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Introduction It is estimated that over 2 million workers frequently use scaffolding in the construction field. Statistics show that the number of injuries from scaffold related accidents is an astounding 4,500 or more a year and deaths that occur from such accidents average more than 60 per year. These numbers clearly show a need for additional training and protection for workers using scaffolds. There are basically three types of scaffolds; supported scaffolds, suspended scaffolds and other scaffolds such as aerial and scissor lifts. This training program will focus on supported scaffolds and providing important information to keep you safe.
Definitions Scaffold: An elevated, temporary work platform and its supporting structure, used for supporting employees or materials or both. Supported Scaffold: One or more platforms supported by rigid, load-bearing members, such as poles, posts, uprights, legs, frames and outriggers. Competent Person: One who is capable, through training and experience, of identifying existing and predictable hazards relating to scaffolds and has the authority to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them.
Definitions Qualified Person: One who possesses a recognized degree, certificate or professional standing; or has extensive knowledge, training and experience, and therefore, can solve or resolve problems related to the work or the project. Maximum Intended Load: The total of all persons, equipment, tools, materials, transmitted loads, and other loads reasonably anticipated to be applied to a scaffold or scaffold component at any one time. Personal Fall Arrest System: A system used to arrest an employee’s fall. It consists of an anchorage, connectors, a body harness, lanyard, deceleration device, lifeline or combinations of these.
Duties • a. Competent Person is required: • To be present on all sites where scaffolding is used. • To train employees involved in erecting, disassembling, moving, operating, repairing, maintaining or inspecting scaffolds to recognize associated work hazards. • To select and direct employees who erect, dismantle, move or alter scaffolds. • To determine if it is safe for employees to work on or from a scaffold during storms or high winds.
Duties • To ensure that a personal fall arrest system or wind screens protect employees. • To inspect scaffolds and scaffold components for visible defects before each work shift and after any occurrence which could affect the corrective actions. • To determine the feasibility and safety of providing fall protection and access for erectors and dismantlers. • To determine if a scaffold will be structurally sound when intermixing components from different manufacturers.
Duties • b. Qualified Person is required: • To determine the type of scaffold needed for the job. • To design and load scaffolds in accordance with that design. • To determine the maximum load of the scaffold. • To assure a good foundation. • To ensure electrical hazards are avoided.
Training There are two groups of workers associated with scaffolds: Those that erect and/or dismantle the scaffold and those that use the scaffold for work purposes. OSHA requires specific training for these employees. All pertinent training information, including dates, subject matter covered, names and times, should be documented and kept on file in the location decided upon by your employer.
Training • a. Erectors/Dismantlers • Responsible for assembling and disassembling the scaffolding. They must be trained by a competent person according to OSHA regulations. Training should include: • The nature of scaffold hazards; • Correct procedures for erecting, disassembling, repairing, etc. the type of scaffold in question; • The design criteria, maximum intended load capacity and intended use of the scaffold; and • Any other pertinent requirements.
Training • b. Users • Those whose work requires them to be supported by the scaffolding to be able to reach elevated work areas. Must be trained by a qualified person as mandated by OSHA. Training must enable employees to recognize the hazards associated with the type of scaffold being used and to understand the procedures to control or minimize those hazards. Training should include: • The nature of any hazards in the work area; • The correct procedures for dealing with those hazards; • The proper use of the scaffold, and the proper handling of materials on the scaffold; • The maximum intended load and the load-carrying capacity of the scaffold; and • Any other pertinent requirements.
Retraining • Employers must retrain employees when there is reason to believe that the employee lacks the necessary skills or understanding to safely erect, use or dismantle a scaffold. Such retraining is required in at least the following situations: • Changes at the worksite present a hazard for which an employee has not previously been trained; • Changes in the types of scaffolds, fall protection, falling object protection or other equipment present a hazard for which an employee has not previously been trained; and • Inadequacies in an affected employee’s work indicate that the employee has not retained the necessary proficiency.
Hazards • There are many hazards associated with scaffolds. Injuries often occur because of lack of training, lack of necessary equipment, improper equipment, improper use of equipment, inappropriate employee behavior or a combination thereof. Some of the possible hazards that can lead to accidents and injuries include: • Falls from elevation, due to lack of fall protection, unsafe access and slips. • Collapse of the scaffold due to instability, overloading or bad planking. • Being struck by falling objects such as tools, work material and debris. • Dangerous access and/or egress. • Electrocution, mainly caused by scaffold being placed too close to energized overhead lines.
Requirements for Scaffolds • a. Base Section • Scaffolding must be built on a stable base foundation. It must be square and level. • Must be set on base plates, mud sills or other adequate firm foundation. • Footings must be capable of supporting the loaded scaffold. • Generally front-end loaders and forklifts should not be used • to support scaffolds unless specifically designed for such use by the manufacturer and permitted by the qualified person on the jobsite. • Poles, frames and uprights must be plumb and braced to prevent swaying and displacement. Use of a level is the best way to achieve desired right angles.
