The company I work for has been placing a heavy emphasis on safety over the past year. Obviously, that is good. The subject of rolling scaffold (bakers scaffold) has come up on the job and to my surprise my safety supervisor says that at 6 feet, for example, and no objects nearby to fall on it's considered safe practice to work off of without guard rails or fall protection because in Saskatchewan OH&S regulations state:
PART IX
Safeguards, Storage, Warning Signs and Signals
(2) An employer or contractor shall ensure that workers use a fall protection system at a temporary or permanent work area where:
(a) a worker may fall three metres or more; or
(b) there is a possibility of injury if a worker falls less than three metres.
I find this type of reasoning strange. If you fall 6 feet onto even a clear concrete floor you will suffer an injury. In fact, one company in the city requires guard rails on rolling scaffold 100% of the time after a worker fell 6 feet onto his head and died. My safety supervisor knows rolling scaffold is called "The Widow Maker" for good reason and yet his policy is to go with the minimum requirement. OH&S regulations don't even state anything about falling onto objects just "possibility of injury". Yet, even my fall protection instructor used "falling onto rebar" as an example of the interpretation of that regulation. Where did that come from?...
I have to fill out an incident report every time I get a minor cut, I'm expected to report all "near misses", but I can work on "The Widow Maker" without fall protection or guard rails? I think we need to review our priorities here.
So what is your company's safety expectations when it comes to rolling scaffold?
Last edited by Potseal; 11/23/13 11:52 AM.
