Side Story: Extensive Quality Control Brings Safety

Scaffolding

"We not only use our factory [quality control], but also our second-tier QC from our office in Shenzhen," Donaldson says. "We also back up our QC documents by issuing a nine-digit traceability number on our equipment that starts with the four-digit heat number of the raw material that it is manufactured with."

The traceability code can be used to identify the scaffolding's exact manufacturing process. The company developed a shipping and tracking Web site that shows customers where their orders are in the manufacturing process. The quality-control measures and traceability code are designed to give mason contractors peace of mind that they're working on safe, quality scaffolding.

"You're not just buying something that you set up along the side of the wall," Donaldson says. "People's lives are depending on this."

• Return to the feature story: "The Skinny on Scaffolding"