert's aims as president is to in-
crease that number, including by
raising awareness about SARNZ in
the middle commercial construc-
tion sector.
"If all upper and middle construc-
tion sector companies only used
SARNZ members, that would drive
health and safety and best prac-
tice compliance further across the
industry," he maintains. "Building
companies will also find they can
make significant productivity gains
through the introduction of new
health and safety measures for
working at heights."
Serious savings
According to an independent
BRANZ study commissioned by
SARNZ, the Best Practice Guidelines
around working at heights in New
Zealand is estimated to have result-
ed in 90 fewer deaths and severe
injuries a year and will save the New
Zealand economy $1.13 billion over
the next 25 years.
Alan says he, for one, has already
seen a major shift in attitudes to-
wards health and safety in the
construction sector. "It has become
much more important for everyone,"
he believes. "You used to go to con-
struction sites and see people just
walk in and start work. Now it is rou-
tine to have on-site induction and
tailgate meetings."
Scaffolding requirements are very
different too. "There used to be just
a single handrail on the first lift, and
no toe-boards, but the new legisla-
tion has changed that," he notes. "If
you are not building a perfect scaf-
fold now, then you are not going to
be running a crew."
Upright has always had very strict
health and safety standards, such
as being height trained to NZ15757
before its workers even step onto
a scaffold. "Not all companies do
that," Alan notes. "You also have to
be hooked on whenever you are
exposed and always wear a harness
whenever you are on the scaffold."
The company also has strict drug
and alcohol policies and protocols in
place and implements pre-employ-
ment and random testing to ensure
no employee is under the influence
of drugs or alcohol; a practice which
is becoming more common in the
sector and something Mr Pfahlert
is aiming to promote during his
tenure as president.
Alan, meanwhile, is enjoying help-
ing train other newcomers to the
industry. "It's great helping to train
people up," he says. "There's huge
enthusiasm - people really enjoy
the training and they really enjoy
coming to work."
Page 2 of 2
01 Jun 2015ISN - Industrial Safety News, New Zealand
Section: General News • Article type : News Item • Audience : 4,200 • Page: 60Printed Size: 1814.00cm² • Market: NZ • Country: New Zealand • ASR: NZD 9,161Words: 1668 • Item ID: 414851998
Provided for client's internal research purposes only. May not be further copied, distributed, sold or published inany form without the prior consent of the copyright owner.