Y2023-01 Collapse
of a temporary scaffolding bridge in Tapiola, Espoo on 11 May 2023

A temporary scaffolding bridge collapsed in Tapiola, Espoo, on 11 May 2023. Along with the bridge itself, one adult and 22 children fell and were injured.

The scaffolding bridge was a part of the temporary pedestrian routes in the Tapiola area. The City of Espoo had ordered the bridge from a scaffolding construction company operating in the area where the bridge was located in 2021. The bridge had been ordered in a procurement of a comprehensive service without standardised processes. The Public Works Department that acted as the client did not set any technical requirements on the bridge, and outsourced the safety of the bridge to the scaffolding company.

It was not possible to implement the bridge by using the standard solutions provided by the scaffolding manufacturer's scaffolding instructions, which means that the design would have required structural design and the application of Eurocodes. Despite this, the bridge was designed without enough expertise, and as a result, the structures were weak with regard to the requirements in many respects. The designs were not inspected by any external party or authority. During the assembly of the bridge, changes were made to the bridge designs without reviewing their impact on safety, either. When the bridge was finished, it was structurally inadequate and dangerous for its purpose of use. The deficiencies in the safety of the bridge were not noticed during the design, assembly or commissioning phase or the weekly inspections during use.

Temporary bridges in the public areas of a municipality are not subject to monitoring by the authorities. Permanent bridge structures have also been excluded from the scope of building permit procedures; the legislation controlling them is unclear and there is no supervisory authority. The Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Transport and Communications do not recognise the construction of bridges in public areas of municipalities as belonging within their administrative branches. Neither does occupational safety and health by the Regional State Administrative Agency monitor scaffolding structures located outside construction sites.

People started to help quickly at the scene of the accident. The incident initiated measures by several authorities required by a major accident. Rescue operations were efficient, and the large number of patients were transported to hospitals quickly. However, there were problems in communication between the operators that participated in the rescue operations, because not all operators followed the planned and practised operating models required by a major accident in all respects. The great need of psychosocial support by the injured required cooperation between social and crisis emergency services.

The Safety Investigation Authority recommends the following:

• Together with the Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Ministry of the Environment should develop procedures to ensure that the design and implementation process of temporary and permanent bridges in municipalities is also compliant with the requirements. It is essential that the correct process and requirements are clear and the operators in the field are aware of them, and that all bridges are designed, implemented and monitored according to them.
• The scaffolding division of the Confederation of Finnish Construction Industries RT (CFCI) provides instructions for procedures that ensure that the scaffolding sector can identify challenging structures and is able to allocate sufficient expertise to their design and implementation.