As a scaffolder, it is important that you understand the design and use of scaffolding properly. Improper design and use can lead to health and safety issues, as well as leading to inefficiencies which can eat into your profit. Whilst you should always rely on your knowledge to help you to make the final judgement call when it comes to scaffolding that you design and erect, it is now possible to buy intelligent IT software which will help to make the whole process much quicker and easier.

Benefits

Computer Aided Design (CAD) software is becoming more important to designers across the whole spectrum, from furniture designers through to vehicle manufacturers. This type of software allows designers to get their thoughts and ideas down “on paper” far more quickly than they would be able to if they were using pen and ink drawings.

CAD software also allows the designer to make changes to their creations far more quickly than they would be able to change physical drawings. This means that scaffolding designers have the opportunity to “play around” with far more designs than they would be able to if they had to draw each one out by hand. This also means that they have more opportunities to come up with structures that really work for their intended purpose.

Good software will also allow you to anticipate how the scaffolding could change if certain conditions at the site changed. You should be able to push a few buttons and change a few parameters to allow you to see what difference these changes could make. These conditions may include local regulations which prevent or promote certain practices within the construction community.

Most of the top software is also designed to work with a variety of major types of scaffolding, including tubes and fitting, system scaffolding and many other styles used across Europe.

One of the main ideas behind using scaffolding design software as part of your business is that it increases your productivity. Once you understand how to use the software properly, you will be able to spend far less time designing and far more time doing. This means that you should be able to fit more jobs into your week.

Pricing Estimates

Using CAD software to design scaffolding structures can also help you to come up with more accurate pricing estimates for each job. This will allow you to give your potential clients a more accurate estimate for the work that they are asking for. Most clients look favourably on contractors whose estimates are close to the actual final price.

Scaffold pricing software can identify what components are used in each structure and use this to work out how much a job is likely to cost. The best software will also factor in how many people should be needed to fit this structure and how long it might take them to do it.

Cost of Software

Before you’ve decided whether CAD software is right for your business, you need to consider the costs involved. Some software packages cost tens of thousands of pounds and may require users to pay an annual licensing fee to the product designer. This annual fee will normally buy the owner product support and regular updates when they are needed. They may also be able to integrate it into other software which you own and use for business purposes. This can allow different software types to communicate with each other to give you maximum efficiency.

If you do a lot of jobs annually, investing in this software could definitely be worth it, however if you do not scaffold regularly, the cost could outweigh the benefits. Some software designers offer “lite” versions of their software which offer reduced functionality at a lower cost.

Considerations

As previously noted, you should never rely solely on computer generated designs for scaffolding. If it is your job to design scaffolding for use on a project, then it will ultimately be your responsibility if the design is unsuitable. Therefore, you are advised to use this software as a guide, but to check and double check all ideas before you sign off on these plans, to make sure that they are suitable for the environments that you are working in.