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Read articles from the shrink wrap experts.
What Is Printed Netting?
JOHN HOMER, OUR PRINTED DEBRIS NETTING SPECIALIST WRITES: Printed debris netting is a fabric that has been specifically designed to be printed onto. It is a little heavier than standard debris netting and has a thicker filament to accept the print. It’s only available in white, but any background colour can be printed onto it. It comes in a variety of lengths and widths and is available as both Flame Retardant and standard material. Printing onto netting does rely heavily on the skill and experience of the printer along with needing the correct specialised equipment. WHO USES PRINTED NETTING? Initially the people buying printed debris netting were scaffolders who wanted to use the space to advertise their businesses, however, once it been seen on scaffold other types of businesses became interested. We have supplied printed debris netting to a variety of clients including; building contractors using the netting for Heras Fencing covers, sports clubs for fencing and practice nets, events management and even as art installations. We have clients who run a youth football team who use the netting around the pitch which is printed with the team name, logo and approved Football Association logos. HOW TO GET PRINTED NETTING The first step is to send us your artwork, either as a high-resolution pdf or a vector graphic file. These can usually be obtained from whoever designed your logos, set up your web site or from your marketing department. Whilst we are not in the business of creating artwork from scratch, we can often produce the required images from other sources. Let us know what dimensions of wrap you require. Some organisations have rules regarding the layout of their images and logos. We will do our best to abide by these requirements. Then, we create mock-ups and proofs of the design for your approval. We are happy to make changes and adjustments until you are happy with the design. On approval of the proofs and payment, the design is forwarded to the printer. The printed netting is usually delivered within ten days. ARE THERE ANY RESTRICTIONS ON WHAT CAN BE PRINTED? We will not print any derogatory images. We can only print designs that are the property of the client, although we can print logos of trade associations or third parties if their express permission has been obtained. Physically we cannot print on the first 2 meters and the last 2 meters of the netting. We can print a background of any colour. Fine lines, high details or photographs are not recommended as images because the detail can be lost due to the spaces in the netting. If high quality images are not available, we will try to recreate the required image as best as possible by design, cleaning images and matching fonts, etc. The final decision on the acceptance of the images via the proof is the responsibility of our client, but we endeavour offer advice and help. If you have any queries, or want to know more about printed debris netting, please do not hesitate to get in touch here or if you would like to purchase some printed debris netting, click here.
No Heat / No Naked Flame Shrink Wrapping - Can It Be Done?
A hot air gun is usually the essential piece of equipment for shrink wrapping, used for welding / joining individual sheets together and of course shrinking the sheeting ‘drum tight’. Although the designs of individual guns can vary a little, for 99% of projects, a hot air gun is used powered by propane gas which is ignited to create a flame. The hot air which this flame produces is used to weld and shrink the plastic However, we are sometimes asked if there is an alternative to using a naked flame for shrink wrapping. This is typically because the encapsulation is required in an area where there could be a risk of explosion. This short article looks at two alternatives to a naked flame heat gun for shrink wrapping. First we will consider the electric heat tool and then we will look at a completely different approach to shrink wrapping which does not use heat at all but rather a tensioning and gluing technique. Electric Heat Tool A commonly used alternative to a propane gas hot air gun is an electric heat tool. However, this is not the usual ‘paint stripper’ type of tool you might imagine but rather an industrial grade tool – the Forte S3 manufactured by Leister. To achieve anywhere near the power of the propane gas gun, this electric heat tool must be powered by a 3-phase electric supply (3 x 400V). Although the Forte S3 is the most powerful hand held electric heat gun available, it can be awkward on scaffolding / construction projects. At 4.4Kg, it is almost 4 x the weight of a propane gas gun and the ergonomics of the device are such that it must be held with two hands. This means that typical shrink wrapping tasks such as creating a welded joint becomes a two person job as one person is needed to hold the heat tool and heat the plastic and another person is needed to press the sheets together. However, the main challenge with using even a powerful electric heat tool for shrink wrapping such as the Leister Forte S3 is that with an output of 10kW, it has 5-10 times less power than a propane gas heat tool. Whilst this probably does not make much of a difference if you are shrinking a small cover around a pallet, for a large scaffolding or industrial encapsulation which can be many 1000’s of square metres of plastic, this lower power output will greatly add