Scaffold FEM calculation in seconds, not weeks.

In short: ScaffPilot builds a finite-element model of your scaffold – and of its weather-protection roof – automatically, applies EN 12811-1 service loads, EN 1991-1-4 wind and snow with EN 16508 combinations, solves it with second-order (P-Δ) analysis and checks every member for section, buckling and combined N+M utilisation. You get anchor forces, base reactions, a colour-coded 3D result and a PDF report. UK wind to BS EN 1991-1-4 with the UK National Annex, BS 5975 design packs and German approval (Zulassung) load values are included.

Why scaffolders calculate with FEM

Standard configurations from a manufacturer's instructions only cover the cases they were written for. As soon as a scaffold has cladding or netting, a loading bay, consoles, a cantilever, a weather-protection roof, irregular anchoring or extra height, the regulations expect a structural calculation. Traditionally that means sending drawings to a consultant and waiting. With ScaffPilot Engineer the calculation is part of the design itself: change the anchors, press Calculate, see the result.

What the calculation covers

Loads

• Service loads – EN 12811-1 load classes 1 to 6 per scaffold or per bay (for example class 6 on a loading bay), on the decks they actually reach.
• Wind – EN 1991-1-4 peak velocity pressure from the reference wind speed and terrain category 0–IV, on bare tubes, cladding sheets, nets, I-sections and weather-protection roofs, in service and out of service, from every direction.
• UK wind – BS EN 1991-1-4 with the UK National Annex, with a site factor from altitude, distance to the sea, town or country terrain and orography.
• Snow – snow load classes on decks and roofs.
• Self weight – from the catalogue weight of every single part.

Analysis

• 3D frame model with semi-rigid joints, rigid links and tension-only members.
• Second-order analysis (P-Δ) by Newton–Raphson iteration, with sway imperfections.
• EN 16508 load combinations with partial factors (γ_G 1.35, γ_Q 1.50 by default) and γ_M for the resistance.
• UK and Germany – wind to BS EN 1991-1-4 with the UK National Annex, the results in a BS 5975 design pack and a standard-configuration compliance report, and the model’s forces beside the system’s approval (Zulassung) load values.
• Buckling lengths per member and combined axial force and bending checks (N+M) to EN 1993-1-1 (steel) and EN 1999-1-1 (aluminium).

Results

• Utilisation of every member, coloured in 3D – click a legend band to find the critical members.
• Anchor forces and base reactions per load case for the anchoring and foundation design.
• Deflected shape, displacements, axial forces and bending moments.
• FEM PDF report with the governing case, settings and member table – ready for the responsible engineer.

Weather-protection roofs in the same calculation

A weather-protection roof is not calculated on its own. ScaffPilot models the trusses, ridge beams, bracing and support tubes member by member and joins each truss to the scaffold where it actually bears – on a standard, or on the ledger beside it.

• Snow on the roof sheets by snow load class, and wind on the roof in and out of service, including uplift.
• The loads travel through the scaffold to the anchors and base jacks – the anchor forces and base reactions include the roof.
• Warnings for supports between standards, a roof moved along its scaffold and a roof with no support found, in the panel and in the report.

Ground supports and kentledge

A base plate can push on the ground but not pull it, and it holds sideways only by friction. After the load cases ScaffPilot checks every ground support of a free-standing or lightly tied scaffold – and the kentledge on it.

• Uplift at every base plate in every load case: the kentledge on it, a favourable permanent action (γ 0,9), against the pull – and how many kilograms more it needs.
• Sliding of every scaffold that stands on its own: its horizontal reactions together against the friction on what holds it down.
• Tied-out kentledge – blocks on the ground, wire ropes at 45° to the standards – modelled with tension-only wires; each pile must neither lift nor slide, so it holds down only part of its weight.
• In the panel, in the FEM view (a green or red block at every support with kentledge) and in a kentledge table in the FEM report.

Works on the scaffolds that need it most

Facade scaffolds with consoles and cladding, stair towers, loading bays, cantilevers, round scaffolds around tanks, weather-protection roofs on scaffold and steel I-beam bridging are all part of the same model. Scaffolds imported from IFC building models are calculated the same way.

Every system in the catalogue is modelled from its own parts – now also Cuplock, Kwikstage, HAKI and US frame, with lengths shown in metric or in feet and inches.

For UK and German sites: UK scaffold design · German scaffold documents

Fast because it runs on your machine

The ScaffPilot FEM solver runs in parallel web workers in your browser or desktop app – there is no queue, no upload and no per-calculation fee. It is a mechanical port of a production scaffold solver and is regression-tested against independent reference results.