Safety of any scaffold is a continuous process that includes the various stages such as the erection of scaffolds, inspection, managing and maintaining from the ground level to the upper level. Mandatory scaffold safety gears, risk evaluation and risk preparedness are all essential because a vast amount of tools, equipment and a variety of weights, rest upon the structure; besides, multiple trades often access the structure, and add to it, the constantly changing weather and environmental components.
1. The Purpose & Use of Scaffolding Handrails
The purpose of a scaffolding structure is to provide robust and safe access while working at height. Multiple workers, scaffold tools and equipment, all will be there while working at height.
It’s easy to identify the risks associated with scaffolding tools, scaffold equipment and workers falling from the scaffolding structure. Similarly, it’s simple to recognise the importance of safety safeguards such as toe boards and handrails that are particularly meant to curtail this risk.
Handrails are intended to avert falling of scaffolding supplies, scaffold tools and equipment as well as workers from the scaffold periphery or from the structure itself.
2. The Purpose & Use of Toe Boards
Toe boards are also vital scaffolding element, which works in harmony with the purpose and use of handrails. The purpose of a toe board is to safeguard tools, equipment and objects that fall from the edge or is being pushed down from the structure. Whenever handrails are used, it’s a good practice to use toe boards whenever there is a risk to the tools or objects falling from the periphery. Whilst anyone is carrying out work at height, toe board brackets are obligatory along with the scaffold toe boards.
3. Protecting workers from falls
Handrails and toe boards are vital scaffolding components essential for all types of system scaffolding and roof edge safeguard along with the usual tube and fitting scaffolding. A scaffold plan should incorporate handrails on minimum three sides for making sure scaffolding is safe. The handrails should face away from the building if the scaffolding is more than 3m from the ground level. Besides, mid and top rails of bottom toe board are required. In the occurrences where it’s needed to remove any of the handrails such as when lifting materials, then they must be reinstated as soon as possible. It is essential to ensure that workers are having a 1m handrail around them all the time.
Handrails and toe boards are the chief examples of basic scaffolding safety at its best by preventing scaffolding supplies, scaffold tools and equipment from falling out along with the structure besides providing fall protection to the personnel working from the structure.
4. Preventing Internal Falls
During the erection phase, there lays the danger of internal falls for the workers on a scaffold all the time.
- Fortunately, by completely decking each of the lift, safety can be enhanced. This is attained by placing a full deck of planks at each lift and setting the planks on the next lift from a standing position on a completely decked platform.
- Leave each lift completely decked and in its place as an additional safety precaution until it’s time to be taken apart (pull down).
- Before dismantling a lift, clean lift of all building material and then take out the planks ingeniously and securely from a standing position on the next lower completely decked platform.
The Bottom Line
Don’t ever compromise on the quality of scaffolding systems or scaffolding accessories! Purchase scaffolding in Sydney or from a local location near you by keeping in mind all the vital safety standards.
