16 March 2023 / Safety Alert

Scaffold Alert / Stair Brackets

Hutchinson Builders maintains in stock a fleet of aluminium stretcher stair pans as well as the recently introduced 2.0m rise construction stairs.

The aluminium stretcher stair risers and 2.0m construction stair pans must be secured to the scaffold using the ’stair brackets’ that are provided.

This falls in line with industry best practice and reflects the guidelines stated in the Queensland Code of Practice (Scaffold COP 2021) – Chapter 3.4, with an extract provided below.

Stairs should be secured to the scaffold bay. If not secured, the supplier should provide documentation illustrating the maximum amount of clearance allowed between the transom and the top and bottom of the stair module.

The detail showing how these brackets are to be configured is provided on every scaffold design series. This detail is reproduced below.

The photographs provided below demonstrate the correct orientation of the bracket when installed.

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As shown in these images, the angled part of the 90º bracket hooks around the transom and there are two nuts on the through bolt that lock the stair in place. Please note, the threaded rod will have one nut permanently fixed to one end. An additional two nuts are required on the stair riser section on every bracket to prevent unintentional nut travel.

Each stair riser unit is to be locked into the scaffold structure at the top and the bottom of the risers. Therefore, each rise of the stretcher stair will require a total of four brackets, and each rise of a construction stair will require two brackets.

Please ensure that the brackets are installed, and the risers are secured immediately after the stair riser units are in position, and that the brackets are removed as the last activity prior to the stair riser units being dismantled.

There are five locations in the stringers where the two stretcher stair riser units are to be connected using the nuts and bolts provided in the kit. A minimum of two only bolts are required in any of the five available locating holes. There is no requirement to bolt either handrail or stair unit to the adjacent stair unit for the construction stairs.

Each time stretcher stairs or 2.0m rise construction stairs are ordered, the delivery will automatically include the correct number of brackets and connecting nut / bolt assemblies required to complete a compliant installation.

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