About Scaffolding

Without scaffolding, tall buildings would fall into disrepair quickly through lack of maintenance. Scaffolding can be custom-designed to service any building, no matter what its shape or height. Scaffolding makes walkways safer for construction workers to do their jobs with optimum freedom of movement.

Function

Scaffolding serves a practical and functional purpose in the billion-dollar construction industry to enable workers to move easily around buildings to paint, repair, construct and clean exteriors, no matter what their height. Scaffolding is initially constructed according to safety rules and regulations set forth by OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) to protect the health and lives of workers on the job.

Types

Scaffolding comes in several types such as suspended scaffolds, catenary scaffolds, step and trestle ladder scaffolds and supported scaffolds. Suspended scaffolds are constructed to be used from the top of a building and a cradle is suspended by pulleys over the edge to enable workers to be lowered down to the level of the building that requires maintenance. Supported scaffolds are built from the ground up to be utilized for the first few stories, making use of walkways and ladders to carry out the required maintenance on the building.

Prevention/Solution

Scaffold safety is important, since 4,500 injuries and 50 deaths occur in scaffold-related accidents, according to OSHA. Further rules and regulations have been added to include all types of scaffolds, as some, such as ladder and trestle scaffolds, were not covered in OSHA's previous guidelines.

Warning

Accidents happen on scaffolding from slip and falls, lack of safety harnesses or substandard safety equipment, dropped tools, equipment, debris and collapse of scaffolding. Electrocution happens frequently due to scaffolding erected too close to power lines.

Size

Scaffolding can be constructed to be any size that's needed from small sections, to scaffolding covering an entire building. A combination of several types of scaffolding may be in use together to carry out many service jobs at the same time. Weeks of preparation erecting the scaffolds may be necessary before construction work begins to ensure that necessary safety standards are observed.

Resources

• Construction Equipment Warehouse
• Scaffolding Glossary of Terms
• Other Types of Scaffolding