13.2: Who Works with Scaffolds?

Erectors or Dismantlers, who are workers whose principal activity involves assembling and disassembling scaffolding before other work can begin, and after that work, or a portion of it, has been completed. OSHA requires employers to provide training by a competent person to each employee who is involved in erecting and/or disassembling a scaffold. Scaffolds must be designed by a qualified person and be constructed and loaded in accordance with that design.

Scaffold Users are workers whose work requires them to be supported by scaffolding to access the area of a structure where that work is performed. Employers are required by OSHA standards to have a qualified person provide training to each employee who performs work while on a scaffold. The training must enable employees to recognize the hazards associated with the type of scaffold being used and to understand the procedures to control or minimize those hazards.

Scaffold designers are workers who are qualified to design scaffolds. Designers for certain scaffolds also must be registered professional engineers.

Common Hazards Associated with All Scaffolds

■ Falls from elevation, due to lack of fall protection.

■ Collapse of the scaffold, caused by instability or overloading.

■ Being struck by falling tools, work materials, or debris.

■ Electrocution, due to the proximity of the scaffold to overhead power lines.

Competent person required for scaffolding

OSHA’s scaffolding standard defines a competent person as “one who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions, which are unsanitary, hazardous to employ­ees, and who has authorization to take prompt correc­tive measures to eliminate them.” The standard requires a competent person to perform the following duties under these circumstances:

• In General: To select and direct employees who erect, dis­mantle, move, or alter scaffolds. To determine if it is safe for employees to work on or from a scaffold during storms or high winds and to ensure that a personal fall arrest system or wind screens protect these employees.

• For Training: To train employees involved in erecting, disas­sembling, moving, operating, repairing, maintain­ing, or inspecting scaffolds to recognize associ­ated work hazards.

• For Inspections: To inspect scaffolds and scaffold components for visible defects before each work shift and after any occurrence which could affect the structural integrity and to authorize prompt corrective actions. To inspect ropes on suspended scaffolds prior to each workshift and after every occurrence which could affect the structural integrity and to authorize prompt corrective actions. To inspect manila or plastic (or other syn­thetic) rope being used for toprails or midrails. Scaffolds and components must be inspected by a competent person before each workday and after any incident that could weaken them. Any part of a damaged scaffold or a scaffold component must be removed from service until it is repaired or replaced.

• For Suspension Scaffolds: To evaluate direct connections to support the load. To evaluate the need to secure two-point and multi-point scaffolds to prevent swaying.

• For Erectors and Dismantlers: To determine the feasibility and safety of providing fall protection and access. To train erectors and dismantlers (effective September 2, 1997) to recognize associated work hazards.

• For Scaffold Components: To determine if a scaffold will be structurally sound when intermixing components from different manufacturers. To determine if galvanic action has affected the capacity when using components of dissimilar metals.

Qualified person required for scaffolding

The standard defines a qualified person as “one who—by possession of a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing, or who by extensive knowledge, training, and experience—has successfully demonstrated his/her ability to solve or resolve problems related to the subject matter, the work, or the project.” The qualified person must perform the following duties in these circumstances:

• In General: To design and load scaffolds in accordance with that design.

• For Training: To train employees working on the scaffolds to recognize the associated hazards and understand procedures to control or minimize those hazards.

• For Suspension Scaffolds: To design the rigging for single-point adjust­able suspension scaffolds. To design platforms on two-point adjustable suspension types that are less than 36 inches (0.9 m) wide to prevent instability. To make swaged attachments or spliced eyes on wire suspension ropes.

• For Components and Design: To design scaffold components construction in accordance with the design.