Best practices for storing scaffolding material

Best practices for storing scaffolding material

To ensure the longevity and safety of your scaffolding equipment, proper storage is crucial. A well organised and maintained scaffold yard will help you avoid both material loss, wasted time searching for the right scaffolding component and premature material wear and tear. In this article, we will sum up tips and best practices for storing scaffolding material efficiently.

Clean and inspect your scaffolding material before storing it

Before storing your scaffolding material, it's time to clean and inspect it thoroughly. Dirt, debris, or paint residues left on your material should be removed as they make it easy to miss damage or trapped moisture hidden underneath it. While inspecting your scaffolding equipment for damage or wear and tear, pay particular attention to welds, locking pins, and any moving parts. Should you come across a damaged scaffolding component, replace it as soon as possible. This action is not only important for the safety of both your team and yourself, but also prevents potential harm to other undamaged scaffolding components.

Label and organise your scaffolding stock

Have you ever tried to find a specific scaffolding part in a messy warehouse? Not only is it nerve-wracking, but it also takes up a lot of time. So, good organisation is key to efficient scaffolding storage. Labeling and categorizing scaffolding components is always a good first step to make them easily identifiable in your yard. Also separate scaffolding parts such as frames, ledgers and scaffold decks to make them easier to find later and to prevent damage during storage.

And even apps can help you with organizing your yard. Curious how? Just click on the link.

Store your scaffolding equipment in a dry and sheltered area

Moisture is a significant enemy of scaffolding material, as it can lead to rust and corrosion. Of course, high quality scaffolding material that has been hot-dip galvanized during production, for example, can easily withstand some rain and humidity. Nevertheless, it’s always a good idea to store scaffolding parts that are more suspectable to damage from too much moisture like wooden scaffold planks or toeboards, in a dry, sheltered area, such as a warehouse or covered storage space. If you don't have access to an indoor space, consider using weather-resistant covers to protect your scaffolding equipment from rain and humidity.

Stack and secure scaffolding components properly

Let’s face it: when things have to move fast, caution sometimes comes up short. One or the other scaffolding part can then be moved rather roughly when bringing is back to your yard. Fortunately, steel can withstand a lot, but such actions can still result in bending or other damage to scaffolding parts. So that such avoidable damage to your scaffolding material does not affect your finances later on, make sure that the step of storing material is carried out with the necessary care. Even small actions, such as stacking scaffold components with wedges outside the ledger heads to prevent the wedges from bending can avoid unnecessary material wear.

Use clever storage solutions

Storing your materials on pallets is a great way to keep your warehouse tidy. But you can go one step further and easily assemble your pallets from your stock material. The Scafom-rux modular pallet makes it possible. See how it works in our animation:

Smart storage solutions like these ultimately save you valuable space in your warehouse and weight on your truck. Want to know more about the modular pallet? Then click on the link.

Proper storage of your scaffolding materials can not only save you a lot of time, but also significantly extend its service life. For more tips and best practice on scaffolding maintenance, read our blogs listed below.