Basics of Scaffold Safety
According to the BLS there are thousands of scaffold-related injuries and about 40 scaffold-related deaths every year in the U.S. If you are doing work on scaffolds, know how to work on them safely because it could save your life!
Each rope must hold at least six times the intended load.
- OSHA standard 1926.451(g) requires employers to provide workers with fall protection when working on a scaffold 10 or more feet above a lower level. OSHA requires the following:
- The use of a guardrail OR a personal fall arrest system when working on a supported scaffold.
- BOTH a guardrail AND a personal fall arrest system when working on a single-point or two-point suspended scaffold.
- A personal fall arrest system when working on an aerial lift.
- A competent person must be available to direct workers who are constructing or moving scaffolds. The competent person must also train workers and inspect the scaffold and its components before every work shift, and after any event that could affect the structural integrity of the scaffold. A qualified person is someone who has very specific knowledge or training, and is responsible for the proper design the scaffold and its rigging.
- Every supported scaffold and its components must support, without failure, its weight and at least four times the intended load.The intended load is the sum of the weights of all personnel, tools and materials that will be placed on the scaffold.
- On supported scaffolds, working platforms/decks must be planked close to the guardrails. Planks are to be overlapped on a support at least six inches, but not more than 12 inches.
- Inspections of supported scaffolds must include:
- Checking metal components for bends, cracks, holes, rust, welding splatter, pits, broken welds and non-compatible parts.
- Covering and securing floor openings and labeling floor opening covers.
- Each rope on a suspended scaffold must support the scaffold's weight and at least six times the intended load.
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
2-6. On supported scaffolds, planks are to be overlapped on a support _____.
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