NCCER Scaffolder case studies

NCCER Scaffolder · Put your knowledge to work in context.

NCCER is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit education foundation that provides industry-recognized credentials, assessments, and accreditation for the construction industry. Its programs, in NCCER's own words, allow both emerging and experienced craft professionals to earn credentials and certifications that span all construction trades. The NCCER Scaffolder case studies are 5 cases and about 5,379 words.

The Freestanding Tower After the Gust Front

A 24 ft frame scaffold, four lifts of 5 ft x 7 ft frames, stands on a 6 ft wide sidewalk alongside a four-story building. Each leg bears on a 2 in x 10 in wood mudsill laid across a 1/2 in steel sidewalk-vault cover.

975 words, about 5 min 2

Mixed Frames, a Sledgehammer, and Some #9 Wire

A crew is building a 14 ft long, 5 ft wide scaffold run against a storefront. The yard delivers six 5 ft x 5 ft steel frames with 1 1/4 in O.D.

939 words, about 5 min 3

Twelve Bundles of Block and a Light-Duty Rating

A masonry contractor wants to use a 21 ft frame scaffold - three tiers of 5 ft x 7 ft frames, four frames per tier at 7 ft spacing, eight legs total - to stock block for a two-day wall. The top deck is 21 ft long and 5 ft wide, fully planked with nominal 2 in x 10 in scaffold plank on 7 ft spans.

1,062 words, about 5 min 4

Removing Rails and a Brace to Land Drywall

A 16 ft, three-tier frame scaffold runs along the face of a building under renovation, decked at the top tier. The drywall crew wants to land 4 ft x 8 ft sheets on the deck with a forklift.

1,185 words, about 6 min 5

"The Super Said It's Fine" - A Borrowed Scaffold

The general contractor's superintendent tells a painting subcontractor to "use the scaffold the masons left up - it's only been sitting since Tuesday, and it looks fine." The scaffold is 22 ft tall, four tiers, decked on the top two. What the painters find on arrival: no ladder or stairway anywhere along the 35 ft run; the top tier has a top rail and midrail on the building side and both ends, but the street side has only a top rail; one 2 in x 10 in plank on the top deck has a 14 in split running in from the end; two planks butt over a frame with no cleat; the base plates sit on 1 in x 6 in boards laid on landscape mulch; and a faded tag at the base reads "Safe for use - 3/12." Two painters, one a 20-year veteran, want to start because the super gave the okay.

1,218 words, about 6 min