Have you ever been on-the-job at a Georgia construction site, climbed up to the top of a scaffold and discovered that the entire structure was unsteady and wobbling? It’s hard to believe, but countless construction workers endure conditions like this on a daily basis — which can lead to catastrophic injuries and death.
If you’re concerned about scaffold safety at your website, here are the two most important aspects of keeping scaffolds safe:
The construction and design of scaffolds
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published clear guidelines with regard to scaffold safety. These guidelines speak to load limitations, the use of fall prevention equipment, the bases on which scaffolds can be constructed, how to secure and stabilize scaffolds and more. Generally, a scaffold must be able to support four times its maximum weight without collapsing and suspension ropes need to be able to support six times or more of their maximum intended load.
The inspection of scaffolds
The second aspect of scaffold safety involves diligent inspection by a designated and trained employee. This employee should carefully inspect all parts of the scaffold before the device is used at every shift. The inspector should search for visible problems, broken pieces, instabilities and make sure that the scaffold is stabilized and safe for use. This responsible person should similarly inspect all anti-fall equipment — and supervise the construction, dismantling and moving of the scaffold.
When the above two aspects of scaffold safety are tended to, construction sites prevent the threat of numerous kinds of scaffold-related injuries and death. Nevertheless, accidents can still happen no matter how safe employers try to be. If you were injured in a scaffold accident, learn more about your workers’ compensation rights now.
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