In the early 1930s, Burton Scaffolding, also known as LMS, designed and introduced its first forged couplers. These forged steel couplers were considerably heavier than their modern counterparts. However, it was a truly revolutionary invention for its era.

The picture shows the original Burton non-swivel steel coupler. Although forged steel couplers are still one of the most commonly used for scaffolding, there are many other types of coupler designs available.

In 1935, the first sectional frame structure was invented and put into use by a mason named Rin Uecker of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1936, Rin Uecker founded Uecker Equipment Company, and in 1937 that company was named Safway Steel Scaffolds of Wisconsin. Safway frame scaffolding was the first welded stainless steel frame to be patented in the United States. The original Safeway frame design and others like it are still in use around the world, especially in the United States, Canada, Central and South America. Today, Safway is one of the largest scaffolding companies in the world.

The next important milestone in the development of steel scaffolding was the first modular Kwikstage system. Kwikform UK, Ltd introduced the system to the UK in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has become the progenitor of many other modular steel scaffolding systems such as Layher Allround, HAKI, Plettac and others. By the late 1980s, there were already at least fifteen modular systems.

There are many types of modular scaffolding systems available today, as well as manufacturers and suppliers of the various scaffolding systems that may be needed for a particular project. Scaffolding types can be combined on one site depending on its needs. It is important to remember that there is always a safe way to provide access to any heights and facilities of any complexity.