Safety

Safety is paramount when undertaking construction, maintenance or renovation projects at heights. A secure scaffold structure positively impacts your employees’ productivity and well-being while preventing unnecessary risk.

Champion Scaffold Services Inc. focuses on safety by observing OSHA standards during installation and dismantling.

Common Safety Issues

Common issues when utilizing a scaffold include falling, sustaining injuries from falling objects, and encountering structural collapse due to an unstable foundation, unfavorable weather or improper assembly. 

Falls are among the most significant contributors to workplace accidents and deaths in the construction industry. In 2022, 47.4% of all trips, fatal falls and slips occurred in this sector. Roofing contractors and commercial and residential construction recorded the most fatalities that year. Approximately 70% of all fatal falls in the construction industry affected small companies with less than 10 employees. 

Importance of Scaffold Safety

Prioritizing safe scaffold use is essential because it:

• Helps prevent accidents: Using equipment that complies with preventive standards allows you to focus on your work and minimize mistakes.
• Improves confidence: When you prioritize safety for your crew, you’ll boost morale and encourage open discussion about possible safety concerns.
• Avoids financial implications: Using a structure that adheres to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) guidelines will keep your team safe and prevent the financial implications of injuries.

OSHA Standards

OSHA sets stringent standards for construction scaffold safety. They include:

• Fall protection: The specific height requirements of your project determine which measures and equipment apply.
• Footings: Installers must ensure all supporting frameworks are level and capable of bearing the load capacities the manufacturer has set.
• Crossbracing, midrail and guardrail placement and orientation: OSHA regulations specify requirements for height and positioning to increase safety and structural integrity.
• Capacity: Depending on the scaffold type, components must support four to six times their maximum capacity load.
• Employee training requirements: Caution is everyone’s job, and OSHA expects you to coach your employees on equipment use and hazard prevention.
• Inspections: Users should properly inspect structures for integrity before use and after any adjustments or alterations.
• Electrical hazard clearance: OSHA guidelines state a minimum leeway from energy transmission and distribution lines to prevent electrocution.
• Types of structures to avoid: The regulatory body prohibits lean-to and shore scaffold.

As a scaffold company that concentrates on safety, we do more than meet these guidelines — we exceed them. Our experience modification rating is low, reflecting our commitment to the highest safety standards.

Safety Tips

Your team should perform the following preventive measures when using a scaffold:

• Wear personal protective equipment (PPE) like a hard hat, harness and nonslip footwear.
• Avoid exceeding the load limit the structure can bear.
• Keep heavy equipment and vehicles away from the base.
• Watch for harsh weather like heavy rain, snow and lightning to prevent injuries.
• Maintain contact with the equipment with two hands and one foot or one hand and two feet when climbing stairs.
• Avoid forceful impacts that could damage the structure when working.
• Only ascend and descend through the correct means — stairs, ladders or ramps.
• Keep the structure free of tools, debris and other items that can trip them.
• Inspect the site daily before work to spot issues that could lead to injuries.
• Stay current with OSHA precaution updates to ensure compliance with the latest standards.

As an employer, your responsibilities to the well-being of your team include:

• Assigning team members roles to increase on-site safety.
• Training your crew on how to use scaffold cautiously.
• Ensuring only trained staff use these structures.

Safety Is Our Priority

At Champion Scaffold Services, we take caution seriously. We know a scaffold is a valuable tool in completing a project successfully, so we support your protection efforts by:

• Thoroughly training our employees: Each crew member receives comprehensive training in OSHA standards for scaffold erection, inspection, use and disassembly.
• Sharing trusted team members’ knowledge: We also sponsor an apprentice in a safety development program to ensure each employee benefits from decades of our leaders’ experience.
• Delivering high-quality equipment: Our rental scaffold consists of high-quality, robust components that preserve the integrity of the entire structure. 
• Maintaining our rental tools regularly: We preserve the integrity of our equipment by inspecting and maintaining them often.
• Providing extra preventive measures: Champion Scaffold Services offers handrails, netting and shrink wrap to increase your project’s security.
• Relying on our experience: Our leadership proudly boasts over 30 years of industry experience, supplying extensive knowledge and skill in scaffold configuration, inspection and application.