Requirements for Scaffolds • b. Support Structure • The integrity of the support structure of scaffolds is very important. • Scaffolds can only be erected, moved, dismantled, and/or altered under the supervision of a competent person and only by experienced and trained employees selected by the competent person. • Scaffolds and their components must be capable of supporting, without failure, their own weight and at least four (4) times their maximum intended load. • Scaffolds should not be altered unless directed by and under the supervision of a competent person. • Frames and panels must be connected by cross, horizontal or diagonal braces.
Requirements for Scaffolds • When frames are stacked, cross braces must be of sufficient length as to keep the scaffold plumb, level and square. • All brace connections must be secured to prevent dislodging. • Frames and panels must be joined together vertically by coupling or stacking pins or equivalent means and must be locked together to prevent uplift. • Scaffold components made by different manufacturers or of different metals must never be intermixed unless approved by the competent person. Components should not be modified to make them fit together.
Requirements for Scaffolds • c. Access • The chances of experiencing a fall are greatest when climbing onto or off the scaffold. Safe access must be provided. Workers that erect and dismantle scaffolds are at an even greater risk because the scaffold is not complete and secure when they are performing their work. There are many different forms of access that can be utilized; ladders such as portable, hook-on, attachable, and stairway, stair towers, ramps and walkways, integral prefabricated frames and direct access from another surface. • Employees must be able to safely access any level of a scaffold that is two feet above or below an access point. • Climbing the cross bars is never allowed. • Direct access to or from another surface is only permitted when the scaffold is not more than 14 inches horizontally and not more than 24 inches vertically from the other surface.
Requirements for Scaffolds • The type of access used will determine the need for guardrails, rest platforms, stair rails, handrails, cleats and other safety measures. • The competent person will determine the safety and feasibility of installing and using safe means of access, based on site conditions and the type of scaffold involved. • d. Fall Protection • Falls are the number one hazard when working with scaffolds. Fall protection must be used on any scaffold 10 feet or more above a lower level. Fall protection consists of personal fall-arrest systems or guardrail systems and must meet OSHA standards. • Personal fall arrest systems used on scaffolds must be attached by a lanyard to a vertical lifeline, horizontal lifeline or scaffold structural member.
Requirements for Scaffolds • Vertical lifelines must be fastened to a fixed safe point of anchorage, independent of the scaffold and be protected from sharp edges and abrasions. • Vertical lifelines should never be attached to each other or to the same anchorage point. • Horizontal lifelines must be secured to two or more structural members of the scaffold. • Guardrail systems must be installed along all open sides and ends of platforms, and must be completed before the scaffold is allowed to be used by workers other than the erection/dismantling workers. • Walkways within the scaffold must have guardrail systems installed within 9 ½ inches of and along at least one side of the walkway. • Each toprail must be able to withstand a force of at least 200 lbs applied in any downward or horizontal direction, at any point along its top edge.
Requirements for Scaffolds • The top edge height of toprails must be between 38 and 45 inches. • Midrails, screens, mesh, intermediate vertical members and solid panels must be able to withstand a force of at least 150 lbs applied in any downward or horizontal direction, at any point along the midrail or other member. • Midrails must be installed at a height approximately midway between the top edge of the guardrail system and platform surface. • Screens and mesh must extend from the top edge to the guardrail system to the scaffold platform and along the entire opening between the supports. • Intermediate members, such as balusters or additional rails, must not be more than 19 inches apart. • Guardrails should have a smooth surface and not pose a puncture or laceration hazard.
Requirements for Scaffolds • • End rails should not extend beyond their terminal post. • • Crossbracing may serve as a toprail or midrail, providing the crossing point is: • - Between 20 and 30 inches above the work platform for a midrail, or • - Between 38 and 48 inches above the work platform for a toprail. • • When feasible and safe, fall protection for employees erecting or dismantling scaffolding must be provided. The competent person is responsible for determining the safety and feasibility of such.
Requirements for Scaffolds • e. Platform • The platform is the work area of the scaffold except when only used as a walkway. Inspections of the scaffold platform must include safety checks of both the platform structure and how the platform is used by the workers. • Each platform must be fully planked or decked between the front uprights and the guardrail supports. • Scaffold planking must be able to support, without failure, its own weight and at least four times the intended load. • Solid sawn wood, fabricated planks and fabricated platforms may be used as scaffold planks following the recommendations by the manufacturer or a lumber grading association or inspection agency.
