The document summarizes research that tested the quality of scaffolding copies on the market. It found significant defects in many offshore copies, especially inadequate welds between tube connections that failed to penetrate properly and led to early rusting. Over 80% of manufacturer samples tested failed on welded joints. Some copies could only withstand about half the expected load until failure, posing risks to anyone working on the scaffolding. Improper welding and defects like shrink holes, cracks, and short spigots reduced load capacity to as little as 20% in some cases, threatening the integrity of the entire scaffold structure. In conclusion, the document warns that fitting inaccuracies and poor quality defects found in many offshore copies pose major safety risks.

1. How good is your material?
• More than $150,000 was spent to investigate the
true quality of the scaffold copies on the market.
• In the following presentation you find the hidden
issues, for example the lack of material knowledge
and craftsmanship.
• The findings are best described as shocking,
especially as lives are directly endangered by these
faults.
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2. Welded Joints
Many of the offshore copy ledgers have considerable defects, in particular the weld connection
between wedge head and tube is not executed adequately ( no or only punctual penetration).
Partly 5 out of 6 manufacturer samples failed on the welded joint = 83 %!
No penetration into the
root of the welded joint
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3. Welded Joints
Some of the load bearing results are good,
however, some of the connections would fail
under a loading considerably lower than average.
In general it is difficult , if not impossible, to see
whether a ledger can withstand a higher load or
not, just by looking gat it.
Some samples could only withstand a load of
329 lbs*ft (447 Nm) until failure occurred.
This equates to a concentrated load of F= 262 lbs
(117 kg) for a 10 ft (3.05 m) ledger without the
safety factor of 4 : 1 applied.
A person with tools is generally calculated at
250 lbs (110 kg).
When applying a safety factor of 4, as usually Sample
required in the U.S., the result is a maximum
working load of only 66 lbs (29 kg) !
F
Max M = 329 lbs*ft
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4. Welded Joints - Shrink Hole
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Material starts to rust at the root of the
welds due to a lack of penetration.
This leads to a gap between wedge
head and tube making them easy to
separate e.g. this means a very low
load bearing.
The whole area begins to rust from
the inside – not visible from the
outside.
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5. The improper welds are
rather the norm than an
exception on some
offshore copy
manufacturer. Approx. 60%
- 85% of the welds had no,
or just a punctual
penetration into either the
tube or the wedge head.
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6. Welded Joints - Shrink Hole
Big shrink holes in the wedge head
= degreased load bearing,
depending on situation the wedge
head can fail with under minor
force. Thus possibly leading to a
failure of the whole scaffold
structure.
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7. Big shrink holes in the steel rosette
ring = decreased load bearing,
depending on the situation, for
example temperature and temperature
changes even minor forces can lead
to failure of the ring and thus to a
failure of the whole scaffold structure.
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8. Rosettes welded too high
If the rosettes are welded too high, this will cause fitting problems. This again will cause safety
problems in mixed constructions when parts are assembled in the height.
Fitting inaccuracies add up and reduce the assembly speed of the scaffold.
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9. “Twisted” Rosettes
Rosettes that are contortedly welded onto the standards cause
huge fitting inaccuracies. The right picture shows ledgers
attached to a scaffold leg manufactured off shore.
The inaccurate alignment causes a considerable reduction of
the assembly speed; moreover, the safety risk increases
when components are assembled in greater height.
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10. Steel Decks
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No cross support at the ends of a metal board can lead to Manufacturing defects like cracks or uneven surfaces
deformations. With this the boards will have a drastically represent a considerable risk of injury as well as a safety
reduced load capacity. risk.
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11. Quality of Tubes
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A scaffold tube in most cases is a welded tube. In order to achieve the full load bearing capacity of the tube, the weld
should not separate, tear open and fail. Most scaffold tubes used to manufacture cheap copies do not fulfil this
requirement and tear open along the welded joint. This is critical especially for diagonal braces.
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12. Spigot too short
The for load bearing significant length of the spigot / pin inside a scaffold leg is due
to material savings very short in offshore copy scaffold. Particularly when the
connections is done 3’3” (1m) above the work platform this wiill results in a
considerable reduction of the load bearing capacity of the scaffold structure.
Spigot / pin l = 85 mm
Should be l = 195 mm
A standard structural
calculation will show a
reduction of load capacity
down to 20% of the initial
bearing capacity of the
scaffold leg in a typical
scaffold structure.
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13. Summary
Fitting inaccuracies, poorly executed welds at the load bearing
wedge heads and shrink holes, quick formation of rust due to
insufficient galvanising and other significant quality defects are a
major
safety risk
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