Take Action to Avoid Scaffold Standard Violations

To avoid citations and ensure construction worksites are in compliance with the scaffolding standard (29 CFR 1926.451), check and recheck each of the requirements of the scaffolding standard—particularly the ones we highlighted yesterday.

Also ask the following questions about your use of scaffolds:

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  Are scaffolds and scaffold components inspected for visible defects by a competent person before each work shift?
• Do you know the scaffold’s capacity and avoid overloading?
• Are employees working on, in, and around scaffolds wearing hard hats?
• Are they also wearing sturdy shoes with nonskid soles?
• Are employees instructed to keep a minimum amount of tools and materials on the platform?
• Are they told to keep tools and materials away from the platform edge?
• Is additional protection from falling hand tools, debris, and other small objects provided through the installation of toeboards, screens, a debris net, or other means to contain or deflect the falling objects?
• If there is a danger of larger items falling from a scaffold; is the area below the scaffold barricaded; and are employees not permitted to enter the hazard area?
• Are all scaffolds a safe distance from any energized power lines?

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All the safety training you need in one program: 25 subjects, one low price. It’s BLR’s Safety Training Presentations. Try it at no cost. Get the details.

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Going Forward

In some of the largest penalties proposed by OSHA in 2009, many of the multiple violation cases were characterized not only by serious, but also by willful or repeat citations.

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  OSHA issues a serious violation when death or serious physical harm is likely to result if an accident were to occur from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
• OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health.
• OSHA issues a repeat citation when it finds an employer’s violation is substantially similar to a previously cited condition that was affirmed as a violation through a final order of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

It will be interesting to look at next year’s results if the Obama administration’s proposed budget, with a 10 percent increase for OSHA, is approved. This administration has indicated that it plans to make a sizable increase in the number of inspectors and step up enforcement.

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Try Safety Training Presentations at no cost and no risk. Find out more.

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Ready-Made Scaffold Safety Training

If you’re looking for a comprehensive, easy-to-implement scaffold safety training program for your workers, BLR^® has the perfect training tool—a PowerPoint® presentation that reviews hazards, OSHA requirements, and safe work practices and helps ensure compliance with the scaffolding standard.

And the scaffolding session is just 1 of 25 session core safety presentations, each one responsive to either an OSHA training requirement or to common causes of workplace accidents. All are customizable, so you can add your specific hazards or safety policies.

Each lesson also includes completion certificates, sign-in sheets, evaluation forms, and training records. In short, it contains everything you need to motivate, reinforce, retain, and transfer new knowledge—and document that you did so.

Safety Training Presentation topics covered include:

• Bloodborne Pathogens
• Back Safety
• Emergency Action
• Ergonomics
• Fire Prevention
• PPE
• Welding/Cutting/Brazing
• Portable Power Tool Safety
• Scaffolds
• Lockout/Tagout
• Forklift Operator Safety
• Confined Space Safety
• Fall Protection
• Respiratory Protection
• and more!

Of course, training needs change as OSHA introduces new requirements or as new work practices and technologies bring new hazards. To cover this, you receive a new CD every 90 days you’re in the program, each containing five additional or updated topics.

Just as important for those on a budget (and who isn’t these days?), the cost of these presentations works out to under $20 each.

We’ve arranged for Advisor subscribers to get a no-cost, no-obligation look at Safety Training Presentations for 30 days. Feel free to try a few lessons with your own trainees. Please let us know, and we’ll be glad to set it up.

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