ScaffPilot / UK scaffold design

UK compliance path

Scaffold design for UK sites, from wind to sign-off.

ScaffPilot calculates UK wind to BS EN 1991-1-4 with the UK National Annex, shows whether a scaffold stays within a standard configuration, and puts together the temporary works design pack that BS 5975 asks for – design brief, design check, drawings, calculations and sign-off – from the same project.

The reports on this page are part of ScaffPilot Engineer (and Enterprise and Supplier), together with the FEM calculation.

In short: in the FEM settings choose BS EN 1991-1-4 with the UK National Annex and describe the site – altitude, distance to the sea, town or country terrain and orography – and ScaffPilot works out the site factor and the wind on every member. The compliance report shows which scaffolds stay within a standard configuration, and the BS 5975 design pack collects the brief, the design check, the drawings and the calculation for sign-off.

Wind

UK wind, worked out for the site

  • BS EN 1991-1-4 with the UK National Annex as the wind code of the FEM calculation.
  • Site factor from the site’s altitude, its distance to the sea, town or country terrain and orography – hills, ridges and escarpments.
  • Peak velocity pressure on tubes, boards, sheeting and netting, in service and out of service, from every direction – like the rest of the calculation.
  • In the FEM report – the wind code, the site data and the resulting pressures are printed with the results.
Standard configurations

Standard configuration or bespoke design?

  • Compliance report for every scaffold in the project: within a standard configuration, or outside it and in need of a design.
  • The reasons listed – what takes a scaffold outside a standard configuration, so you know what to change or what to have designed.
  • Bespoke where needed – a scaffold outside a standard configuration is calculated with FEM in the same project.
BS 5975 design pack

The temporary works paperwork, from the same project.

BS 5975 sets out how temporary works are briefed, designed, checked and permitted. ScaffPilot fills in the documents from the scaffold you designed, so the paperwork matches the drawing.

Design brief and check category

The brief records the site, what the scaffold is for and the loads; the design check category 0–3 decides who checks the design.

Design check certificate

Filled in by the checker and kept with the version of the design it checked.

Drawings and calculations

Plans, elevations and sections with the material list, and the FEM calculation with its load cases and results.

TWC and TWS sign-off

The temporary works coordinator (TWC) and supervisor (TWS) sign the pack, recorded with name and date.

ScaffPilot prepares the documents; people take the responsibility. The temporary works designer, the checker and the coordinator still review and sign them under BS 5975 and the site’s procedures.

Related: Scaffold FEM calculation · Signed reports and site work (Enterprise)

FAQ

UK design questions

Does ScaffPilot use the UK National Annex for wind?

Yes. The FEM calculation can use BS EN 1991-1-4 with the UK National Annex: you describe the site – altitude, distance to the sea, town or country terrain and orography – and ScaffPilot works out the site factor and the wind pressures on the scaffold. The FEM calculation is part of ScaffPilot Engineer and up.

What is the standard-configuration compliance report?

A report that shows, scaffold by scaffold, whether the design stays within a standard configuration or falls outside it, and why. A scaffold outside a standard configuration needs a design, which you can calculate with FEM in the same project.

What does the BS 5975 design pack contain?

The design brief, the design check category (0–3), the design check certificate, the drawings and the calculations, and the sign-off of the temporary works coordinator (TWC) and supervisor (TWS).

Who signs the design?

People do. ScaffPilot prepares the documents, but the temporary works designer, the checker and the coordinator review and sign them under BS 5975 and your company’s procedures. In ScaffPilot Enterprise the signing is part of the signed design reports workflow.

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