Bracket Scaffolds in Housing Construction revised · PDF fileBracket Scaffolds in Housing...

Bracket Scaffolds in Housing Construction, revised October 2005 of 20 This document may be freely copied and distributed

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT…

BRACKET SCAFFOLDS IN

HOUSING CONSTRUCTION

VERSION 2: OCTOBER 2005

Construction & Utilities Program WorkSafe Victoria


Introduction If you are a house builder or a housing contractor who uses, or is considering using bracket scaffolds, this booklet has been written for you. It explains what your obligations are under occupational health and safety laws, as they relate to bracket scaffolding, and it explains what you should expect of suppliers of bracket scaffolding. It sets out WorkSafe’s recommendations on how you can fulfil your OHS obligations and, in so doing, make sure that bracket scaffolds on your sites are used safely and without risks to health. It will also give you an understanding of the sorts of issues that WorkSafe inspectors inquire into when bracket scaffolds are used on the housing construction sites they visit. Two attachments have been included for your day-to-day use. These are a page of photographs showing dangerous examples of bracket scaffolds, and a builder’s checklist for bracket scaffolds. Both of these are also available as separate single-sheet documents on WorkSafe’s Construction & Utilities webpage.

www.workcover.vic.gov.au/construction


CONTENTS

1. WHAT THE HEALTH AND SAFETY LAW REQUIRES ..............................................4

2. BRACKET SCAFFOLDING SYSTEM DESIGN ...........................................................4

3. SUPPLY OF BRACKET SCAFFOLDING COMPONENTS ............................................6

4. SCAFFOLD PLANKS ................................................................................................6

5. LADDERS USED FOR SCAFFOLD ACCESS ..............................................................7

6. ERECTING, ALTERING AND DISMANTLING BRACKET SCAFFOLDS......................8

7. INSTALLATION DESIGN .........................................................................................8

8. WORKING PLATFORMS .........................................................................................9

9. EDGE PROTECTION .............................................................................................10

10. ACCESS TO WORKING PLATFORMS ................................................................11

11. CATCH PLATFORMS ........................................................................................12

12. HANDOVER CERTIFICATES .............................................................................12

13. SAFE USE AND MAINTENANCE OF BRACKET SCAFFOLDS..............................13

14. ELECTRICAL HAZARDS IN PROXIMITY TO BRACKET SCAFFOLDS ................15

15. FURTHER ADVICE AND ASSISTANCE...............................................................16

ATTACHMENT 1: COMMON EXAMPLES OF DANGEROUS BRACKET SCAFFOLDS ......17

ATTACHMENT 2: BUILDER’S CHECKLIST FOR BRACKET SCAFFOLDS ......................18

ENDNOTES ....................................................................................................................20


1. WHAT THE HEALTH AND SAFETY LAW REQUIRES The Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act 20041 requires you, as an employer, to provide and maintain a working environment on your building sites that is safe and without risks to health. Where scaffolds are used, this duty includes: • Providing and maintaining scaffolds that are safe, and safe systems of work for

their erection, alteration, use and dismantling,

• Maintaining scaffolds and their means of access in a safe condition,

• Ensuring workers are provided with the necessary information, instruction, training and supervision to enable them to erect, alter, dismantle or use scaffolds (as the case may be) safely and without risks to health.

You owe these duties to your own direct employees, as well as to your contractors and your contractors’ employees. Contractors also owe this duty to their direct employees, their sub-contractors and their sub-contractors’ employees. The Act also requires you and your contractors to safeguard the general public, site visitors (including the owners) and other persons who are not employees from risks to their health or safety arising from the erection, alteration, ongoing use or dismantling of scaffolds. The Occupational Health and Safety (Plant) Regulations 1995 sets out more detailed requirements relating to scaffolding and the Occupational Health and Safety (Certification of Plant Users and Operators) Regulations 1994 require persons erecting, altering or dismantling certain scaffolds to hold certificates of competency. By adopting the advice provided in this document, you will be complying with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and its Regulations as they apply to bracket scaffolding. 2. BRACKET SCAFFOLDING SYSTEM DESIGN Businesses or individuals who supply you with scaffold ing equipment must comply with their own particular obligations under the OHS (Plant) Regulations.2 Their full compliance with the Regulations will ensure that you have been provided with a safe scaffolding system and all the information necessary for you to make sure it is properly erected and complete before it is handed over for use, that it is used correctly, and that it is adequately maintained. To satisfy yourself that you are dealing with a supplier who is complying with the Regulations, WorkSafe recommends that before accepting bracket scaffolding for


