In factory, power plant, refinery and process maintenance, scaffolding does a different job from construction: it is erected inside an existing structure, without disturbing the routine of a working plant. Five things need to be settled before anyone goes on site.
01The shutdown window decides everything
Maintenance is usually squeezed into a planned shutdown: however many days the line is down, the scaffold must go up and come down within it. So on industrial work the question "how many square metres" comes after "how many hours to erect". The flanged system stands out here: one hammer, tight spaces, and it can be built piece by piece.
02The geometry is not regular
Pipe bridges, boiler surrounds, conveyor undersides, silo shells: none of them is a flat façade. The system has to connect at any angle; in the flanged system the many connection points on each rosette make that possible. An H-frame is usually not enough for this work.
03Ground and bearing points
Inside a plant the surface under the base plate is sometimes grating, sometimes a machine plinth. Where the load may be transferred is decided with the plant engineer; not every surface carries load. Ties, likewise, go into the structure, not into process equipment.
04Hot surfaces, electricity and process risks
Working beside a hot line, proximity to switchgear, a corrosive atmosphere: all of it affects the erection sequence and the material specification. Surface protection follows too: in damp and corrosive environments, galvanizing is close to mandatory.
05Access and rescue plan
For crews working in confined volumes, the way out and the means of evacuation are planned from the start. Tower access, trapdoor landings and adequate platform width are part of that.
From the field
On projects such as the Tunçbilek and Yatağan thermal power plants and the Aselsan, TUSAŞ and Roketsan facilities, the flanged system and telescopic props were used around equipment and for roof maintenance. On this work a take-off alone is not enough: the erection sequence, the shutdown calendar and the plant's own access rules are planned together.
Send us the date of your shutdown and photographs of the area to be worked on, and we will work out the erection sequence and duration with you.