UNIVERSITY OF GONDAR

INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL ENGINEERING

GONDAR, Ethiopia
August 24, 2023

SCAFFOLDING IN BUILDING CONSTRUCTION AROUND GONDAR TOWN

 A [thesis ] submitted to university of Gondar Institute of Technology, in partial
fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

[insert degree ] in the [ insert program name ] in the [ named faculty].

Advisor Name: inst. Fantahun A.

Co-Advisor Name( Optional)

BahirDar, Ethiopia

August 24, 2023

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DECLARATION

We, the undersigned, declare that the thesis comprises our own work. In compliance
with internationally accepted practices, we have acknowledged and refereed all
materials used in this work. We understand that non-adherence to the principles of
academic honesty and integrity, misrepresentation/ fabrication of any
idea/data/fact/source will constitute sufficient ground for disciplinary action by the
University and can also evoke penal action from the sources which have not been
properly cited or acknowledged.

Name of the student_______________________________ Signature _____________

Date of submission: ________________

Place: Gondar

This thesis has been submitted for examination with my approval as a university
advisor.

Advisor Name: __________________________________

Advisor’s Signature: ______________________________

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University of Gondar

Institute of Technology-

Department of civil engineering

THESIS APPROVAL SHEET

Student:

________________________________________________________________________

Name Signature Date

The following graduate faculty members certify that this students has successfully
presented the necessary written final thesis and oral presentation for partial fulfillment of
the thesis requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in [insert Name of the
program]

Approved By:

Advisor:
________________________________________________________________________
Name Signature Date

External Examiner:
________________________________________________________________________
Name Signature Date

Internal Examiner:
________________________________________________________________________
Name Signature Date

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Chair Holder:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Above all, we thank almighty God because without his assistance our achievements would
have been impossible. And this thesis was made possible by our advisor inst. Fantahun. We
gratefully acknowledge our advisor inst. Fantahun for his valuable guidance and consistent
encouragement throughout the research work. Finally our gratitude goes to individuals who
were willing to support throughout our study.

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ABSTRACT

In this study we tried to assess scaffolding practices around Gondar, to develop template
for analysis of scaffolding and to conduct cost comparison of wooden scaffold and steel
scaffolding. Wooden scaffold structures are widely used in Gondar [Ethiopia] than steel
scaffold. So that proper selection of scaffolding is practiced around Gondar town in order
to minimize loss of life and loss of property. In this study we tried to interview
construction workers and make survey study to give recommendation on how to use
scaffolding properly. With analysis template using excel to check the scaffolding if it
transfers its applied load without failing.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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DECLARATION............................................................................................................................. I
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS........................................................................................................... V
ABSTRACT.................................................................................................................................. VI
TABLE OF CONTENTS............................................................................................................ VII
LIST OF ABBREVATIONS........................................................................................................ IX
LIST OF SYMBOLS...................................................................................................................... X
LIST OF FIGURES...................................................................................................................... XI
LIST OF TABLES...................................................................................................................... XII
1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................. 1
1.1. Background................................................................................................................................. 1
1.2. Problem Statement..................................................................................................................... 2
1.3. Objective of the study................................................................................................................. 2
1.4. Scope of the study...................................................................................................................... 3
1.5. Significance of the study............................................................................................................. 3

2. LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................................................... 4
2.1. Subheading 1.............................................................................................................................. 4
2.2. Sub heading 2............................................................................................................................. 5
2.3. Sub heading n............................................................................................................................. 6

3. METHODOLOGY................................................................................................................. 7
4. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION............................................................................................. 9
4.1. Sub heading 1............................................................................................................................. 9
4.2. Sub heading 2........................................................................................................................... 10
4.3. Sub heading n........................................................................................................................... 11

5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS..............................................................12

5.1. Conclusions............................................................................................................................... 12
5.2. Recommendations.................................................................................................................... 12

REFERENCES............................................................................................................................. 13
APPENDIX.................................................................................................................................. 14
Appendix 1 Questionnaire..................................................................................................................... 14
Appendix 2 More findings...................................................................................................................... 15
Appendix n xxxxxxx............................................................................................................................. 17

