10 Mar Scaffolding Safety – Safe Scaffold Work Practices

Scaffolding Safety – Safe Scaffold Work Practices

Scaffolding safety requires proper inspection, erection, access, fall protection, and work practices to protect employees from falls, falling objects, structural failure, and electrical hazards. Scaffolds provide access to elevated work areas, but they can present serious hazards when improperly erected, altered, overloaded, or used.

Guide for Discussion

Scaffold Inspection

A competent person must inspect scaffolds and scaffold components for visible defects before each work shift and after any occurrence that could affect the scaffold’s structural integrity.

Before using a scaffold, verify that:

• Components are in good condition and properly connected.
• The scaffold is plumb, level, and adequately braced.
• Footings are firm, level, and capable of supporting the loaded scaffold.
• Platforms and planking are properly installed and secured.
• Guardrails, toeboards, and other required protective systems are in place.
• Safe access is provided.
• The scaffold has not been damaged or improperly modified.
• The work area is free from electrical and other hazards.

Do not use a scaffold until identified deficiencies have been corrected.

Scaffold Capacity and Stability

Each scaffold and scaffold component must be capable of supporting its own weight and at least four times the maximum intended load applied or transmitted to it, unless a different OSHA requirement applies to the specific component.

• Never overload a scaffold with workers, tools, equipment, or materials.
• Keep loads properly distributed.
• Do not use boxes, barrels, concrete blocks, bricks, or other unstable objects to support scaffolds.
• Install required guys, ties, and braces to prevent tipping or displacement.
• Do not remove structural components without authorization.

Scaffolds must be erected, moved, dismantled, or altered only under the supervision and direction of a competent person qualified in scaffold activities.

Fall Protection

Employees working from scaffolds must receive fall protection as required for the particular scaffold and work being performed.

For most scaffolds covered by OSHA’s construction standards, employees working more than 10 feet above a lower level must be protected from falling.

Depending on the scaffold type, protection may include:

• Guardrail systems.
• Personal fall arrest systems.
• Both guardrails and personal fall arrest systems.

Never remove or bypass required fall protection.

Platforms and Planking

Scaffold platforms must be properly constructed and maintained.

• Platforms generally must be fully planked or decked between the front uprights and guardrail supports.
• Platforms and walkways generally must be at least 18 inches wide, except where specific OSHA provisions permit narrower platforms.
• Use scaffold-grade or otherwise approved platform materials capable of supporting the intended load.
• Keep platforms free from debris, unnecessary materials, ice, snow, grease, and other slipping or tripping hazards.
• Do not use damaged, cracked, split, or otherwise defective planking.

Safe Scaffold Access

Employees must use an approved means of access when scaffold platforms are more than 2 feet above or below the point of access.

Safe access may include:

• Portable ladders.
• Hook-on or attachable ladders.
• Stair towers.
• Scaffold stairways.
• Ramps or walkways.
• Integral prefabricated scaffold access.

Do not climb cross braces or other scaffold components that are not designed for access.

When climbing, face the ladder or climbing surface and maintain secure handholds. Use tool belts, hoists, or other suitable methods for transporting tools and materials when necessary to maintain safe climbing practices.

Electrical Hazards

Scaffolds and conductive materials handled from scaffolds must maintain required clearances from energized power lines.

A 10-foot minimum clearance applies in many common situations involving insulated lines of less than 300 volts and uninsulated lines up to 50 kV, but required clearance varies according to voltage and line conditions.

Before erecting, moving, or using a scaffold near electrical conductors:

• Identify the voltage and required clearance.
• Treat lines as energized unless properly de-energized and controlled.
• Maintain required clearance from the scaffold, employees, tools, and materials.
• Contact the appropriate utility or responsible party when necessary.

Never assume that 10 feet is sufficient for every power line.

Falling-Object Protection

Employees working below scaffolds must be protected when falling tools, materials, or equipment could create a hazard.

Protection may include:

• Toeboards.
• Screens or panels.
• Guardrail systems.
• Debris nets.
• Catch platforms or canopy structures.
• Barricades restricting access to the area below.

Keep tools and materials away from platform edges and secure objects that could fall.

Erection, Dismantling, and Modification

Scaffolds must be erected, dismantled, moved, repaired, maintained, and altered under the supervision and direction of a competent person.

Employees performing this work must be appropriately trained and selected for the task.

Never:

• Remove braces, ties, guardrails, or other components without authorization.
• Make unauthorized modifications.
• Substitute makeshift components.
• Use damaged scaffold components.
• Move a scaffold in a manner prohibited by the applicable scaffold requirements.

Employee Training

Employees who perform work while on a scaffold must be trained by a person qualified in the subject matter to recognize scaffold hazards and understand the procedures necessary to control or minimize those hazards.

Training must address applicable topics such as:

• Electrical hazards.
• Fall hazards.
• Falling-object hazards.
• Proper scaffold use.
• Material-handling limitations.
• Maximum intended loads and scaffold capacity.
• Proper use of fall-protection systems.

Retraining is required when workplace changes, scaffold changes, or an employee’s work practices indicate that the employee has not retained the necessary proficiency.

Remember

Never assume a scaffold is safe simply because it is already erected or other employees are using it. Inspect the scaffold, use designated access, maintain required fall protection and electrical clearances, and immediately report unsafe conditions.