Scaffolding Presentation by Anthony Carr and Catherine Dillon Narrated by Catherine Dillon

Introduction An estimated 65% of the construction industry, or 2.3 million workers, regularly use scaffolding so employees can reach difficult-to-reach areas of buildings. Around 50 people die each year in the UK because of scaffolds that have collapsed and over 4500 are injured due to faulty or defective scaffold. The main accidents that lead to an injury are: - Scaffold collapsing - Objects falling from scaffold - People falling or slipping from scaffold - Collisions with scaffold In 2005/06 falls from height accounted for 46 fatal accidents at work and around 3350 major injuries and they remain the single biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the main causes of major injury

Introduction An estimated 65% of the construction industry, or 2.3 million workers, regularly use scaffolding so employees can reach difficult-to-reach areas of buildings. Around 50 people die each year in the UK because of scaffolds that have collapsed and over 4500 are injured due to faulty or defective scaffold. The main accidents that lead to an injury are: - Scaffold collapsing (Case Study 1) - Objects falling from scaffold - People falling or slipping from scaffold (Case Study 2) - Collisions with scaffold In 2005/06 falls from height accounted for 46 fatal accidents at work and around 3350 major injuries and they remain the single biggest cause of workplace deaths and one of the main causes of major injury

Outline The aim of this presentation is to raise the awareness of accidents relating to scaffold and the practices that should be adopted in order to minimise accidents Two case studies will be presented involving accidents with scaffold: - Case study 1 – Scaffold collapse - Case study 2 – Fall from scaffold Analyse the bad practices which led to accident occurring and the penalties incurred. Apply a risk assessment and good practice to one of the case studies. This will identifying good practice for working with scaffold. Outline the associated legislation

Case Study 1 – Scaffolding Collapse In December 2000, 12 storeys of scaffolding partially collapsed on to a road and railway in Cardiff 2 building companies were involved No-one was hurt Caused major disruption as the road and railway were closed for 5 days Fined £320,000

Case Study 1 – Scaffolding Collapse Scaffold design was defective in certain areas: the design drawing for the Scaffolders did not provide adequate information for the number, location and make-up of the ties. A decision was taken at site level by the contracts manager and Scaffolder to change the design, without checking with the designer. 91 anchor ties were installed, rather than the required 300. there were no drilled fixings in the topmost 6 metres of the scaffolding.

Case Study 1 – Scaffolding Collapse The ties were defectively installed as the Scaffolders were not trained in the fixing of the anchors. The principal contractor did not carry out checks on either the design of the scaffolding or the adequacy of the installation. A scaffolding register was not completed, nor was there a system for carrying out weekly inspections of the scaffolding. The number of ties installed was not checked at handover, nor had any been tested.

Case Study 2 – Fall from Scaffold 2 Masons fell 7 metre when a scaffold board on which they were standing collapsed Scaffold being loaded with Tele-handler Resulted in serious injuries Contractor fined £13,000 for breach of the following legislation: - Health and Safety at work act 1974, section 3, sub section 1 - Provisions and use of work equipment regulations 1998 (no 9) para 1 - Construction (Health Safety and Welfare) regulations 1996 (no 22) para 4

Case Study 2 – Fall from Scaffold Poor erection standards Scaffold altered in house by bricklayers Standard of scaffold poor Tele-handler driver untrained Previous advice by HSE ignored

Risk Assessment Task to be carried out: Working on scaffold Hazards: Falling from Scaffold Persons Affected/Damage Anticipated: Site Worker, Anyone working on Scaffold. Can result in either minor, serious injury or death, depending on the height of the fall. Likelihood (1-6) – 4, Severity (1-6) – 6, Degree of Risk without Control Measures (/36) – 24 Harnesses to be worn by workers on Scaffold. Grab rails installed at 1 meter height together with toe-boards and brick-guards in stop people from rolling under grab rail. Scaffold should be no more then 300mm away from building and boards should be close together to avoid people falling through boards. Likelihood (1-6) – 2, Severity (1-6) – 6, Re-calculation of risk with Control Measures (/36) - 12

The Legislation Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Section 3, Sub Section 1 - It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety. Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulation 1998 (http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si1998/19982306.htm) No 9 paragraph 1 - Every employer shall ensure that all persons who use work equipment have received adequate training for purposes of health and safety, including training in the methods which may be adopted when using the work equipment, any risks which such use may entail and precautions to be taken.