to the installation time and so the cost of the job. Tensioning & Gluing An alternative to the gas and electric heat gun, which requires no heat at all is the tensioning and gluing technique. This installation method was first developed for shrink wrap encapsulation projects in oil refineries. First, the shrink wrap sheet is cut to a sufficient size to cover at least one scaffolding lift with at least 500mm surplus around the top and bottom sheeting rails. This surplus is wrapped around a tensioning bar and a ratchet strap is used so that the tensioning bar is pulled upwards and the shrink wrap sheeting is pulled tightly around the lowest sheeting rail. When the sheeting is still tensioned, the shrink wrap sheeting is temporarily clipped to the lowest sheeting rail either side of the tensioned area. Then, an adhesive spray is used to glue the shrink wrap sheeting (either side of the tensioned areas) around the lowest sheeting rail and back on to itself. Once the glued joints have cured, the tensioned areas are released and glued and the entire process is repeated until the first section / run of sheeting is attached, tensioned and glued. If you would like to see the tensioning and gluing technique in action, we have a very short video, recorded in our test & training facility in Cheshire; https://youtu.be/q8pUlPyAmRE The main challenge with the tensioning and gluing technique is that it is difficult to tension large areas of sheeting. With traditional scaffold encapsulation, using a gas hot air gun, the sheeting is typically dropped around 3 lifts / 6m vertical drop, before it is fixed back to the scaffolding and heat shrunk. With the gluing and tensioning technique, it is necessary to install the shrink wrap sheeting in much smaller drops. This means that the installation process will be around 3-4 times slower than using a propane gas gun. Summary So, which approach should you take? Both the electric and the tensioning / gluing technique can be good solutions but the extra time required for these methods (and hence extra costs) should not be underestimated. If you would like a demonstration / trial of either of these no heat / no naked flame shrink wrapping techniques call our team on 01477 532222 own email info@rhinoshrinkwrap.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
Printing on Scaffold Shrink Wrap - What Are My Options?
We are all familiar with seeing traditional scaffold sheeting, such as ‘Monarflex’, custom printed to display a contractor’s logo as the sheeting is wrapped around a scaffolding, lift by lift. In recent years, often in high profile urban locations, printed building wraps have also become quite familiar – tensioned micro mesh banners which display a high quality advertisement or reproduction of a building facade. Naturally, a frequent question we get asked at Rhino is; Can you print a custom logo on to scaffold shrink wrap sheeting? The answer is…..it depends. Whilst it is certainly possible to print on shrink wrap film, the very wide and heavy duty films that we use for scaffold wrapping and industrial packaging can be quite challenging to custom print. Furthermore, scaffold shrink wrap is not installed in exactly the same orientation and position on the scaffold and since it is heat shrunk drum tight, the shrink process can have potential to create some distortion in the imagery. Despite this, at Rhino we can offer a printed shrink wrap option and this article outlines some of the options available. There are two main ways that we print scaffold shrink wrap sheeting – ‘In line’ and ‘Out of line’. In Line Printing For Scaffold Shrink Wrap In-line printing is where the shrink wrap material is printed at the point of manufacture. This is generally the most cost effective option and works well for simple logos, up to 3 colours, and for shrink wrap films wider than 6 metres. However, because the film is being printed as it is manufactured, there will be a minimum volume – which is typically at least 1 ton of film. The other limitation for in line printing is that as the width of the film increases, the number of colours it is possible to print decreases. For a film greater than 8m wide, it is only possible to print in 1 colour. To overcome these limitations we offer an out of line printing option. This is where the shrink wrap film is first manufactured, then printed on a more specialist printer at a later time. This gives the most flexibility as to the number of colours and complexity of design and is most useful for lower volume ‘custom’ requirements. Out of Line Printing For Scaffold Shrink Wrap The first challenge faced when considering out of line printing on standard stocked scaffold shrink wrap film is finding a printer large enough! Consider that the smallest roll size we normally use for scaffold shrink wrapping is 7 metres wide x 15m long. Although large format printers do exist, large format in this case means a capability of 3,4,5 or perhaps 6 metres wide. However, even the largest 6m wide digital printer is not big enough for standard scaffold shrink wrap. To solve this, at Rhino we offer a 3m wide flame retardant scaffold shrink wrap film which we can print with logos and designs to your custom requirements. This scaffold wrap can then either be installed ‘standalone’ or incorporated as part of a much larger scaffold shrink wrap project. If you are interested in custom printing on to shrink wrap film for your next project, call our friendly team for a chat on 01477 532222. We look forward to hearing from you.
