The Latest 'Best Practices' in Scaffolding Safety Protocols

One of my many flaws is a fear of heights (pardon the pun). I've attempted to overcome this fear by facing it in a somewhat silly way - by going skydiving. Although the adrenaline racing through my body surely helped in repressing my fears, unfortunately, I still have a fear of heights and gazing out of a plane at 10,000 feet above ground level was most likely the worst experience of my life. Fortunately, there are tonnes of individuals that aren't scared of heights. Construction workers, window washers, and painters are all indispensable jobs in our society that must be conducted at heights. Not surprisingly, what all these jobs have in common is that they utilise various types of scaffolding to perform their jobs. Scaffolding has been around for thousands of years, and the evolution of safety procedures and protocols have been mostly inactive up until the 1970's when numerous laws were introduced to try to improve the safety of workers when using scaffolding.

Before this time, there were very few rules and laws within the construction industry. There were no official scaffolding qualifications, training, or licensing, no protection equipment used, and no written safety protocols for the construction and disassembling of scaffolding equipment. Scaffolding was considered a semi-skilled trade and workers were paid accordingly. As you can imagine, accidents were quite common, and often deadly in this industry, so it was very important for the Government to introduce legislation to protect these types of workers to aim to slash the amount of workplace accidents. That's precisely what the Government did. Since the beginning of the 1970's, there have been a number of legislations introduced to protect workers using scaffolding. For this reason, the safety of workers has dramatically increased and even more so with the evolution of technology.

Earlier in March of this year, WorkSafe ACT cracked down on scaffolding safety by directing inspectors to many construction sites to examine whether scaffolding protocols were being adhered to effectively as part of an audit into scaffolding safety. Regrettably, even today, falls from heights are still one of the most regular and debilitating workplace accidents that has a huge impact both on families and communities, but also within the industry itself by dishing out millions in remuneration. In truth, since 2014, there have been 476 workplace injuries that have resulted from falling from heights in the ACT alone (reference), which is almost one in every two days. Even a fall from 2 metres can be extremely dangerous and even fatal, so it's critical that the most practical safety measures are established to aim to lower the leading cause of death in the construction industry. Likewise, education and training also plays a vital role in minimising the risk of falls from scaffolding. Fortunately, there are very particular measures that have been put in place to try to lessen the risk of working with scaffolding, and this article will feature some of the latest 'best practices' used in the scaffolding industry at present.

Licensing and Qualifications

Scaffolding workers must obtain relevant licensing and qualifications according to the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011. There are numerous organisations that provide full scaffolding licensing and qualifications that are required by Law if people wish to work with scaffolding (above 4 metres) and these training programs are available all year round in different cities across Australia.

Head Protection

It is compulsory for all construction and scaffolding workers to wear hard hats on construction sites where there is a risk of falling objects. Hard hats must also be checked regularly for dents, cracks, and other forms of deterioration and must be in good working condition. It is also compulsory to replace a hard hat after it has been hit by a falling object or electrical shock.

Scaffolding Materials

It is compulsory that scaffolds are fully planked altogether and must be placed on a secure foundation that will not be altered in any way, shape or form. Any type of damage to scaffolding material substantially reduces its strength and should be replaced immediately. With the exception of mobile scaffolding which should be managed by skilled workers only, scaffolding must not be moved horizontally while workers are on scaffolds. In addition, scaffolding must only be loaded according to the weight they are designed to support and no scaffolds should come within 10 feet of power lines.

Elevated Surfaces

It is mandatory that signs are posted (when applicable) that easily displays the elevated surface load capacity. Scaffolds that are raised greater than 48 inches above the surface must have guardrails, and handrails must be provided to elevated work surfaces to ensure the safe entry and exit of workers.

Foot Protection

The shoes worn by construction and scaffolding workers need to be slip and puncture resistant. Further, safety-toed footwear (for instance steel toe work boots) is the standard when working with heavy equipment or when the risk of falling objects is high.

Hand Protection

There are an assortment of gloves that are available for different type of construction and scaffolding work. These gloves need to be worn by workers when conducting their jobs and they must fit well so to increase dexterity.

Face and Eye Protection

When working at heights, foreign objects such as dust can obstruct workers sight, so safety glasses or face shields need to be worn. There are various types of safety glasses and face shields available that are designed for different types of hazards, so the most suitable protection must be worn depending on the type of construction site. Likewise, safety glasses and face shields must be worn when workers are exposed to any electrical hazards or energised electrical systems.

Electrical Safety

Work must not be authorised if there are any active electrical circuits running in close proximity to scaffolds and there must be a Lockout/Tag Out system in place. All frayed, damaged, or worn electrical cords and cables must be replaced immediately and electrical cords and cables must be protected from sharp objects and surfaces.

Hazard Communication

A readily available list of hazardous substances has to be kept at all construction sites. Containers of hazardous substances must be correctly labelled with proper identification and hazard warnings. A Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) must be maintained and available for every use of a hazardous substance and it's encouraged that construction and scaffolding workers are adequately trained in the use of hazardous substances.

Scaffolding is a vital component of the construction industry and unfortunately, the risk of injury and death is the highest of any industry today. Although accidents are imminent, it's important that construction and scaffolding employers follow the appropriate safety protocols to lower the risk of injury as much as possible. This article has discussed the latest 'best practices' in scaffolding safety measures which has considerably evolved over the past 40 years and has successfully decreased the number of workplace injuries drastically. If you have any questions or concerns with any scaffolding safety protocols, speak to Australia's most credible scaffolding company, Uni-Span, on 1300 882 825, or visit their website for more details: https://uni-span.com.au