Bamboo scaffolding is a temporary structure commonly used by the construction industry in Hong Kong. It is widely used in building construction, building facade and wall repairs, decoration and sign erection, slope maintenance and retrofit, etc. Apparently, the bamboo scaffolding prevails in Hong Kong due to its cost, efficiency and flexibility. Recent feedbacks from the industry however reveal that some issues have surfaced and might hinder the safety of bamboo scaffoldings. First, it was recommended that the intersections of the bamboo scaffoldings cannot be used to anchor safety belts due to their insufficient load-carrying capacities. Research has been conducted to explore some possible regional reinforcement options for anchoring safety harness when performing bamboo scaffol...[ Read more ]

Bamboo scaffolding is a temporary structure commonly used by the construction industry in Hong Kong. It is widely used in building construction, building facade and wall repairs, decoration and sign erection, slope maintenance and retrofit, etc. Apparently, the bamboo scaffolding prevails in Hong Kong due to its cost, efficiency and flexibility. Recent feedbacks from the industry however reveal that some issues have surfaced and might hinder the safety of bamboo scaffoldings. First, it was recommended that the intersections of the bamboo scaffoldings cannot be used to anchor safety belts due to their insufficient load-carrying capacities. Research has been conducted to explore some possible regional reinforcement options for anchoring safety harness when performing bamboo scaffolding works. Also, due to the safety and capacity problems of bamboo scaffoldings, there appear some scaffoldings constructed using a mixture of both bamboo and metal tubes. Issues relating to the load-carrying capacity and safe usage of these mixed scaffoldings have been investigated. The aim of this study is to investigate these two issues using combination of laboratory tests and computer analysis and to provide solutions and practical guidebooks to the industry for the safe usage of bamboo and mixed scaffoldings.