use on any of your sites, you should obtain and keep a written document from the supplier. The document should: • Clearly identify the particular brand and model of the bracket scaffolding system,

• Confirm that the system’s design has been notified to WorkSafe or an equivalent

interstate workplace safety authority3,

• Confirms that the system has been designed and tested in accordance with the relevant parts of AS 1576, Scaffolding4,

• Clearly identify the type of planks intended to be used with the system, and confirm that such planks have been designed and manufactured in accordance with AS 1577¸ Scaffold Planks5, and

• Clearly identifies the title and current edition of the written instructions (brochure, data sheet or handbook) for the safe erection, dismantling and use of the system.

WorkSafe recommends that you not accept delivery of a bracket scaffolding system for the first time unless it is accompanied by, or you have already been provided with a copy of the supplier’s safe use information for the system. The supplier’s safe-use information should include, as a minimum: • Instructions for erection, dismantling, transportation, storage and maintenance,

• Guidance on safe working practices, including the stability of erected scaffolds,

• Guidance on the type of couplers or fixings that are suitable for use with the

system, and

• The duty live load per bay of scaffold working platforms -- light, medium or heavy duty. (Most systems designed for use in housing construction are rated as light duty, which means a maximum allowable loading – persons and materials – of 225 kg per bay.)6

Keep a copy of the supplier’s safe use information for your records. Provide a copy to any of your staff or contractors who manage, supervise or monitor sites on which that particular bracket scaffolding system will be erected and used. Use the supplier’s information as the basic reference to inform, instruct or train workers using bracket scaffolds constructed from that system’s components. Promptly advise WorkSafe of any concerns you have regarding the adequacy of a supplier’s bracket scaffolding system, any refusal by a supplier to provide you with the above- listed information, or any doubts you have about the completeness or clarity of the supplier’s information. You can do this by phoning 1800 136 089 or by emailing [email protected].


By always adopting the above recommendations, you will be helping to ensure that bracket scaffolding provided for use in the housing construction sector complies with the relevant Regulations. 3. SUPPLY OF BRACKET SCAFFOLDING COMPONENTS Whether you purchase bracket scaffolding or whether it is on hire, the supplier has obligations under the OHS (Plant) Regulations to ensure that all components provided are in a safe and serviceable condition at the time of delivery. Hire businesses must ensure that all re-usable components are examined for serviceability between each hiring or leasing.7 If you or your contractors own bracket scaffolding equipment, it is your (and their) responsibility to ensure that the components have been examined for serviceability prior to their use or re-use in the construction of a scaffold. 4. SCAFFOLD PLANKS WorkSafe recommends that all planks used with bracket scaffolds should be scaffold planks complying with AS 1577, Scaffold Planks. The nominal minimum width of a scaffold plank is 225 mm. However, AS 1577 allows for a tolerance of up to -5 mm in the manufacturing process. This means that any scaffold plank less than 220 mm in width does not comply with AS 1577 and should not be used to construct scaffold platforms. Complying scaffold planks manufactured after 1993 (when the current edition of AS 1577 was first published) should be permanently marked with: • The manufacturer’s name or mark (which, in the case of solid timber planks, may

be the manufacturer’s registered number assigned to it by the Timber Promotions Council),

• AS 1577 – to let you know that it is a genuine scaffold plank,

• The plank’s working load limit in kg, and

• For random planks, the maximum allowable span in metres (the maximum spacing between supporting brackets).