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LIST OF ABBREVATIONS

LIST OF SYMBOLS

vi
LIST OF FIGURES

vii
LIST OF TABLES

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 1. INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background

Structural scaffold is a temporary structure used during building construction or repair of

exteriors or interiors to support movement of people and materials. In most nations of the world,
the construction industry is a booming sector of the economy and the demand for scaffolding
formwork for the maintenance of existing building stocks and construction of new low-rise and
high-rise buildings is high. It is estimated that scaffolding works normally share about 1% of a
construction project budget, which can be a considerably high in large projects. Scaffolds
perform an important role in ensuring the process of different works in a construction project.
Thus, owing to the significance of scaffolding in buildings, it therefore becomes essential to
know the nitty-gritty of the various materials mostly used for this purpose. There are a
multiplicity of scaffolding systems, both traditional imported ones, with each system having its
pros and cons in terms of cost and safety performances. The three prevailing scaffolding systems
established in Ethiopia are wood scaffolding, steel scaffolding, and mixed wood and steel
scaffolding. Good use of steel scaffolds applies structural design principles for spacing, layout of
components, and foundation stability in relation to the self-weight of structural elements to be
supported, and environmental and operation loads imposed on the falsework system. In
scaffolding, we are concerned with combined stresses of bending and buckling for which the
cross-sectional shape becomes of overriding concern. Though the shape of steel is fixed, while
that of wood is adaptable. The multidirectional resistance of steel scaffold to buckling is
excellent. Favorably, in a scaffolding, cross-bracing is an extra usual means of preventing
buckling. Moreover, wood scaffold supports its own weight and resists bending loads from wind
and earthquake even though Gondar is free of earthquake. These similarity in shape and
resistance have contributed to the use of wood for scaffolding. Over the years, both wood and the
steel scaffolding have been used during construction of buildings, and as such, there are various
experiences that constructors have while using these materials. Therefore, this study focuses on
exploring the application of both scaffolding materials by assessing scaffolding practices around
Gondar, to develop template for analysis of scaffolding and to conduct cost comparison of
wooden scaffold and steel scaffolding.

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 1.1. Problem Statement

As cited on research, The Ethiopian Construction Industry has a poor health and safety record,
from the total of 403 selected building construction workers, 401 participated in the study. This
forms a response rate of 99.5%. Male study participants accounted to 61.6% of all study
participants. The age of the respondents’ range from 14−57 years with a mean (± standard
deviation) age of 25.3 ± 8.4 years. Majority (75.3%) of the workers were in the age group of
14−29 years followed by 30-44 (19.7%) and 45-57 years (5%), respectively. Out of the total 401
study subjects, 38.7% had experienced work related injuries at least once in the previous one
year recall period; of which more than half of the injuries (68.39%) were reported by males and
the rest by the female workers. Among the injured workers, 61.3% faced injury once whereas,
38.7% of them experienced more than once. The leading causes of injuries were fall on ground
level (21.3%) followed by overexertion during lifting (20.6%), fall from elevation (16.1%),
being struck by falling object (14.8%), cut by sharp objects (11%) and others (16.1%) like
electrocution, vehicle accident, building collapse, machine accident etc. Regarding post injury
measures, 52.3% workers got treatment from nearby health institution, 23.2% tried self-
medication with locally available materials, 10.3% got first aid at the site, 7.1% got treatment
from traditional healers and the rest 7.1% did not take any measure due to less injury extent. In
construction work many of the hazards are obvious; most of them can be found on almost every
site. The causes of accidents are well known and often repeated. Falls are the largest cause of
accidental death in the construction industry. Most accidents involving falls can be prevented if
the right equipment has been provided and properly used. When planning for work at heights, it
is essential to provide a safe working platform for all phases of a project. A safe working
platform is usually provided by the erection of scaffolding. Every year, many workers are killed
by falls from scaffolds. Besides problems with planks and guardrails, the main causes of injuries
and deaths on scaffolds are poor planning for assembling and taking them apart, missing tie-ins
or bracing, and being too close to power lines. Some scaffolding have collapsed because of
improper erection, some have fallen because the scaffolding could not support the loads placed
on it. Also, falling objects can hurt people below the scaffolds. The major causes identified are
the lack of appropriate knowledge and skills of those assigned with responsibility for safety and
health.