Requirements for Scaffolds • No gaps greater than 1 inch are permitted between adjacent planks or deck units or between the platform and the uprights. Gaps may be larger if employer can demonstrate that a wider space is necessary but cannot be larger than 9 ½ inches. • Platform edges may be marked for identification purposes only. Wooden planking cannot be covered with opaque finishes. • • Platforms and walkways must be at least 18 inches wide. In areas that are so narrow that they must be less than 18 inches wide, fall protection must be provided and used. • • Items (tools, scrap, material, etc.) should not be allowed to accumulate on the platform and become a slip, trip or fall hazard. • • When moving platforms to the next level, the existing platform must be left undisturbed until the new end frames have been set in place and braced.
Requirements for Scaffolds • There should not be more than a 14 inch gap between the scaffold platform and the structure being worked on. An 18 inch gap is permitted for lathing and plastering work only. • To prevent slippage, platforms must be cleated or restrained at each end, or overlap centerline support by at least six inches. • Generally, each end of a platform may not extend over its support more than 12 inches for platforms 10 feet or shorter in length or more than 18 inches for platforms more than 10 feet long. • On scaffolds where platforms are overlapped to create a long platform, the overlap may only occur over supports, and may not be less than 12 inches, unless the platforms are restrained to prevent movement. • On scaffolds where platforms are abutted to create a long platform, each abutted end must rest on a separate support surface.
Requirements for Scaffolds • • When platforms must overlap because a scaffold changes direction, platforms that rest on a bearer at an angle other than a right angle shall be laid first, and platforms that rest at right angles over the same bearer shall be laid second, on top of the first platform. • • Platform must be able to support its own weight plus four (4) times the maximum intended load. Never load the scaffold or any part thereof beyond the maximum intended load. A scaffold can be overloaded by: • - Too many employees on the platform; • - Too much material stored on the platform; • Too much load concentrated in one area or point loading.
Requirements for Scaffolds • f. Falling Object Protection • To protect employees that work on and around scaffolds, certain steps must be taken. Workers on scaffolds must be protected from falling hand tools, debris and other small objects by: • Hardhats • Toeboards, screens, or guardrail system • Debris nets or canopy structures • Placing objects away from the edge of the surface from which they may fall
Requirements for Scaffolds • Employees working below the scaffold must also be protected by: • Barricading the area to keep workers out of danger. This must be used when objects could fall from the scaffold that are too heavy to be stopped by other protective means. • Installing toeboards along the edge of platforms that are more than 10 feet above lower levels. Toeboards must be able to withstand a force of at least 50 pounds applied in any downward or horizontal direction, at any point along the toeboard and be at least 3 1/2 inches from the top edge to the level of the walking/ working surface. • Paneling or screening. • Guardrail system. • Canopy structure, debris net or catch platform.
Requirements for Scaffolds • g. Stability • Scaffolds must remain upright to be safe and useful. As a general rule, a scaffold becomes inherently unstable once its height is four times its minimum base dimension. Weather and damage to structural components can also affect the stability of a scaffold. • When a scaffold reaches a height that is more than four times its minimum base dimension, it must be restrained by guys, ties or braces to prevent it from tipping. • Scaffolds must be inspected for visible defects before each shift by a competent person and after any event that could affect a scaffold’s integrity. • Any part of a scaffold that has been damaged or weakened must be repaired, replaced, braced or removed from service so that OSHA strength requirements are met.
Requirements for Scaffolds • Scaffolds cannot be moved horizontally while employees are on them unless specifically designed for such purpose. • Workers should not work on or from a scaffold during storms or strong winds unless determined it is safe by the competent person and the workers are protected by either personal fall arrest systems or wind screens. • h. Electrical Hazards • Scaffolds are often made of metal and are built upward to reach elevated work areas. Electrical lines are often present overhead. The combination of both can be very dangerous and can put workers at risk of electrocution. Proper clearance and following basic rules can help eliminate the risk.
Requirements for Scaffolds • • Scaffolds should be constructed so that there is at least 10 feet between it and any power line. This 10 foot distance applies to any part of the scaffold and tools, equipment or material that might be used on the scaffold. As a general precaution the 10 foot rule should always be applied. • • Scaffolds can only be closer to overhead power lines if such proximity is necessary for the type of work being performed and if the power company or electrical system operator has been notified and has either: • - De-energized the lines, • - Relocated the lines, or • - Installed protective coverings to prevent accidental contact with the lines.
Requirements for Scaffolds • • Portable electrical equipment (tools, cords, etc.) pose a serious electrical hazard for workers on or around scaffolds. The equipment can short out and cause the scaffold to become energized. All portable electric equipment must be protected by GFCI’s or an Assured Equipment Grounding Conductor Program. • • Often a worker will survive a shock only to lose their balance and be killed in a fall. This is another reason fall protection should be utilized.
Conclusion Working on a scaffold can be hazardous to your well-being. Your employer and OSHA have provided regulations, safety rules and specialized equipment to protect you from the hazards and from becoming an accident statistic. This training has provided you with some important safety information as well. Follow all safety procedures and use the PPE provided by your employer. Your life really does depend on it!