Avoid Uninsured Losses - 3 Ways To Check If Your Scaffold Shrink Wrap is LPS1215 Compliant
In this short guide I will show you 3 quick and easy ways to check if the scaffold shrink wrap you are purchasing is compliant with the LPS1215 certification scheme. Although not required by everyone, if you work in high risk environments such as shipyards or offshore this is what you need to do to ensure the correct materials are used. Why should you use LPS1215 sheeting for your projects? Whether you are buying shrink wrap materials to install yourself, or sub contracting the work to a shrink wrap installation company it is important that you are aware of the flame retardant standards. Simply put, you should use LPS certified scaffold sheeting in order to cover your back when there is a risk of a fire. Only using LPS certified materials helps to cover a company for loss and damages incurred in the event of a fire because only LPS is backed by the insurance industry in the UK. Use of a product which is not certified to LPS 1215 or LPS1207 may result in the company suffering uninsured losses. What is the difference between LPS1215 and EN13501? The other most common flame retardant standard used by shrink wrap companies is the European standard EN13501. The main difference between LPS and EN13501 is that to achieve the LPS1215 standard requires an independent audit of the shrink wrap manufacturing facilities every year by the LPCB. During the audit, samples of scaffold shrink wrap film from three production runs that have taken place over the previous 12 months is taken and tested to ensure it reaches the flame retardancy standards laid down by the LPCB. This means that no ‘deception’ is possible as the product formulation that is being manufactured now has to be the same as that which was originally sent to the laboratories to obtain the initial flame retardant certification. So, using an LPS certified film significantly reduce risk and demonstrates due diligence. On the other hand, the EN13501 test is a one off test, a ‘snapshot’ if you like, of a shrink wrap’s flame retardant at a point in time. There are no checks or audits to check that the formulation of the film is not changing over time (such as less flame retardant additive being included.) Checking if your sheeting is LPS compliant – Step 1 – Check Online All approved products can be checked free of charge at www.redbooklive.com. Simply type your shrink wrap manufacturers name into the search box click on ‘search our listings’. On the next page you you can then choose to search by a number of different criteria including search by company name or certificate number. I have included a screen shot below. Checking if your sheeting is compliant with LPS1215 – Step 2 – Ask your supplier for certificates The second step to ensuring that the shrink wrap sheeting is compliant with LPS1215 is to ask your supplier for the LPS Certificates and check that the certificate number matches the certificate numbers online (see step 1). Click on the certificate thumbnail to see a full scale PDF version of a certificate. Checking if your sheeting is compliant wit LPS1215 – Step 3 – Check what is printed on the scaffold shrink wrap film Check the markings on the wrap, you will have to excuse me as earlier I stated that LPS should be printed on the wrap, please find attached picture which has a LCPB stamp with the certificate number. In the picture below, the certificate number is 789b and it is clearly displayed below the LPCB logo / stamp. Thanks for reading! As always, if you liked this article, please share. If you need any help or advice with any aspect of using shrink wrap sheeting for temporary weather protection or environmental containment get in touch with myself and my team; info@rhinoshrinkwrap.com or +44 (0)1477 532222.
