Scaffolding Best Practices?

[StradivariusBone]

So a few months back I was involved with a lighting upgrade at a church I do part-time work for. We were replacing a bunch of fresnels over the stage with some LED fixtures and the trim height is on the order of 35'ish feet, dead hung of course. There's no ramp access to the stage so getting anything in there that can hit that ceiling is rough. The solution we came up with was to rent scaffolding. We found a local rental place that had a kit, reading the manual it was designed for this height and we followed the instructions to a T. It definitely was a bit hair-raising assembling and disassembling it. However we were able to utilize a scissor lift to at least raise the top level pieces and pass them over (I don't think that runs afoul of recommendations, no one left the scissor to go to the scaffolding).

Anyway, I have limited experience with this stuff, and was wondering what we could do to be safer in the future or if we were in the right ballpark. The OSHA papers claim that if railings are installed you don't have to worry about fall-arrest, but even still I wouldn't know where to clip in in this circumstance in any event.

We recently had to get up there again to replace a power cable that failed for some reason possibly a bad connector, that's another whole story. And we found a Snorkel mast lift that could hit it at the max trim. The custodial team there built a ramp to get it up on the stage deck this time. So we may never have to mess with the scaffolding again, but I'd like the input either way.

 

[RonHebbard]

So a few months back I was involved with a lighting upgrade at a church I do part-time work for. We were replacing a bunch of fresnels over the stage with some LED fixtures and the trim height is on the order of 35'ish feet, dead hung of course. There's no ramp access to the stage so getting anything in there that can hit that ceiling is rough. The solution we came up with was to rent scaffolding. We found a local rental place that had a kit, reading the manual it was designed for this height and we followed the instructions to a T. It definitely was a bit hair-raising assembling and disassembling it. However we were able to utilize a scissor lift to at least raise the top level pieces and pass them over (I don't think that runs afoul of recommendations, no one left the scissor to go to the scaffolding).

Anyway, I have limited experience with this stuff, and was wondering what we could do to be safer in the future or if we were in the right ballpark. The OSHA papers claim that if railings are installed you don't have to worry about fall-arrest, but even still I wouldn't know where to clip in in this circumstance in any event.

We recently had to get up there again to replace a power cable that failed for some reason possibly a bad connector, that's another whole story. And we found a Snorkel mast lift that could hit it at the max trim. The custodial team there built a ramp to get it up on the stage deck this time. So we may never have to mess with the scaffolding again, but I'd like the input either way.

View attachment 22222

In the days before scissor and personnel lifts were common, we'd often order what our scaffold suppliers called hay wagon wheels. This got us much larger wheels with air filled tires; two straight and two steerable. A yoke to pull and steer was attached to the steerable end. For ~3 months of my electrical apprentice ship I played ground rigger, conduit bender, and scaffold motivator for my journeyman who was ~40' up installing conduit, boxes, wiring and 347 volt high-bay lighting fixtures.
Toodleoo!
Ron Hebbard

 

[Van]

A lot scaffold places we deal with won't let renters install their own anymore which is why we have our own and all of our installers are OSHA certified.
I'm not Scaffold certified so I'm not going to offer advice BUT a lot of our work sites require harness on any scaffold other than a dancefloor.

 

[MarshallPope]

I'll just say that, on a single stack of that height, I'd definitely be asking for ladder uprights rather than the walkthrough ones

 

[StradivariusBone]

I'll just say that, on a single stack of that height, I'd definitely be asking for ladder uprights rather than the walkthrough ones

Yeah, that was a lesson learned. We also repositioned decks so I could climb inside the frame. I didnt feel like tipping was even close, but transitioning from top/ladder and ladder/top was much easier on the inside of the scaffolding.

 

[almorton]

This side of the pond you always climb inside the tower, NEVER outside.

 

[StradivariusBone]

a lot of our work sites require harness on any scaffold

Do you clip in to the scaffold or to a life line installed to the structure you're working on/near?

 

[Van]

Do you clip in to the scaffold or to a life line installed to the structure you're working on/near?

