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I'd have to agree with the hayman, and the others, when using pipe scaffolding, there is no substitute for safe planking. Prior to O.S.H.A. mandating approved planking, most used 2" actual, rough sawn planks, I remember they were still available and sold as such for that purpose when I worked at the lumber yard 20 years ago. The species was always spruce, not pine or fir if I recall correctly. I used to double them and use them for ramps to load cars on the flatbed dump I drove, in the off hours of course. They seemed to be quite strong doubled up, and for scaffold, singles were fine, but they always deflect, and it's at that point where if one were to break, it's like a trap door. I like the aluminum picks, but they also have the laminated planks, kind of like a microlam or engineered wood product, made of multiple plies, stamped O.S.H.A. approved. These are far safer then the old rough sawn planks, which in my opinion were ok when new, but once used, weathered, really hard to judge which ones are bad. I have quite a bit of pipe scaffold and use same for some jobs, however, I use (3) 6" x 6"'s and 3/4" plywood, many times. Sounds ridiculous and is if you are running multiple frames wide, but for one wide, gives me a strong deck to work off, and I don't have to worry about it failing. The layout is similar to what sidwewalk bridge contractors use to protect pedestrians on the sidewalk from falling objects. I make sure to secure the plywood in a few places. This works for jobs that are not time sensitive, otherwise companies like JLG, Genie, Snorkel, make some really nice lifts, although costly to rent or own, they save you a lot of time in the field and are quite safe in the hands of an experienced operator. I've been on some large masonry jobs with pipe scaffold and have had over 30 people working on a run, things move quickly and no time to worry about planks breaking, especially 8 stories up, with block, brick, people, mortar tubs etc. Can be quite dangerous, best to use care.
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