Scaffold planks manufactured before 1993 are not likely to be marked with “AS 1577” and are not likely to have the ir working load limit or their maximum allowable span marked on them. However, pre-1993 solid timber scaffold planks should be marked with their timber grading (which should be at least F11 in the case of oregon). For pre-1993 solid timber scaffold planks with a nominal width of 225 mm, you can assume that the plank’s working load limit is 200 kg, and its maximum allowable span is as set out in Clause 8 on page 10 of this booklet.


Do not use planks that have been painted in any way that could conceal defects. Do not use timber planks that: • Are damaged, broken or split,

• Have damaged or broken hoop iron on their ends,

• Are warped or twisted,

• Have areas that are excessively worn (greater than 10% reduction in thickness), or

• Have any evidence of rot.

Do not use metal planks with: • Cracked or broken welds,

• Broken or missing rivets,

• Missing end caps,

• Bent or crushed sections, or

• Heavy rust or corrosion. Unserviceable planks should be clearly quarantined from serviceable planks and, where they are on hire, should be promptly returned to the supplier. 5. LADDERS USED FOR SCAFFOLD ACCESS Where portable ladders are used as the means of gaining safe access to and egress from scaffold platforms, WorkSafe recommends that they be single ladders complying with the industrial duty requirements of AS 1892. Do not use ladders with: • Timber stiles that are warped, twisted, splintered, cracked or bruised,

• Metal stiles that are twisted, bent, kinked, crushed, or have cracked welds or

damaged feet,

• Missing rungs, or rungs that are worn, damaged or loose,

• Missing, broken or loose tie rods, or

• Timber members that, apart from narrow identification bands, are covered with an opaque paint or other treatment that could disguise faults in the timber.


Unserviceable ladders should be clearly quarantined from serviceable ladders and, where they are on hire, should be promptly returned to the supplier. 6. ERECTING, ALTERING AND DISMANTLING BRACKET SCAFFOLDS The OHS (Certification of Plant Users and Operators) Regulations make it an offence for a person at a workplace to erect, alter or dismantle a scaffold (including a bracket scaffold) from which a person or object could fall more than 4 metres, unless: • They hold an appropriate certificate of competency, or

• They are directly supervised by a person holding an appropriate certificate of

competency and are being trained for the purpose of gaining a certificate of competency.

It is also an offence for an employer to cause or permit such a scaffold to be erected, altered or dismantling by uncertificated persons.8 The nationally uniform minimum certificate class needed for bracket scaffolding is called Basic Scaffolding, and the class code identified on the certificate of competency is “SB”. Other nationally uniform class codes that automatically cover bracket scaffolds are “SI” (Intermediate Scaffolding) and “SA” (Advanced Scaffolding). Older Victorian or interstate scaffolding certificates of competency issued before the introduction of the national uniform system are also valid, provided they do not show an expiry date earlier than 30 June 1995.9 An appropriate old-style Victorian certificate of competency, for example, is one that was issued under the former Scaffolding Act 1971 and will be titled “Scaffolder Classes 1 & 2”. Whether the bracket scaffold is to be erected by a hire company’s workers, by your own workers, or by your contractor’s workers, WorkSafe advises that you sight the certificate of competency of the person responsible for its erection, alteration and dismantling, and record the details. Regardless of the height of the scaffold, and regardless of whether or not certificated persons are required, the OHS (Plant) Regulations requires an employer to ensure that anyone erecting, altering or dismantling any scaffold ( including bracket scaffolds) must have been provided with the necessary information, instruction and/or training for the particular scaffolding system being used.10 7. INSTALLATION DESIGN The OHS (Plant) Regulations require employers to ensure that a bracket scaffold is complete, secure and capable of supporting the work to be carried out from it.11


