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.