Shrink Wrap Scaffolding - How To Choose An Installer
Looking to shrink wrap scaffolding? You have two choices; Do it yourself or find a sub-contractor. Some companies are ‘shrink wrap specialists’, others such as scaffolding companies provide shrink wrapping as part of a range of services. Whichever you choose, here are 6 ways to help you find the right supplier for you. Where are they based? Most ‘specialist’ shrinkwrap companies in particular will claim to offer a ‘UK wide’ shrink wrap service but depending on their ‘base’ location, shrink wrap installation teams may have to travel significant distances. So what? Well, travelling costs in terms of the team’s time and fuel costs. They might also require hotels or overnight accomodation. The closer an installation company is, the fresher the team will be when they arrive and less likely to make mistakes. Location is also important if any issues develop with the shrink wrap sheeting that need a return visit. A company that is centrally located or located locally can return to site much faster. How can they prove their installers are competent? All scaffold shrink wrap installers should hold the general CSCS card that proves they have reached a basic standard of health & safety awareness, and additional cards such as IPAF for the use of MEWPS are also common. However, there is no nationally accredited dedicated ‘card sheme’ for the installation of shrink wrap sheeting. This means you must get proof that the company you are using has a proper induction scheme for new staff and written proof that each team member has been assessed as competent in all the elements of shrink wrap sheeting. Do they have flame retardant certification for their shrink wrap? Scaffolding shrink wrap must be flame retardant. In the UK there are two key ‘standards’ to be aware of – the basic European standard test (EN13501) which is referenced by building regulations and the much more extensive LPS1207 and LPS1215 standards which are managed by the BRE. The main difference between the LPS1207 / LPS1215 and EN13501 is that whilst EN13501 is a one off ‘test’, the LPS is a ‘scheme’ whereby the quality and flame retardant performance of a shrink wrap film is independently tested and verified by a third party company each year. Whichever film you are using, if the film is flame retardant, it should be clearly printed on the shrink film and you should obtain the flame retardant certification for the film and check it’s validity. Do thay have any testimonials? OK, we all know that testimonials can sometimes be a bit slick and ‘salesy’. However, why not do a bit of research on social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn? Hopefully you should find mentions by other customers of completed shrink wrap jobs (not just sales messages put out by the company you are considering!) Specialist or generalist? Many companies, mostly scaffolders, may offer shrink wrapping to their clients as part of a range of services. The benefits of using a scaffolding company to provide a shrink wrap service is that they are normally close to their clients and if they know how to shrink wrap, there is a good chance that they will set up the scaffolding in the best way possible (nice and flush structure for example) which should result in a great looking job. Specialist companies exclusively provide shrink wrap installation services. These teams will be carrying out shrink wrap installation work 24/7 which should lead to genuine mastery, however, as mentioned, if they are travelling long distances then costs may be higher. What do they do when something goes wrong? Follow points 1-5 above and you will certainly maximise your chance of a smooth job with no problems. However, as we all know, sometimes things go wrong and unfortunately the reaction of your shrink wrap supplier can be difficult to test in advance. Do they have a telephone that is answered by a human being outside of office hours? Do they have a senior management team who are ‘close to the action’ and understand construction problems? We have found from experience that the best way to deal with a problem is ‘head on’. Very often that means a supervisor or member of the management team getting out on to site to meet everyone involved and working out a resolution. For a more minor problem it certainly means a senior manager always being available on the telephone to talk to a customer. This article is designed to give you just a few pointers to help you choose a shrink wrap installation company. If you would like to discuss your requirements in more detail then why not give us a call on +44 (0)1477 53222 or email info@rhinoshrinkwrap.com. We look forward to hearing from you.
Training For Scaffold Shrink Wrapping - How To Make It A Success
Are you considering offering a scaffold shrink wrapping service to your customers? If so, you have probably considered getting some training in scaffold shrink wrapping techniques for you or your team. Here are a few tips to ensure you get the shrink wrapping skills you need to be successful. HOW DO I FIND A TRAINER? Most of the suppliers of scaffold shrink wrap materials and equipment will offer training services. However, try and find out a bit about the trainer before you go ahead. A shrink wrap trainer with lots of theoretical knowledge may not be able to give you as much useful information as someone who acquired their shrink wrapping knowledge through long periods ‘on the tools’. Some shrink wrap suppliers use supervisors or members of their own installation teams (if they also provide a shrink wrap installation service) and they can generally provide valuable additional ‘tips & tricks’ for your team that