The Legislation Construction (Health Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 (http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si1996/Uksi_19961592_en_1.htm) No 22 - Suitable and sufficient washing facilities, including showers if required by the nature of the work or for health reasons, shall be provided or made available at readily accessible places, which facilities shall, so far as is reasonably practicable, comply with the provisions of paragraphs 4 to 9 of Schedule 6, save that in respect of the provision of showers, paragraph 4(a) of that Schedule shall not apply. Work at Height Regulation 2005 (http://www.opsi.gov.uk/SI/si2005/20050735.htm) The Work at Height Regulations 2005 require an assessment to be undertaken before starting any work at height. You must ensure that all equipment, temporary structures (e.g. scaffolding), safety features comply with the detailed requirements of schedule 2 to 6

Good Practice in Construction-site Hazard Management When planning for work at heights, it is essential that you provide a safe working platform for all phases of a project. A safe working platform is usually provided by the erection of scaffolding. The fundamental purpose of a scaffold is to allow work at height to be done in safety.

Good Practice in Construction-site Hazard Management Guardrails, toe boards and similar barriers should be provided whenever someone could fall 2 metres or more. These should be strong and rigid enough to prevent people falling to the ground. Scaffolds should be constructed to ensure that materials used during construction cannot fall to the ground. Securely fitted toe boards and close boarded platforms form the basis of a good approach to preventing injuries to people working below scaffolds.

Good Practice in Construction-site Hazard Management Working platforms should be wide enough to allow people to pass safely and use any equipment or material necessary for their work. As a minimum they must be at least 600mm wide and free of openings or traps which could cause a tripping or falling accident. Any ladder used in conjunction with scaffolding must be in good condition, of sufficient strength and securely located. The top of the ladder should extend at least 1 metre above the platform level unless alternative safe handholds are provided.

Good Practice in Construction-site Hazard Management All scaffolds must be based on a firm level foundation capable of supporting the weight of the scaffold and the loads likely to be placed on it. All scaffolds need to be braced and tied into a permanent structure, or otherwise adequately stabilised. Ties should be put in place as the scaffold is erected and only removed in stages as the scaffold is struck.

Good Practice in Construction-site Hazard Management Ledger and longitudinal bracing should be installed according to the manufacturer’s rules. Working platforms should be no further than 300mm away from the building or structure.

Good Practice in Construction-site Hazard Management Great care is needed when scaffold is erected above a public thoroughfare. In particular, effective steps need to be taken to ensure that nothing can fall on to people below. As well as brick guards and high visibility netting, you will need to consider providing nets, fans or covered walkways to give extra protection. Any scaffold must be designed, erected and dismantled by competent people under the direction of a competent supervisor. Scaffolders should always adopt methods of working to prevent them falling during scaffolding work.

Good Practice in Construction-site Hazard Management To ensure that scaffolds are properly maintained at all times, a competent persons should inspect the scaffold at least once a week. Any faults found should be put right immediately. If this is not possible, the scaffold should be identified as being unsafe and taken out of use. Records of these checks should be kept on site. In addition to these regular checks, it is important that any scaffold is examined after it has been altered, damaged or subjected to extreme weather conditions.

Summary From this presentation you should now be able to: Identify the main accident associated with scaffolding Why these accidents occurred What practices should be carried out in order to avoid these accidents The relevant legislation that covers the case studies outline in this presentation

Further Reading HSE (http://www.hse.gov.uk/) Office of Public Sector Information (www.opsi.gov.uk)