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 1.1. Objective of the study

The objective of this study is to minimize accidents resulted from improper alignment and by
using improper designed scaffolds for construction industry. Important causes of scaffolding
accidents include:-

• Insufficient or lack of on-the-job training

• Improper construction or work rules

• Inadequate fall protection

• Ignoring safety rules

• Weak planking

• Failures at attachment points, parts failure

• Insecure or non-existent bracing

• Defective equipment

• Changing environmental conditions (extreme temperatures, high winds, presence of toxic

gases)

Additionally, major scaffold failure occurs due to overloading of scaffolding. Therefore our
research will provide safety against failures of scaffolding.

General objective:

Our general objectives are to create well trained, certified and experienced manpower, Use of
certified and tested scaffolding materials, All materials used should be inspected thoroughly
before and after use, Employers should ensure that all the equipment’s in use are in good
condition as per “Personal Protective Equipment at Work” regulations, Ensuring proper permit to
work, Each activity should follow proper job hazard assessment.

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Specific objectives:

Since Gondar University has faced loss of life and property from past years due to construction
as a result of scaffolding we in this research will provide scaffold analysis template in order to
use well analyzed scaffold and create awareness on how to properly erect scaffolds so that no life
and property loss will occur.

1.4 Scope of the study

This study focuses on exploring the application of both scaffolding materials by assessing
scaffolding practices around Gondar, to develop template for analysis of scaffolding and to
conduct cost comparison of wooden scaffold and steel scaffolding.

1.5 Significance of the study

The research is believed to initiate the local contractors in using standard scaffolding systems.
Local professionals can appreciate the modern scaffolding systems in this thesis and be
motivated to design and construct safe and economical scaffold systems. The environmental
effects of construction of scaffold are also revealed through this research. Regulatory body such
as Ministry of Works and Urban Development will be benefited in modifying the regulation of
licensing of contractors or introducing methods of use of scaffold for high rise buildings.

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 2. LITERATURE REVIEW
Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew
and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all
other manmade structures. Scaffolds are widely used on site to get access to heights and areas
that would be otherwise hard to get to. Unsafe scaffolding has the potential to result in death or
serious injury. Scaffolding is also used in adapted forms for formwork and shoring, grandstand
seating, concert stages, access/viewing towers, exhibition stands, ski ramps, half pipes and art
projects.

There are five main types of scaffolding used worldwide today. These are Tube and Coupler
(fitting) components, prefabricated modular system scaffold components, H-frame / facade
modular system scaffolds, timber scaffolds and bamboo scaffolds (particularly in China). Each
type is made from several components which often include:

 A base jack or plate which is a load-bearing base for the scaffold.

 The standard, the upright component with connector joins.
 The ledger, a horizontal brace.
 The transom, a horizontal cross-section load-bearing component which holds the batten,
board, or decking unit.
 Brace diagonal and/or cross section bracing component.
 Batten or board decking component used to make the working platform.
 Coupler, a fitting used to join components together.
 Scaffold tie, used to tie in the scaffold to structures.
 Brackets, used to extend the width of working platforms.

Specialized components used to aid in their use as a temporary structure often include heavy
duty load bearing transoms, ladders or stairway units for the ingress and egress of the scaffold,
beams ladder/unit types used to span obstacles and rubbish chutes used to remove unwanted
materials from the scaffold or construction project. Scaffolding represents an important trade in
the construction of buildings by providing platforms which allow the workers to carry out their
works at height. In Ethiopia a variety of scaffolding systems are available. The wood scaffolding
is regarded to be the dominant type in the local construction industry over the years chiefly
because of its low costs. Local buildings have been constructed with the ever increase in height.
Literatures reveal the importance of safety and cost as well as their close relationship in
construction. and it is found that wood scaffolding is rather unsafe and unreliable especially
in such high-attitude constructions, while steel scaffolding is too expensive. The success of
a scaffolding system depends on many factors, e.g. its features, application and suitability in a
market. Concentrations are put on these safety and cost issues.

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Commonly used scaffolding around the world.

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