In most build situations, the loading requirement will simply mean the ability to work off, and load out, the decking platform for topping brick / blockwork out for joists and trusses. The system will allow stacks of ten 440X215X100 7N Blocks (or equivalent). These stacks must be placed according to guidelines provided and the loading must not be exceeded.

The images below were taken on the Morris Homes site at Castle Gate and show work in progress on a loaded platform. There are limitations to loading (details supplied on request) and the system has additional support to uprate the platform.

Please note: The platforms shown are specially strengthened and loading MUST NOT be carried out on normal Bondeck installations. Please contact us for full details.

Following our successful accreditation to the CHAS safety scheme in 2009, Bondeck has won accreditation to the prestigious NHBC Safemark scheme.

The NHBC Health and Safety Competence Assessment Scheme for Contractors is recognised by the umbrella organisation Safety Schemes in Procurement.

This award further demonstrates Bondeck’s absolute committment to Health and Safety best practice.

Bondeck’s Commercial Manager - Peter Bond, commented on the award “Health & Safety accreditation is becoming an essential part of securing a place on the tender lists of the major commercial developers. Housebuilders Morris Homes and Bellway Homes now require Safemark and no doubt many other blue chip housebuilders will follow their lead”.

Bondeck remains committed to best practice in everything we do. We take safety seriously and these awards satisfy the onus on developers under CDM regs to demonstrate due diligence in sub-contractor selection.

Peter Bond added ”We continue to develop our safety systems and procedures as well as focussing on the professional development of our management and staff at all levels”.

The 5 timber frame buildings with an area totalling 550m2 were successfully decked out in under 2 days with our teams working in a rolling programme to keep ahead of the trusses being fitted. This enabled work to proceed without a single delay to the delight of the site manager and the joiners.

The joinery foreman commented how much more quickly and safely the project progressed than usual. “This is the first time I have worked on a safety deck. It saved us a lot of time and obviously is much safer than bean bags which don’t stop you from falling and can’t be worked off. I also appreciated your guys working through the rain to keep things going. Superb job”.

Bondeck will price for any trad, timber, steel frame or other type of build.

The client estimated the use of decking provided a fourteen day saving in the build programme (the alternative had been birdcage scaffold).

The system was fully braced and tensioned to ensure a stable lightweight working platform. Both the client and the carpentry sub-contractor, neither of whom had used the system before, declared themselves delighted with the result commenting that they “liked the simple solution the system brought to the project”.

Rick Bond, Managing Director of both companies, is delighted with the success; “these prestigious awards further demonstrate our ongoing committment to health and safety by ensuring that our personnel, systems and management reflect best practice”.

 We witnessed this mess at a site near our offices. The decking platform has clearly been erected by operatives who have no idea how to install the system they were using.

The platform collapsed shortly after it was installed. Apart from the dangerous gaps left between rows of decking, the overlapped boards have been incorrectly installed (see rear right hand corner of plot) and the overlapped area in the foreground has collapsed completely.

This unfortunate circumstance may be the result of a lack of training or the drive toward cost & resource cutting (or both).

 At Bondeck we work hard to price competitively but we always price to do the job properly. All our installers are trained and certificated and undergo continuous professional development. As a CHAS accredited company, our systems and procedures are audited to ensure we acheive the highest standards of health and safety.

As these images show, not all safety decking companies work to the same high standards.

Geoff will head up a new division servicing clients North of the M4 and up to Birmingham. Geoff was formerly an operations manager with Generation Safety Systems Division.

The expansion is part of Bondeck’s strategic development plan. Peter Bond, Bondeck’s Business Development Manager has every confidence that Geoff’s experience and leadership skills makes the expansion a sound move; “Despite the slowdown, there are still business opportunities out there and the securing Geoff’s services enables us to fastrack our move into the midlands region. The new division considerably extends our reach and will enable us to service new customers and to get to existing customers in the midlands region more quickly.

Peter Bond, Bondeck’s business development manager commented “This expansion is part of our strategic business plan. The current downturn has impacted on our planned infrastructure growth and we have had to postpone the opening of our new hubs, but we are still winning new clients and this means the planned hubs will have an established business when they open”.

“Our aim is to cover all areas of the south west, south east and going as far north as the midlands in our first three phases of expansion. This will take longer than we had hoped due the current economic slowdown but we are using this time to build relationships with new client regions and we have secured significant business which will take off when the market conditions improve”.

This is in line with the HSE’s “hierarchy of safety” where working platforms sit at the top in terms of providing fall-prevention as opposed to the fall-arrest/mitigation provided by bean-bags.

Several of our clients have now insisted on replacing air-bags for the installation of concrete planking and now use safety-decking for this task and, at the same time, providing brick-layers with a platform for preventing falls into the building.

The course, one of a raft of courses for Bondeck’s directors, managers, team leaders and operatives is part of our ongoing commitment to continual professional development for all company employees.

Next for Tom is Part II of his four day first aid course. Tom was not available for commment when asked if he was looking forward to his next assignment with “Resus-Annie”. (In line with PPE requirements we have offered to provide a blindfold!)

Image left: Resus-Annie is looking keen!!