they have learnt through practical experience. HOW MANY PEOPLE SHOULD I TRAIN? Although there is no limit to the amount of operatives that can be trained, over the years we have found that one trainer to around four ‘trainees’ works best. More than four trainees and the amount of ‘hands on’ practice time that each trainee gets with the shrink wrapping heat gun is too small and the ‘banter to work’ ratio can get out of hand! If you have more people on your team that you would like to train, consider splitting the group into two seperate shrink wrap training sessions or asking your supplier for multiple trainers. WHERE SHOULD THE SHRINK WRAP TRAINING TAKE PLACE? Carrying out shrink wrap training on a small scaffolding structure in the confines of your own yard / premises is a good option. It is easy for the trainer to see what everyone is doing and provide help, and everyone can get plenty of practice in without fear of making a mistake. If you have an undercover area where the shrink wrap training can take place, then you don’t need to worry about being ‘rained off’. For a training structure in your yard then a three sided structure with roof works really well. Having one side open allows everyone to see what is going on. However, it could be argued that a simple training structure is not realistic enough and that a team might struggle when they face their first proper job. An alternative option is to carry out scaffold shrink wrap training on a live project / construction site. This has the possibility of having your customer pay for the completed scaffold shrink wrap job and so cover the cost of the training. However, there is a risk that if the newly trained ‘wrappers’ are not confident they will hold back, afraid to make a mistake, and it may be the shrink wrap trainer ends up doing the job whilst your team do not get the shrink wrapping experience they need! As a compromise why not consider a two day training session which combines the best of both worlds? The first day could consist of shrink wrapping a small ‘training structure’ in your yard and the second day consist of working on a live job with the trainer assisting and providing advice. Most shrink wrap suppliers should provide a discounted training rate for the second day. WHAT MATERIALS & EQUIPMENT WILL I NEED? You are going to need all the materials and equipment that you would use on a normal scaffolding shrink wrapping project. A typical ‘start up kit’ will consist a shrink wrapping heat gun(s), scaffold wrap film, patch tape, clips and leather welding gauntlets. Although a scaffold wrap supplier will be able to provide you with the materials and equipment, you will need to provide a 13Kg cylinder of propane gas for each heat gun as scaffold wrap suppliers generally do not supply this. WHAT TOPICS MIGHT BE COVERED IN A SCAFFOLD WRAP TRAINING SESSION? Scaffold shrink wrap training is generally a practical activity and does not require a classroom. Generally a shrink wrapping training course should at least include the following elements; SHRINK WRAPPING THEORY: Equipment (Heat gun) familiarisation – Pre start checks. Connecting and disconnecting the gun, hose and regulator. Safe use of propane gas and handling of cylinders. Materials familiarisation – shrink wrap, patch tape, clips •Personal safety – PPE, safe use of heat gun and fire prevention on site •Shrink wrapping scaffold structures – weather conditions, setting up the structure, wrapping sides, wrapping temporary roofs. SHRINK WRAPPING PRACTICAL: Welding & Shrinking Scaffolding Shrink Wrap •Repairing holes by patching / tapingFor the practical part of the training the shrink wrap trainer should demonstrate each skill and then allow each person time to practice. HOW MUCH DOES SCAFFOLD SHRINK WRAP TRAINING COST? The cost of scaffold shrink wrap training sessions has been coming down in recent years and sometimes you may be able to persuade a supplier to train your team for free if they think you will be purchasing large quantities of shrink wrapping supplies in the future! However, try to bear in mind that free training may be quite basic without certification and that if a trainer has lots of relevant shrink wrapping experience built up over many years ‘on the tools’ then they are a valuable pool of knowledge that will be enabling your team to carry oout profitable new service for your customers. CAN I GET A CERTIFICATE? A scaffold shrink wrapping certificate of competency will provide evidence to your customers that your team are able to safely carrying out scaffold shrink wrapping to the required standard. Ignore any claims by shrink wrap suppliers who claim to be endorsed by the CITB or similiar as there are no official ‘tickets’ for scaffold shrink wrapping as a construction skill. Ask your supplier to provide details and examples of the assessment criteria and keep the completed assessment forms for each trainee documents along with the certificates. Do they provide a multiple choice exam to test shrink wrapping knowledge? If so, ask for the completed papers to provide a good audit trail and to show you have fulfilled your health and safety obligations to the best of your ability. I’VE BEEN TRAINED – NOW WHAT? After carrying out many scaffold wrap training sessions over the years for scaffolding companies and contractors our tips woud be 1) Only train a team who want to learn shrink wrapping! 2) Start small – try not to carry out a huge job immediately after training but allow the team to build up their confidence gradually. 3) Remember the weather – you can have the right shrink wrap materials and a well trained team but you need dry and light wind conditions to get the best results.