WorkSafe recommends that you meet this obligation by confirming that every erected bracket scaffold on any of your sites complies with the relevant requirements of AS/NZS 1576.1¸ Scaffolding, Part 1: General Requirements. The simplest way to do this is to make sure the scaffold is erected in strict conformance with the supplier’s safe use information, including the recommended means of safe access to platforms, and any advice regarding the adequacy of the wall frames or other supporting structure. Where this is not feasible, such as when the scaffold is intended to be used in an “out of the ordinary” application not covered by the supplier’s information, it should be assessed by a competent person, such as a structural engineer experienced in scaffold design, before it is used. Where this course of action is followed, WorkSafe advises that you keep a copy of the engineer’s design drawings and written statement of the scaffold’s design compliance with AS/NZS 1576.1. In any event, WorkSafe expects that the supporting structure of any bracket scaffold is capable of supporting the most adverse combination of loads applied to the scaffold during the period of its service. This includes dead loads (self weight), live loads (working loads) and environmental loads including wind loads, rain loads, dust and debris and, in alpine locations, snow and ice loads. 8. WORKING PLATFORMS The working platform of a bracket scaffold should be: • At least 450 mm wide (2 planks), and wider (3 or more planks) where it needs to

accommodate stacked materials along its length,

• Nominally horizontal, but in any event, not pitched at an angle steeper than 7° (a gradient of approximately 1 to 8),

• Positioned at a height which allows work from the platform to be ergonomically performed without over-reaching or having to adopt awkward postures,

• Provided with a safe and suitable means of access and egress, • Not subjected to loads greater than light duty (225 kg of persons and materials

per bay), unless the supplier’s information or engineer’s certificate states a high allowable duty live loading, and

• Not loaded in such as way as to obstruct clear access along it.

Note: for the purposes of estimating live loads on scaffolds, a person is assumed to weigh 100 kg.


The working platform’s planks should: • Be of uniform thickness, to eliminate tripping hazards,

• Be butted at a pair of brackets or, where this cannot be achieved, lapped over brackets,

• Overhang their end brackets by at least 150 mm, but not by more than 250 mm, and

• Where necessary, be fixed or otherwise secured against movement or dislodgement.

Where planks are lapped such as on unusual profiles or returns, the upper planks should extend past the ir end brackets by at least 150 mm. The maximum spacing between any two adjacent brackets should not exceed the maximum allowable span marked on the scaffold planks forming the platform. Where pre-1993 solid timber scaffold planks are used that do not have markings indicating their maximum allowable span, the maximum spacing between adjacent brackets should be: • 1.5 m for planks not less than 38 mm thickness,

• 2.0 m for planks not less than 50 mm thickness, or

• 2.5 m for planks not less than 63 mm thickness. Examples of dangerous working platforms on bracket scaffolds encountered by WorkSafe inspectors are provided in Attachment 1 of this booklet. 9. EDGE PROTECTION WorkSafe recommends that edge protection be provided to all open sides and ends of any platform on a bracket scaffold from which a person or object could fall more than 2 metres. Suitable edge protection is a combination of a guardrail, mid-rail(s) and, where necessary, toeboards or bottom-rails. If the work being undertaken from the platform makes it difficult for the person to be fully aware of the proximity of the platform edge, then edge protection should be provided, regardless of the height. An example is where a person is working with a welding mask that prevents normal vision. Edge protection components should be purpose-designed integral components for the bracket scaffolding system being used, and they should be installed in accordance with the supplier’s information.


Where, in unusual applications, other components are used, such as common scaffold tubes and couplers for example, the following rules are recommended: • Stanchions should be positively fixed at intervals not exceeding 3 metres,

• Guardrails and midrails should be set up parallel to the platform,

• Guardrails and midrails should be never more than 100 mm outside the platform

edge,

• Guardrails should be positively fixed at a height above the upper surface of the platform that is not less than 900 mm, nor greater than 1100 mm,

• Midrails should be positively fixed approximately midway between the guardrail and the platform.

Where the potential fall height from the platform exceeds 2 metres, and there is a likelihood or persons working below a bracket scaffold, or of being struck by any materials, tools or debris falling from the platform, WorkSafe recommends that toeboards be securely fixed to the platform’s open sides and ends. Toeboards should: • Be purpose-designed components integral to the bracket scaffolding system being

used, or scaffold planks placed on edge,

• Extend at least 150 mm above the upper surface of the platform, and

• Be set up so that no gap between the platform edge and the toeboard exceeds 10 mm.

