An evaluation of scaffold safety at construction sites

Details

• Personal Author:
  Halperin KM ; McCann M
• Description:
  PROBLEM: This study evaluated common scaffold safety practices in construction. METHOD: A 150-point checklist was used to evaluate supported scaffold safety practices at 113 scaffolds in nine areas of the eastern United States. RESULTS: Thirty-six scaffolds (31.9%) were either in danger of collapse or missing planking, guardrails, or adequate access. There was a strong statistical correlation between structural flaws and fall protection hazards, and between proper scaffold safety practice and (a) competent persons with scaffold safety training, (b) use of separate scaffold erection contractors, and (c) scaffolds that were not simple frame types. A slightly weaker correlation was found with union status of the scaffold erector, and no correlation was found with geography, site size, number of scaffold users, and trade working on the scaffold. DISCUSSION: Recommendations are made for safer scaffold practice, including a simple four-factor scaffold inspection method. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Implementation of the four-factor method could result in a cost-effective way to identify unsafe scaffolds. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Construction Industry Occupational Health Safety Safety Management
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Supported Scaffolds Collapses Competent Person Construction Construction-equipment Construction-industry Fall-protection Falls Safety-climate Safety-measures Safety-practices Safety-research Scaffolds

  More +
• ISSN:
  0022-4375
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  141-150
• Volume:
  35
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20040971
• Citation:
  J Safety Res 2004 Apr; 35(2):141-150
• Contact Point Address:
  Michael McCann, Director of Safety, The Center to Protect Workers' Rights, 8484 Georgia Avenue, Ste. 1000, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA
• Email:
  michael.mccann@att.net
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2004
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction
• Performing Organization:
  Center to Protect Workers' Rights
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19940930
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Safety Research
• End Date:
  20000331
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:71c32dac7836774009eae25973482ebfccdc1c979286fb7847a8363ce86b59b376d42aeb02a645006eb4a5b8c140881c3785209613721162e512efaa4dea7407
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/193655/cdc_193655_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1021.80 KB ]