Scaffold Safety and Daily Inspections
Overview
Scaffolds provide temporary work platforms that enable safe access to elevated work areas. However, improperly erected, damaged, or unmaintained scaffolds create serious fall hazards. Daily inspections by competent persons are required and critical for worker safety.
Why This Is Important
Scaffold collapses and falls from scaffolds cause numerous fatalities and catastrophic injuries annually. These incidents often result from missing guardrails, inadequate planking, unstable foundations, or structural deficiencies that could be identified through proper inspections. OSHA requires competent person inspections before each work shift and after any event that could affect structural integrity. Understanding what to look for during inspections ensures workers don’t use unsafe scaffolds.
Best Practices & Safety Tips
- Ensure competent persons inspect scaffolds before each shift and after weather events or modifications.
- Verify that guardrails are installed on all open sides and ends of scaffold platforms higher than 10 feet.
- Check that platform planking is fully decked with no gaps exceeding 1 inch between boards.
- Inspect scaffold foundations—base plates must be on stable surfaces with proper mudsills on soft ground.
- Verify vertical and horizontal bracing is installed per manufacturer specifications and properly secured.
- Ensure scaffolds are plumb, level, and square—out-of-plumb conditions create serious stability issues.
- Check that scaffold components match and are compatible—mixing brands or generations causes failures.
- Verify access ladders are secured and equipped with proper handholds and landing platforms.
- Inspect tie-ins to structures—scaffolds require adequate ties to prevent tipping or movement.
- Tag unsafe scaffolds clearly and barricade them to prevent use until repairs are completed.
Discussion Questions
- Who performs competent person scaffold inspections in our workplace?
- What scaffold deficiencies have you observed that need addressing?
- How can we improve our scaffold inspection and tagging procedures?
- What would you do if you found deficiencies during a scaffold inspection?
Takeaway
Daily scaffold inspections by competent persons are not optional—they’re required and essential for preventing serious injuries and fatalities. Never work on scaffolds that haven’t been inspected or that show signs of damage or instability.