KNOW THE BASICS
OF SCAFFOLD SAFETY
Disusun oleh :
Tri Okta Kharisma F.
Febriarno wiranomo
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 it could save your life!
Here are some rules about scaffolds
that must be followed if you want to
work safely:
A competent person must be available to direct
workers who are constructing or moving scaffolds.
Every supported scaffold and its components
must support, without failure,its own weight
and at least four times the intended load.
On supported scaffolds, working platforms/decks
must be planked close to the guardrails. Planks
are to be overlapped on a support at least 6
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 scaffolds weight and at least six
times the intended load.
Scaffold platforms must be at least 18
inches wide, (there are some exceptions),
and guardrails and/or personal fall arrest
systems must be used for fall protection any
time you are working 10 feet or more above
ground level. Guardrails must be between 39
and 45 inches high, and midrails must be
installed approximately halfway between the
toprail and the platform surface.
OSHA standards require that workers have fall
protection when working on a scaffold 10 or more
feet above the ground. OSHA requires the following:
1. The use of a guardrail OR a personal fall arrest
system when working on a supported scaffold.
2. BOTH a guardrail AND a personal fall arrest
system when working on a single-point or two-
point suspended scaffold.
3. A personal fall arrest system when working on an
aerial lift.
Your lifeline must be tied back to a structural anchorage
capable of withstanding 5,000 lbs of dead weight per
person tied off to it.
Wear hard hats, and make sure there are toeboards, screens
and debris nets in place to protect other people from
falling objects.
Counterweights for suspended scaffolds must be able to
resist at least four times the tipping moment, and they
must be made of materials that cannot be easily dislocated
(no sand, no water, no rolls of roofing, etc.). [This would be
calculated by the qualified person who designs the
scaffold.]
Your employer must provide safe access to
the scaffold when a platform is more than
two (2) feet above or below the point of
access, or when you need to step across
more than 14 inches to get on the platform.
Climbing on cross braces is not allowed!
Ladders, stair towers, ramps and walkways
are some of the ways of providing safe
access.
All workers must be trained on:
1. how to use the scaffold, and how to recognize
hazards associated with the type of scaffold they
are working on;
2. the maximum intended load and capacity;
3. how to recognize and report defects;
4. fall hazards, falling object hazards and any other
hazards that may be encountered, including
electrical hazards (such as overhead power lines)
5. having proper fall protection systems in place.