CROSS Safety Report
Wind damage due to unplanned cladding
This report is over 2 years old
Overview
A reporter describes how some of the uprights of the fencing around local tennis courts were markedly out of vertical.
They feel that affected posts correspond to positions where advertising posters have been attached to previously wind-permeable wire netting.
Key Learning Outcomes
For civil and structural design engineers and asset owners:
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Attaching hoardings and posters to walls and fences can increase the windage on them
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A design check should be carried out on any existing wall, parapet, and fence that has attachments added to them
Full Report
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This reporter recently noticed that some of the uprights of the fencing around local tennis courts were markedly out of vertical (Figure 1). The affected posts correspond to positions where advertising posters have been attached to previously wind-permeable wire netting. Relatively small posters of plastic sheeting have greatly increased wind exposure whilst larger areas of semi permeable netting have produced the same result. The effects of adding cladding to scaffolding are now well understood in that industry but not necessarily elsewhere.
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