Where Is not the best place to put an unsafe scaffold?

So you put your scaffolding up to do some work on the roof of a building in town. You either can’t be bothered to do it right or you just don’t know how to put up a scaffold safely. As a result one of your scaffolders is working on a platform four metres above ground, which is two planks wide and has no hand or guard rails and toe boards. Well, what are they for anyway?

Still, you will get away with it won’t you? No-one will see.

WRONG

Lesson 1 – Don’t put up dodgy scaffolding at all!

Lesson 2 – Don’t put it up next door to the local HSE office!

The so called professional company that put up this apology for a scaffold were fined a total of £10,600 and ordered to pay £2,500 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and Regulation 5 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. That does not include their own defence costs either.

However, all the talk about lessons and learning from them is something the company are not known for, as they had obviously ignored the written warnings they had received for other issues in 2012 and 2013. Obviously not third time lucky for them.

Source: HSE

Workers saved from scaffold collapse by tea break

Ask most workers and they'll say tea breaks are an important part of the day. They offer refreshment coupled with a few minutes to relax and regain the ability to concentrate on the task at hand.

For workers on a demolition site in Stoke-on-Trent, a tea break saved their lives.

The HSE has prosecuted two companies (Jacko's Scaffolding Limited and Potteries Demolition Company Ltd.) after scaffolding collapsed on the demolition site for 15 terraced houses and a pub in Wellington Road. The scaffolding collapsed in high winds, and was found to be insufficient for the job.

No passers-by were hurt when the scaffolding fell, and it was only due to a tea break that no on-site workers were around or using the scaffolding when it collapsed.

The problem stems from the fact the scaffolding was not updated from a basic roof tile removal model to a bespoke solution when the demolition work changed phases. The combination of the building the scaffolding was tied to being demolished, coupled with high winds, ultimately led to its collapse.

Regular inspection of the site and scaffold would have prevented the incident. C&D offer an audit services on-site to avoid incidents such as this. If you'd like to know more, get in touch.

Source: Construction Enquirer

NASC launches free spec document for monitoring scaffolding contractors

If scaffolding is not erected properly it can lead to serious injury of both workers and the general public. But how does an individual or organisation decide who to employ to erect scaffolding and monitor or manage the job?

The National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) has come to our aid by releasing a free specification document that covers:

• Scaffold types;


• Regulations, codes of practice and best practice;


• Competence;


• Scaffolders' safety and PPE;


• Scaffolding design;


• Minimum scaffold requirements;


• Scaffold handover and statutory inspections;


• Risk assessments and method statements;


• Summary of scaffolder cards;


• Scaffold inspection reporting;

This is a document for the client and the best practices that should be followed. Although no one can ensure the scaffolding contractor you have chosen is going to do a great job, at least with this guide it's easier for that job to be monitored and problems spotted before they become serious.

If you would like a copy of the guide please email enquiries@nasc.org.uk

Scaffolding collapses in Stoke-on-Trent

The HSE is currently investigating the collapse of scaffolding surrounding a row of 18 empty terraced houses on Wellington Road in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent.

When the scaffolding collapsed workers from Potteries Demolition Services were present, but fortunately no one was injured as they were busy tucking into their breakfasts away from the structure. The owners of two cars that were damaged will surely be on the phone to their insurance companies, though.

The collapse happened on Saturday morning and the road was closed for the following 24 hours. The Health and Safety Executive will now attempt to work out exactly what happened and take the appropriate action.

We have had some very strong winds around the Midlands over the bank holiday weekend suggesting that may have been a contributing factor. However, scaffolding needs to be erected to aithstand such conditions and clearly that isn't the case here.

Source: BBC News and This is Staffordshire