Silvia Brandon-Pérez (asker) Dec 30, 2006:

And to all, those who responded or who in any way supported this work, the best of 2007.

Silvia Brandon-Pérez (asker) Dec 30, 2006:

Of course, I have a clear idea of what this looks like... There is even a new stair system being sold at Home Depot that is unlike the normal ladder because it looks like a scaffold! I like Bourth's work platform, although I think the pontage means that it looks like a bridge, that spans an area where workers will do the work together...

So, I am proposing various options to the client... I think I will sleep on it.

Tony M Dec 29, 2006:

Depending on the construction of the roof above the suspended ceiling, I suspect these are some kind of "bridging pieces" used to provide support in intermediate positions between (say) 2 roof members

Tony M Dec 29, 2006:

Now that you have given us some more context, I see how you arrived at the idea of "scaffolding" — but I still think it's a long shot...

Silvia Brandon-Pérez (asker) Dec 29, 2006:

Thanks, Tony and Catherine; When my ex was in construction, when work was done in commercial locations (where the suspended ceilings might be very high up, more than your normal ladder could reach) a sort of scaffolding was set up, for internal use; it was the only way to get to the really high areas where all sorts of heating and air conditioning duct work had to be done; that is why I thought of scaffolding. If you think of what a scaffold looks like, it is a sort of bridge... It allows the workers to travel from one end of the area being worked on, up high, to the other.

The rest of the context here involves the installation of technical equipment to those areas reserved in the ceilings, such as fire detectors, vents, ducts, electrical connections... so here the contractor uses these 'bridges' to install his vertical rods for the suspended ceilings.

And Tony, you are quite right about the shall make provision for...

What does your woolly hat look like?

Tony M Dec 29, 2006:

More context is needed to tell for sure what they're talking about, but in any event, no way is it going to be "scaffolding" (or I'll eat my woolly hat!)

Tony M Dec 29, 2006:

"The contractor shall make provision for..."

Tony M Dec 29, 2006:

It's not a misuse of "prévoit", it's very common in this sort of document; remember that these present indicatives are often translated by a prescriptive "shall..." in equivalent EN docs, and it's easy to see how you get: