Scaffolds and Aerial Lifts
Introduction
Specific OSHA rules for scaffolds are covered in 29 CFR 1926.451 and 29 CFR 1926.452.
About 2.3 million construction workers frequently work on scaffolds. Protecting workers from scaffold-related accidents would prevent an estimated 4,500 injuries and 50 fatalities each year.
Unsafe scaffolding procedures can cause accidents, serious injuries and even death. Accidents involving scaffolding mainly involve:
- workers falling
- incorrect operating procedures
- environmental conditions
- falling materials
Real-World Accident
A scaffold erector died after falling from a 60-foot-high scaffold that had been erected inside a cogeneration boiler at a paper-manufacturing plant.
The victim was one of eight workers erecting a steel-tubular scaffold to a height of 60 feet inside the boiler. The victim and a foreman were at the top of the scaffold and had just finished erecting the sides of the final stage. The foreman instructed the victim to climb down to the next stage with him to get sufficient steel-deck flooring to finish the floor of the final stage. The foreman climbed down the scaffold members to the next stage and turned to see the victim fall from the scaffold to the steel floor of the boiler.
EMS was summoned and upon arrival, they summoned the county coroner who pronounced the victim dead at the scene. NIOSH investigators determined that, to prevent similar incidents, employers should:
- provide appropriate fall protection to employees and ensure its use;
- train employees in the recognition and control of fall hazards and ensure that employees understand their training; and
- perform a hazard evaluation at each work site before any work is initiated.
Click on the link for a comprehensive report on NIOSH Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Report FACE 9808
Knowledge Check Choose the best answer for the question.
1-1. Accidents involving scaffolding mainly involve _____.
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