Scaffolding plays a pivotal role in constructing, maintaining, and cleaning an assortment of artificial structures, ranging from high-rise buildings to bridges. They are primarily for supporting work crew as well as tools and materials. While helpful, unfortunately, scaffolding-related accidents result in 4,500 injuries and more than 60 deaths per year.
Because of the number of accidents involving scaffolding, it’s of utmost importance to undergo regular inspection. No matter if it’s tubular or modular such as the kind offered by safe way scaffolding, assessment by a qualified person can help reduce risks.
There are times wherein carrying out a careful inspection of scaffolding is crucial. Failure to do so could compromise not only the safety and lives of people in the workplace but also the project deadline as well as budget (liabilities and lawsuits due to accidents and loss of lives are not cheap). Thorough and regular scaffolding inspections are also vital for making sure that members of the public are out of harm’s way.
Inspection of scaffolding at recommended times by a qualified person, after all, is also a form of compliance to regulations whose aim is for employers to provide their workers with a safe and healthful workplace, thus lowering the risk of work-related accidents and deaths.
After Installation and Before First Use
Building scaffolding correctly by the right people is crucial. During its erection, it’s a must to carry out safety inspections to avoid overlooking future problems. For instance, it’s vital to de-energize power lines near or around the scaffolding. It’s also a good idea to check that scaffolding-grade materials are the ones used and nothing else.
It’s not enough that the scaffolding is built correctly. A thorough inspection of it by a qualified person in the workplace is a must, too. This is the standard operating procedure for every employer to do in compliance with safety standards in the construction site.
Once Every Seven Days
As a general rule of thumb, the structural integrity of scaffolding requires assessment at the start of every work shift. Such helps ensure that all of the components are intact and functioning after scaffolding usage by the people during the previous work shift. It is a crucial step to take by the employer whether the scaffolding is owned or provided by the project company, or rented from a service provider such as safe way scaffolding.
However, it may not be all the time that a qualified person who could perform a thorough scaffolding inspection is around. If this is the case, industry standards say that it is enough to assess the scaffolding at least once a week. However, this does not apply after a significant modification of the scaffolding. It also doesn’t apply after an incident that may compromise the scaffolding’s structural integrity, such as the next one.
After an Adverse Weather Condition
Strong or high winds are notorious for damaging scaffoldings. At times, they may completely blow them down, too. Heavy rains, severe snowstorms, intense hailstorms, and floods also call for questioning the scaffolding’s ability to carry out its job effectively and safely.
The existence of severe weather conditions or phenomena such as earthquakes and tornadoes necessitate a thorough scaffolding inspection by a qualified person before regular activity in the workplace resumes.
Conclusion
Many accidents at construction sites involve scaffoldings. It’s essential to check the structural integrity of one during crucial times to lower the risk of untoward incidents.
Written By: Ruby Hamilton