About our safety
What is the scaffold
Scaffolding is a temporary structure used to gain access to work at height and to support people and materials for the work. Scaffolding consists of either individual components such as scaffolding tubes and fittings, or of prefabricated sections that are joined together. In Great Britain, traditional scaffolding consists of scaffolding tubes and fittings that are secured together and on which are laid wooden or metal boards or platforms, which with suitable handrails and toe boards provide a safe working platform for people and any necessary materials.
Scaffolding is used extensively in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings and other structures such as industrial plant. It is also used to provide access to inspect, service or repair parts of structures or machines as well as for gaining access to places of work at height which are otherwise difficult to access. Scaffolding is used in many settings, not only for construction but for many other types of work.
In this article, we will outline some of the scaffolding safety requirements and examine the safety measures that need to be in place in order to protect you and those around you. We will also look at the most commonly used types of scaffolding.
What are Scaffolding Safety Requirements?
Work at height is the largest single cause of fatal accidents at work. 50% of all fatal accidents in the construction industry, and 25% in other industries, are caused by falls from height. It is also a substantial cause of major injury accidents that result in extensive time away from work.
Accidents mainly happen while getting access to, or leaving, the work location or while working at height. Falling materials and falling work equipment are other serious risks of working at height. Life-threatening injuries have occurred when materials have fallen on people who are passing below those working at height.
Scaffolding Safety Legislation
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 (WAH) apply to access to and work at height and to all work at height activities – whether in factories, warehouses, construction sites or in offices. Therefore, whether you are an employer or an employee, if your workplace requires any sort of work at height, it’s essential to understand what you can do to reduce the risk and consequences of a fall.
The WAH Regulations require employers to ensure that work at height is properly organised and planned by competent people, who understand the hazards and risks of working at height and the correct control measures.
The Regulations also require that suitable work equipment is selected in a hierarchy as follows:
- First, avoid the risks by doing the task without working at height – for example, using long poles for window cleaning or using prefabricated structures.
- If avoidance of work at height is not reasonably practicable (that is, for work at height not technically possible) then falls must be prevented by providing work equipment that stops falls from happening in the first place. Scaffolding of all types fits into this category. Scaffolding is therefore one of the main methods of preventing falls and should be used if it is not reasonably practicable to avoid the work at height.
- The lowest level of the hierarchy is the mitigation of falls, for example, by the use of airbags, or the use of personal fall protection, such as safety harnesses and running lines. However, these types of mitigation equipment can only be used if it is not possible to prevent falls.
In most cases where work at height has to take place, prevention of falls by using scaffolding or other forms of working platform (such as cherry pickers) must be selected by employers before equipment like harnesses.
The next section of this article will focus on the main types of scaffolding that can be selected, exploring the benefits and challenges of each type. The WAH Regulations require that competent personnel are in control of the selection of safe scaffolding and that anyone erecting, altering and dismantling the scaffolding is trained in the safe erection, alteration and dismantling of the specific type of scaffolding. You will find more guidance on this later in the article.