The gap between the inside edge of the platform and the building’s wall or framework should never be so great that it is possible for a person working from the platform to be able to fall through it. Where such a gap does exist, additional planks to close or reduce the gap should be provided. Examples of missing, incomplete and inadequate edge protection on bracket scaffolds encountered by WorkSafe inspectors are provided in Attachment 1 of this booklet. 10. ACCESS TO WORKING PLATFORMS When in use, scaffolds, including a bracket scaffolds, must be provided with a suitable and safe means by which persons can gain access to, and egress from, their working platforms. Means of access to bracket scaffold platforms include access from inside the building, the use of portable ladders, and temporary stairway or ladder access towers.


Access from within the building can be suitable, provided: • There are no gaps through which a person could slip or fall,

• There are no obstructions that have to be climbed over or crawled under,

• The means of access is readily and easily negotiable, and

• When access is from an upper floor, protected and safe access to that floor has

been provided. Portable single ladders can be used for access to the working platform, provided: • They are secured agains t movement in any direction,

• They are set up on a slope of between 4 in 1 and 6 in 1,

• They extend at least 900 mm above the upper surface of the working platform,

• Persons can readily step from the ladder to the platform without climbing over or

under guardrails or midrails, and

• Any necessary gap left in guardrailing to allow ladder access, but which a person on the platform could fall through, is provided with a gate, chain or other suitable means of closing it when persons are not moving between the ladder and the platform.

Ladder towers or temporary stair towers can be constructed using readily available components of most “from-the-ground-up” prefabricated scaffolding systems. 11. CATCH PLATFORMS Bracket scaffolds are sometimes set up so as to provide a catch platform to safeguard roof workers, such as tilers or roof plumbers from falling to the ground or to a lower level of the building under construction. Usually, when this is done, the same scaffold provides a working platform for other tasks, such as facia and gutter installation. For specific advice on the use of catch platforms for roofing work, refer to WorkSafe’s Code of Practice for Prevention of Falls in Housing Construction.12 12. HANDOVER CERTIFICATES The OHS (Plant) Regulations require an employer to ensure that a scaffold is complete before it is used.13 Where the bracket scaffold platform has a potential fall height greater than 4 metres (meaning it requires a person with a scaffolding certificate of competency to erect it),


WorkSafe recommends that you and your contractors meet this obligation by insisting on a handover certificate being provided at the conclusion of the scaffold’s erection. The person completing the handover certificate must be competent to do so. This is normally the certificated person in charge of the scaffold’s erection, but it can also be a person with a recognised scaffolding inspection qualification or a structural engineer experienced in scaffolding design. A handover certificate should include: • Confirmation that the scaffold is complete and safe for use,

• The relevant standard to which it complies, such as AS/NZS 1576.1 and/or

AS/NZS 4576,14

• The location (site address) of the bracket scaffold, • Whether it has been provided as a working platform, a catch platform, or both, • The scaffold platform’s duty live loading (light, medium or heavy duty),

• The date and time of the handover inspection, • The name, signature and qualifications of the person conducting the handover

inspection. You or your contractor should retain the handover certificate until the scaffold has been completely dismantled. If the handover certificate is not kept on site, it should be readily retrievable if needed, or when requested by a WorkSafe inspector. 13. SAFE USE AND MAINTENANCE OF BRACKET SCAFFOLDS Once a bracket scaffold has been handed over as complete and safe for its intended use(s), you have an obligation to ensure that it is maintained in a safe condition and is used correctly. 15 This includes: • Enforcing procedures and rules aimed at preventing unauthorised alterations to, or

detrimental interference with the scaffold, • Ensuring that workers who will use the scaffold, and their supervisors, have been

trained and provided with information and instruction on its safe use,

• Ensuring the scaffold is inspected at sufficiently frequent intervals to ensure that its structural integrity and serviceability is not compromised,


• Taking the necessary steps to prevent unauthorised access to the scaffold when the site is unattended, and

• On becoming aware that the scaffold or its supporting structure has become unsafe, ensuring that the appropriate repairs, alterations or additions are carried out promptly and prior to further use.