Buying Shrink Wrap Film - What Every Contractor Should Know
Much shrink wrap sheeting sold around the world is simply standard plastic shrink wrap sheeting that is being marketed and sold as ‘scaffold shrink wrap’. It is often produced by film manufacturers, who have little idea of the final use and the challenges faced by those that shrink wrap scaffolds day to day. Before you next buy shrink wrap sheeting, read this short guide and find out the 5 essential areas that affect the quality and appearance of your next shrink wrap job. 1. SHRINKAGE It may seem obvious, but an important factor in how well a shrink wrap sheeting will encapsulate a scaffolding is how well it shrinks. If a shrink wrap sheet shrinks well, it will fit tightly and it will not flap or ‘chafe’ in high winds. It will be strong. WHAT AFFECTS THE SHRINK RATIO? If you look at the specification sheet of a shrink wrap film you should see that the shrinkage, sometimes known as the ‘shrink ratio’, is described in two ways; Machine Direction (MD) and Transverse Direction (TD). A shrink wrap film should have balanced shrinkage, which means that the shrinkage in both the MD and TD should be similar. However, while most shrink-wrap films have a good shrink ratio % in the Machine Direction (MD) very few have good shrinkage in the Transverse Direction (TD). As well as making the installation process difficult for the shrink wrap installer / end user, a poor shrink ratio may also cause the shrink wrap film to loosen or become slack in the first few days after installation. So what affects the shrink ratio? It is mostly due to the size of the die from which the shrink wrap film is extruded. To make Rhino shrink wrap film we use a very small die from which the melted plastic polymers are blown into a large bubble of shrink film. This difference between the size of the die and size of bubble, (sometimes called the ‘blow up ratio’), is critical in achieving a powerful shrinkage because when the film is heat shrunk by the end user, around a scaffolding for example, the shrink wrap has a ‘memory’ and will try and return to it’s original size at the point of extrusion. However, to speed up the manufacturing process most shrink wrap manufacturers use a die that is much larger than we do to manufacture their shrink wrap film. (A larger die has a higher production rate / hour). Typically, a die will be 1800mm to 2000mm wide. This larger die, although making a machine more profitable for the manufacturer, will produce a shrink wrap film with a much poorer shrink ratio, particularly in the transverse direction (TD). So, although our film is a little bit slower to manufacture, by using a smaller die we ensure that our customers get a shrink wrap film that has a shrinkage of 45% in the transverse direction (compared with a typical figure of 10-15% for competitor films). The end result of this is that Verisafe® is much easier for our customers to install properly, even in tough weather conditions, and once fixed in place is much more resistant to high winds. 2. LAYERS Looking at the specification sheet should also tell you whether the shrink wrap film you are buying is a mono (1 layer) film or a multi layer film. In a similar way to ‘die size’above, it is generally more convenient for manufacturers (but not better for the end user) to supply a multi layered film as it is faster to manufacture and multi layered machines can produce a wide variety of products. However, it can enable unscrupulous manufacturers to ‘hide’ poor quality but cheaper regenerated plastic material within layers. At Verisafe we only produce a mono layer film. This is slower to manufacture but it means that any additives, such as flame retardancy, are contained throughout the whole film, and not just the outside layers, and it means we can only use premium resins. 3. DART DROP This is a very important measure of the basic mechanical strength of the film. It is a standard test procedure outlined in ISO7765-1/2. Compare between alternative films and try and buy a shrink wrap film with the best performance in this area. 4. SEAL RANGE Seal Range The seal range of Verisafe shrink wrap film is in the range of 95 to 125 Degrees Celsius. This is an important value because the lower temperature a film requires to seal, the easier it will be to heat weld by the end user. Again, the reason why some shrink wrap films are difficult to heat weld properly is that they have a much higher seal range and this is because many shrink wrap manufacturers add HDPE to their LDPE films, to speed up the production process and make each machine more profitable. However, an film with HDPE added will have a higher weld temperature and so be more difficult for the end user to weld, especially when weather conditions are challenging. 5. FLAME RETARDANCY There are many flame retardant standards in different countries. In the United Kingdom we tend to use the European EN13501 standard and the LPS1207/1215 scheme. For the purpose of this article you should ensure that you get a copy of the standards that apply to your country and be aware of the difference between a simple flame retardant ‘test’ (such as EN13501) and a more extensive third party verification ‘scheme’ (such as LPS1207). Once again, manufacturers have a vested interest that is different from the end user. As flame retardant is a highly expensive additive they want to use as little as possible and so it is up to the end user to check that they are meeting their health and safety requirements. 