Rank: Super forum user 
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When I work at a particular client I always read the latest prosecutions to see if any are relevant to operations here and then print off and pin to the noticeboard in the restroom. Todays list of prosecutions contained this. A scaffold was erectedf by an unqualified person, then 3 people gained access to scaffold via the ladder. The ladder was only secured on the left stile. Worker fell to his death. A very sad story to which a workable solution could easily of been sorted. But it was this that caught my eye. A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) specialist inspector that carried out the investigation estimated the lateral movement of the ladder due to the lack of fixity was approximately 20cm
I'm hoping it is a typo but what is fixity?? Does no one proof read anything that goes on the HSE website?
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Rank: Super forum user
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Apparently fixity means ‘the state of being unchanging or permanent’ so in this case I assume what they inspector was on about was that the ladder was loose and moved upto 20 cm from where it should have been. An obscure terms nevertheless.
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Rank: Super forum user
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I'd of never guessed that it was a real word hence my not googling it. Every day is a school day
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Rank: Super forum user 
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Fixity is a standard structural term. We talk about degree of fixity, partial fixity, full fixity, base fixity etc.
For example, if you have a beam connected to a stiff support with a completely rigid joint you'd refer to that as full fixity at the beam ends. The beam might still deflect at midspan because it bends. If there was some rotation in the joint or supports (in addition to the amount by which the beam itself bends) then the beam would have partial fixity at the ends, and woudl defelct more (for the same loads).
Fundamentally it just means something like 'degree to which it is fixed'.
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 3 users thanked achrn for this useful post.
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Rank: Forum user
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Fixity would be a great scrabble word!
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1 user thanked thunderchild for this useful post.
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Rank: Super forum user 
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According to the OED Fixity means a state of permanence, not inclined to diminish or reduce in weight. It's probably one of those words like 'enormity' which doesn't mean what people think it means, or is in the process of changing meaning because of endemic malapropism,
John
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1 user thanked jwk for this useful post.
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