WorkSafe recommends that the training provided to persons using the bracket scaffold includes clear instructions: • Not to alter the scaffold without authorisation and, where the potential fall height

exceeds 4 metres, without the necessary certificate of competency,

• Not to load the working platform in excess of its rated duty live loading,

• Not to stack materials in such a way as to obstruct clear access along the working platform,

• To keep the working platform clear of debris and unnecessary materials,

• Not to use the scaffold if it, or its supporting structure, is adversely affected by severe weather conditions, falls into disrepair or in any other way appears to be unsafe, and

• Promptly report to you any unsafe condition of the scaffold or its supporting structure.

WorkSafe recommends that you have a suitably qualified person carry out ongoing inspections of the bracket scaffold: • As soon as achievable immediately following severe storms or other events that

might adversely effect the safety of the scaffold or its supporting structure,

• Prior to its use following repairs, and

• In any event, at intervals not exceeding 30 days. Persons with suitable qualifications for inspecting bracket scaffolds include: • A person holding a valid scaffolding certificate of competency,

• A person with a recognized scaffolding inspection qualification, or

• A structural engineer experienced in scaffolding design. Please Note: If a bracket scaffold on your site collapses or partially collapses, you must immediately notify WorkSafe by telephoning 13 23 60.16


14. ELECTRICAL HAZARDS IN PROXIMITY TO BRACKET SCAFFOLDS Where a bracket scaffold is to be erected, used, altered or dismantled in proximity to overhead electrical power lines, the OHS (Plant) Regulations require the employer to ensure that all persons are safeguarded from the risk of electrocution or electric shock.17 WorkSafe recommends that you fulfil this obligation by strictly adhering to the No Go Zones for Overhead Electrical Power Lines - Special provisions for scaffolds.18 Under these rules, the local power authority must be notified before work commences where any component of the scaffold will be: • Less than 4.6 m horizontally from power lines, or

• Less than 5.0 m directly below power lines.

The written permission of the local power authority must be obtained and a site meeting and risk assessment must be completed before the scaffold is erected. This enables you, your subcontractor, the scaffolders and the local power authority to agree on a suitable set of precautions covering the scaffold’s erection, use and dismantling. This may include, as an example: • The temporary disconnection or re-routing of power during specified times for the

scaffold’s erection and dismantling, and

• The fitting of non-conductive material, such as 2 metre-high plywood sheets to the perimeter of the working platform to safeguard workers using the scaffold.

Please note that a bracket scaffold fitted with sheeting may be subject to significantly increased wind loading. Such arrangements should be specifically designed by a suitably qualified person, such as an engineer experienced in structural design, and you should insist on a copy of the design drawings and a written statement of the scaffold’s compliance with AS/NZS 1576.1 The OHS (Plant) Regulations also require employers to ensure that bracket scaffolds are not used in a manner, or under conditions, which give rise to risk due to the presence of electricity. 19 For example, you should : • Ensure that metal components of the scaffold are never used to suspend electrical

extension leads, unless they are supported from insulated hooks or similar, and

• Provide additional non-conductive mechanical protection (such as split plastic conduit of plywood boxing) around insulated electrical drop lines wherever they pass through the scaffold or where they could be struck by a person using the scaffold’s working platform.


15. FURTHER ADVICE AND ASSISTANCE If, after reading this booklet, you require further advice or assistance on bracket scaffolding matters, you can telephone: • The Housing Industry Association on 9820 8200

• The Master Builders Association of Victoria on 9411 4569

• WorkSafe Victoria on 1800 1369. You can find a wide range of guidance and advice on construction safety issues on WorkSafe’s Construction & Utilities Webpage:

www.workcover.vic.gov.au/construction Safety Soapbox – a Free Weekly Emailed Newsletter WorkSafe produces a free weekly emailed newsletter that will keep you up to date with the latest construction safety news and information. It’s called Safety Soapbox (formerly Construction Safety Update) and it already has over 7,000 readers. To become a subscriber, all you need to do is to send an email to:

[email protected] Please include your:

• Name, • Organisation, • Position, • Telephone contact, and • Preferred email address.