6. UV STABILITY Verisafe is specified as having a UV stability of 12 months in Northern Europe. You should be aware that films that if a flame retardant shrink wrap film claims to have a UV stability beyond this it is unlikely to also have enough flame retardancy added as these two additives ‘compete’ with each other. Some Final Thoughts Using a shrink wrap film for encapsulating scaffolding and large industrial projects is a demanding application which requires high performance shrink wrap sheeting. Most shrink wrap plastic film is made in a way that is most convenient for the manufacturer, even if makes life more difficult for the end user on site. We think it makes more sense to start with the end user and work backwards to make sure the whole manufacturing process is designed to create a film with the desired performance. Always ask your supplier for a specification sheet / data sheet and look closely at the figures for shrink ratio, dart drop and seal range. Ask your supplier to prove to you that the product they supply matches the specification sheet that they have given you. If you are buying a flame retardant film consider using a film that is part of a certification scheme such as LPS1207 and LPS1215 that includes an annual independent / third party audit of the product as this is the only way to prove that a product meets the required standard. In addition, always try and purchase from an ISO accredited supplier, as they will have the necessary quality controls in place to ensure consistency between batches. For further advice on shrink wrapping scaffolding and large industrial products call or email us on +44 (0)1477 532222 or email info@rhinoshrinkwrap.com
What is Scaffold Sheeting Strength at 'Yield' (And Why You Should Care)
I have to admit, different brands of scaffold sheeting, including brands of shrink wrap scaffold sheeting look pretty similar at the point you buy them. It is only when you start to use sheeting that you discover just how well it welds or shrinks and only after some weeks or months how well it will withstand bad weather. However, by that time you are shrink wrapping a scaffolding, it is normally too late to do much about it. For that reason, I always urge scaffolders and contractors who are looking to buy scaffold sheeting to look beyond the claims materials suppliers and to check out the specifications and performance data for competing scaffold wrap suppliers for themselves to determine scaffold sheeting strength. However, that is often easier said than done. Once you have obtained the data sheet for a scaffold shrink wrap film, which numbers should you be looking at? A common point of comparison for determining scaffold sheeting strength is the overall tensile strength of a shrink wrap film. Tensile strength is a good measure of the strength of a shrink wrap film and is important for point loading performance, such as where the shrink wrap film is covering a sharp scaffold fitting. However, in my opinion, one of the most important yet overlooked points of comparison between scaffold wrap film is tensile strength at yield. Tensile Strength at Yield Tensile strength at yield relates to the strength of the shrink wrap film but with a focus on elasticity – i.e. the ability of the film to return to it’s original form when hit by a force such as the wind. You may notice that scaffold sheeting with poor elasticity may sag after time, even if they at first seem ‘drum tight’ when initially installed. This is due to poor tensile strength at yield. In a similar way, traditional style scaffold sheeting is tied to the scaffolding using elasticated bungees. In many cases it is the bungee ties that experience wind loadings which stretch them past the ‘point of no return’. They then become saggy and allow the sheeting to flap and even detach if the wind is strong enough. The tensile strength at beak for Rhino Verisafe® ia 20,000 kN / m2. The tensile strength at yield is 13,700 kn / m2. Testing Shrink Wrap Yourself! Rather than relying on data sheets and specifications, it is quite easy to get an idea of the a shrink wrap film’s tensile strength at yield by testing the film yourself! If you can ask a couple of suppliers to send you just a small sample, it will give you a really good idea of how one shrink wrap film is going to withstand wind loadings when compared with another. Build a 1-2 metre square frame from scaffolding which is supported 40-50cm from the ground. Cover the square with shrink wrap scaffold sheeting as normal by welding and heat shrinking drum tight. Then load the shrink wrap sheeting. In the image above, SCA Protect used bags of sand up to 800Kg were used which caused the Verisafe® shrink wrap to deflect by around 20cm. Finally, remove the load and the shrink wrap should return to it’s original ‘drum tight’ form. Why Tensile Strength at Yield is important for scaffold sheeting? All scaffolders and contractors are looking for a ‘fit and forget’ scaffold sheeting. If shrink wrap sheeting has poor tensile strength at yield it will soon begin to sag and lose the signature ‘drum tight’ finish that shrink to fit sheeting is known for. At this point it will begin to flap and ultimately self destruct and detach from the scaffolding. Most scaffold sheeting has a tensile strength at break that is able to withstand high wind loads. However, in ‘real world’ scenarios it is the ability to have an elasticity to the scaffold sheeting that can withstand wind loads over a period of time and remain ‘drum tight’ that is perhaps even more important than it’s ultimate strength. I hope you found this article useful, if so please share! If you need help and advice with any aspect of using shrink wrap film for scaffolding encapsulation andcontainment call myself or my team on 01477 532222. Alternatively drop us a line to info@rhinoshrinkwrap.com.
