Page 90 - Student Hand Book - Scaffolding - L&T CSTI Serampore

Proper use of scaffold

Ladders and climbing:-

The ladder must be properly erected with rails projecting 1 meter (3 feet) above the platform of
the scaffold. You should clear debris, extension cords, and tools away from areas around the top
and bottom of ladders. Store materials away from these locations.

Falls often happen when workers are getting on or off the ladder at the platform level. Both hands
must be free to hold guardrails or ladder rails. Do not carry tools or materials by hand when
climbing ladders. Wear a tool belt and pouch and move material up or down by rope.

You should always place portable straight ladders with an adequate slope and secure them to the
scaffold structure. Always use three-point contact when climbing ladders. This means using two

hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand, to maintain contact with the ladder at all times. Al-
ways face the ladder when climbing and always keep your center of gravity between the two lad-

der rails.

Guardrails Missing or Removed:-

There may be situations where scaffolds must be used
without guardrails. If the scaffold is more than one

frame or tier in height and there are no guardrails, per-
sonnel on the platform must tie off with a full body har-

ness and lanyard. Many falls and serious injuries occur
when workers use platforms without guardrails. Any

worker who removes a guardrail for any reason must
replace it when the task is completed.
Fall protection without guardrail

Standing on Objects above the Platform:-

People working from the platform should have both feet on the platform. Standing on a barrel,
box, stepladder, guardrail, or other object to gain extra height is extremely dangerous and is ille-

gal in most jurisdictions, you should know the required height of the scaffold before erecting it, so
you can obtain all the required material, including half frames when necessary.

Overloading:-

Overloading scaffold platforms in the masonry trades is one of the most frequent violations of

good scaffold practice. Placing full pallets of bricks or concrete blocks on a single layer of 48 mm
x 254 mm (2" x 10") scaffold planks is, in most cases, overloading the platform. You may have to
double plank decks to support pallets of masonry materials. Place the pallets over the supports

Participant Handbook : Scaffolding 90