Safety Soapbox subscribers receive from WorkSafe: • The latest construction safety Alerts, Guidance Notes, news, and prosecution

reports,

• Information about forthcoming WorkSafe construction blitzes, and reports on the results of blitzes,

• Construction safety news and information from employer associations, unions and Government agencies, such as Energy Safe Victoria,

• Illustrated examples of dangerous scaffolds and dangerous work practices.


ATTACHMENT 1: COMMON EXAMPLES OF DANGEROUS BRACKET SCAFFOLDS

COMMON EXAMPLES OF DANGEROUS BRACKET SCAFFOLDS

Angled upper planks are not directly supported by brackets , only clamped to the overhanging

bottom planks.

Upper planks do not extend past the bracket at least 150 mm when

lapped.

Platform not 2 planks wide , spacing of brackets exceeds

maximum span for plank, no edge protection.

With no eaves, gap between wall and platform is excessive. 3rd plank or internal edge protection required.

A section of the guardrail has been removed, leaving an

unprotected edge.

Upper planks do not extend past the bracket at least 150 mm when

lapped.

Lapped return planks only strapped together, not supported by a corner

bracket.

Working platform not constructed from scaffold planks complying

with AS 1577.

Platform too low for the work to be ergonomically preformed,

forcing worker to stand on mid-rail.

Platform not 2 planks wide , no edge protection fitted and platform

not continuous.

Planks overhang their end brackets by more than 250 mm.

A section of the guardrail has been removed, leaving an

unprotected edge.


ATTACHMENT 2: BUILDER’S CHECKLIST FOR BRACKET SCAFFOLDS

Bracket Scaffold Checklist Based on the recommendations of AS/NZS 4576: Guidelines for Scaffolding

Issued December 2003 • Version 2: October 2005

1. Has the purpose(s) of the bracket scaffold been clarified?

Bracket scaffolds can be erected to support: • Working platforms for fascia and guttering installers, or • Access and/or catch platforms for roof workers, or • Combination working & access and/or catch platforms.

2. Has the scaffolding supplier been advised of the bracket scaffold’s intended

use? The scaffold supplier needs to know the intended purpose of the bracket scaffold, as the installation configurations may be different and the setup requirements for edge protection may vary.

3. Will bracket scaffolds be erected, altered and dismantled by appropriately

certificated scaffolders? On your site, you must make certain that anyone constructing, or directly supervising workers constructing any bracket scaffold, from which a person or materials could fall more than 4 metres, has a valid WorkSafe certificate of competency appropriate to that type of scaffold. The minimum nationally recognized certificate class is SB: Basic Scaffolding. This also applies to any alterations or dismantling of the bracket scaffold. Insist that the scaffolders show you their certificates and keep a record of their names and certificate numbers.

4. Has the scaffold erector inspected the bracket scaffold?

The scaffold erector should inspect the bracket scaffold after it has been erected or altered and before it is used for the first time to ensure it has been erected correctly and complies with AS/NZS 4576: Guidelines for Scaffolding.

5. Has the scaffold erector supplied a handover certificate for the bracket

scaffold? The scaffold erector should supply the builder with a signed handover certificate for any bracket scaffold from which a person or materials could fall more than 4 metres. The certificate should identify the scaffold, state the Australian Standard to which it complies and confirm that it is safe for use. The handover certificate should be accompanied with all relevant user safety instructions and any specific safety information which the user needs to be aware.

6. Has a regular inspection regime for bracket scaffolds been implemented?

The builder should ensure that bracket scaffolds, while erected, are inspected at least monthly by a competent person, such as a certificated scaffolder. While on site, the builder should confirm that bracket scaffolds remain safe. If a bracket scaffold becomes unsafe, or is no longer suitable for its intended purpose, the builder must ensure that the bracket scaffold is not used until the scaffold has been rectified.