3 Tips To Minimise Your Scaffold Shrink Wrapping Cost
Helping scaffolders and contractors minimise scaffold shrink wrapping cost is something I work to achieve through the improvement of training and education resources which we freely publish for anyone to use (whether a customer of ours or not). This article is written for those scaffolders and contractors who buy scaffold shrink wrap materials to install using your own ‘in house’ labour force (as opposed to sub contracting the work to a specialist shrink wrap installation company). Installing Shrink Wrapping for Scaffolding – How To Reduce Cost Installing traditional style scaffold sheeting such as Monarflex is pretty straightforward. As every roll is typically supplied to fit a single lift of scaffolding and simply overlaps the sheeting installed on the lifts above and below, the installer simply works around the scaffolding, bungee tying the sheeting to the scaffolding until the entire area is covered. The benefit (and sometimes the challenge) of using a shrink to fit sheeting for scaffolding is that it can be installed in a variety of ways depending on what is required by the project. For example, it can be installed in different drop lengths, it can be fitted vertically or horizontally or even incorporating a temporary roof. This means that planning and preparation is really important to complete a shrink wrap sheeting job efficiently and with the minimum of cost. Planning One of the most important way to reduce the cost of scaffold shrink wrapping is to plan ahead to get the most coverage out of every roll of shrink wrap with the minimum of off cuts. The first stage of planning the shrink wrap installation takes place in the office. Ideally you will be able to look at the scaffold drawings and calculate the total are of sheeting required. Although a 7m x 15m roll of shrink wrap will cover a theoretical 105 square metres we normally advise that you divide the area to be shrink wrapped by 90 square meters, to allow for overlaps and joins, in order to calculate the total number of rolls that you are going to need. Recently I worked alongside one of our installation team supervisors, Adam. We were encapsulating a small scaffolding around a large yacht to enable temperature and dust control during the painting of the yacht’s hull. I was impressed with how Adam was constantly planning ahead in order to get the most from each and every roll of shrink wrap. The old adage measure twice and cut once seems to apply to scaffold shrink wrapping. Particularly when encapsulating smaller areas of scaffolding, perhaps just 1-2 lifts, rather than hang the entire roll of shrink wrap and then trim off the excess, sometimes it was much easier to unroll the scaffold sheeting at ground level, measure, cut and carry the sections of sheeting ready cut into position. Where the scaffolding was an awkward shape, Adam completed the encapsulation of the main scaffolding and then filled any ‘gaps’ with offcuts from elsewhere. The result was that despite the entire area of scaffolding being nearly 500 square metres, the job required just 5 rolls of shrink wrap with virtually zero waste. Use shrink wrap materials efficiently Kris Martin, Installation Manager for Rhino shrink wrap adds; “It might seem like a trivial thing but just taking one roll of shrink wrap patch tape at a time from a box and not taking another can save significant costs on larger jobs. I have seen it many times where installers keep on taking a roll, putting it down and taking another and before you know it, a whole box has been used. In the same way, using a gas bottle until it is completely empty sounds like a small thing but it is surprising how many installers don’t do this and the costs do mount up over time.” Don’t tape every weld I have explored the question of taping welds previously. However, by using a decent quality shrink wrap film you should not have to tape any welds (apart from when shrink wrapping a temporary roof). Choose the right weather conditions If you try and attempt hanging and shrinking sheet in wet & windy weather conditions you can and up wasting sheet. For example, if you leave a sheet hanging and it has not been heat shrunk ‘drum tight’ it might flap and chafe all night. When you come to weld / join it to another sheet in the morning, it may be damaged beyond practical use. Summary In final analysis reducing the costs of scaffold shrink wrapping comes down to using a good quality shrink wrap film and having the correct shrink wrap training. It is particularly important that when you get training for the installation of shrink wrap sheeting it is not just for the basic skills, but that the training also includes some training / support on a live job so that your team learn how to deal with real life problems. In the last year, we have sent up to two of our installation team supervisors to work alongside customer teams on their first job and the results have been much better than letting them go it alone immediately. Once again, I hope you found this article useful and if you did, please share it! If you need any help or advice connected with scaffold shrink wrapping, call me or my team on 01477 532222 or drop us a line at info@rhinoshrinkwrap.com. We look forward to hearing from you.