7. Have users of bracket scaffolds been instructed in their safe use? All workers must use bracket scaffolds safely. They must not overload platforms or store material in a dangerous way where it could be knocked off the scaffold. Clear access should be maintained along the full length of platforms. They should not climb on guardrails to gain extra height. They should not make the scaffold unsafe by unauthorised removal or alteration to scaffold planks, brackets, guardrails or any type of fixing device.

Further Information: • WorkSafe’s booklet, Bracket Scaffolds on Housing Construction Sites, revised October

2005, available on WorkSafe’s Construction & Utilities webpage www.workcover.vic.gov.au/construction.

• Australian Standard, AS/NZS 4576: Guidelines for Scaffolding can be purchased from Standards Australia by telephoning toll free on 1300 654 646 or on-line at www.standards.com.au.

Note: This guidance material has been prepared using the best information available to WorkSafe Victoria. Any information about legislative obligations or responsibilities included in this material is only applicable to the circumstances described in the material. You should always check the legislation referred to in this material and make your own judgement about what action you may need to take to ensure you have complied with the law. Accordingly, the Victorian WorkCover Authority extends no warranties as to the suitability of the information for your specific circumstances.


ENDNOTES 1 The Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and all of its Regulations can be accessed free of charge on the Victorian Legislation website: www.dms.dpc.vic.gov.au 2 Part 6 of the OHS (Plant) Regulations 1995 sets out the duties which apply specifically to suppliers of scaffolding systems and components, including businesses that hire out scaffolding equipment. 3 Part 10 of the OHS (Plant) Regulations 1995 sets out the requirements for the design notification to WorkSafe of various categories of plant, including prefabricated scaffolding systems. Bracket scaffolding systems are regarded as a form of prefabricated scaffolding. The Regulations also recognise design registrations with interstate workplace safety authorities. 4 The AS 1576 series of scaffolding design standards form part of WorkSafe’s Code of Practice for Plant, which provides recommended advice on how persons with obligations under the OHS (Plant) Regulations 1995 (including the designers, manufacturers, importers and suppliers of scaffolding systems) can meet those obligations. Australian Standards can be purchased from Standards Australia, 19-25 Raglan Street South Melbourne, or online at: www.standards.com.au 5 AS 1577 also forms part of WorkSafe’s Code of Practice for Plant. 6 See Clause 1.6 of AS/NZS 1576.3, Scaffolding, Part 3: Prefabricated and Tube-and-Coupler Scaffolding. 7 See Regulation 605 of the OHS (Plant) Regulations 1995. 8 See Regulation 7 (1) & (2) and the definition of “scaffolding” in Regulation 6 of the OHS (Certification of Plant Users and Operators) Regulations 1994. 9 See Regulation 7 (4) and Regulation 33 of the OHS (Certification of Plant Users and Operators) Regulations 1994. 10 See Regulation 716 of the OHS (Plant) Regulations 1995. 11 See Regulation 715 of the OHS (Plant) Regulations 1995. 12 WorkSafe’s Code of Practice for Prevention of Falls in Housing Construction provides advice to assist house builders and their contractors meet their obligations under the OHS (Prevention of Falls) Regulations 2003. 13 See Regulation 715 (a) of the OHS (Plant) Regulations 1995. 14 AS/NZS 4576, Guidelines for Scaffolding, provides advice on the selection, erection, use and maintenance of scaffolds. It forms part of WorkSafe’s Code of Practice for Plant, and is used as the basis for the knowledge component of assessments that a person undergoes to qualify for a scaffolding certificate of competency. 15 See Regulations 708, 715 and 716 of the OHS (Plant) Regulations 1995. 16 This is a requirement under section 38 of the OHS Act 2004. 17 See Regulation 712 (d) of the OHS (Plant) Regulations 1995. 18 The WorkSafe pamphlet No Go Zones For Overhead Power Lines- Special provisions for scaffolds can be downloaded from www.workcover.vic.gov.au/construction. It should also be available from your local power authority. 19 See Regulation 712 (a) of the OHS (Plant) Regulations 1995.

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