I've noticed the guys bitching about the varying standards from one place to the next. Since I'm not in the field anymore I can only relate what I've heard. Some places it's clipped to structure or Lifeline with "no more than XX' lanyard" others it seems to be railings "with xx' lanyard." Some companies are much more restrictive with their safety standards than OSHA.

 

[StradivariusBone]

OSHA's guide is honestly a bit vague here. I guess it's assuming that most usage on supported scaffolding is going to be adjacent to a structure where it's easy to set up a life line. The main takeaway I saw when reading it was that supported scaffolding with guardrails installed does not require personal fall arrest.

 

[MNicolai]

1926.451(g)(1)(iv)
Each employee on a self-contained adjustable scaffold shall be protected by a guardrail system (with minimum 200 pound toprail capacity) when the platform is supported by the frame structure, and by both a personal fall arrest system and a guardrail system (with minimum 200 pound toprail capacity) when the platform is supported by ropes;

OSHA does not require fall protection if you have guardrails. Not to say an employer or worksite may not have a more stringent rule.

However...

That scaffold system is non-compliant with OSHA. The highest fully-planked level does not have guardrails, and if someone is standing on the upper single plank, they can easily fall off that and slide out of the scaffold overall.

1926.451(b)(1)
Each platform on all working levels of scaffolds shall be fully planked or decked between the front uprights and the guardrail supports as follows:

1926.451(b)(1)(i)
Each platform unit (e.g., scaffold plank, fabricated plank, fabricated deck, or fabricated platform) shall be installed so that the space between adjacent units and the space between the platform and the uprights is no more than 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide, except where the employer can demonstrate that a wider space is necessary (for example, to fit around uprights when side brackets are used to extend the width of the platform).

1926.451(b)(1)(ii)
Where the employer makes the demonstration provided for in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section, the platform shall be planked or decked as fully as possible and the remaining open space between the platform and the uprights shall not exceed 9 1/2 inches (24.1 cm).

Exception to paragraph (b)(1): The requirement in paragraph (b)(1) to provide full planking or decking does not apply to platforms used solely as walkways or solely by employees performing scaffold erection or dismantling. In these situations, only the planking that the employer establishes is necessary to provide safe working conditions is required.

That scaffold is also missing the required toeboards.

1926.451(h)(2)
Where there is a danger of tools, materials, or equipment falling from a scaffold and striking employees below, the following provisions apply:

1926.451(h)(2)(i)
The area below the scaffold to which objects can fall shall be barricaded, and employees shall not be permitted to enter the hazard area; or

1926.451(h)(2)(ii)
A toeboard shall be erected along the edge of platforms more than 10 feet (3.1 m) above lower levels for a distance sufficient to protect employees below, except on float (ship) scaffolds where an edging of 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch (2 x 4 cm) wood or equivalent may be used in lieu of toeboards;

And looks like it may exceed the appropriate Base:Height ratio. That scaffold appears to have a total height, including guardrails and outriggers, of roughly 30 or 32', in which case the smallest dimension of the base would need to be about 8 ft. I'm just eyeballing it but the smallest dimension of the base appears to be closer to 6 ft.

• 1926.451(c)(1)
  Supported scaffolds with a height to base width (including outrigger supports, if used) ratio of more than four to one (4:1) shall be restrained from tipping by guying, tying, bracing, or equivalent means, as follows:

 

[StradivariusBone]

Excellent points and observations, Mike. That top platform did have guardrails around the front, but there was nothing behind it. It was a call I made because of the height of that position. Going up one and decking the top would have been higher than I needed, but ultimately would have been the correct way to do things. Complicating things, none of the planks had trap doors, so the only means to climb inside was to remove a whole plank, which again not ideal.

As for the toeboard, I had spotters below that stayed well away and restricted other people from wandering in while I was up working which I think meets that requirement.

We did measure the base and it did meet the 4:1. That was a big point I raised when they started planning for this because their original plan was to go to a box store and rent enough scaffolding to get up there. Interestingly, when they did inquire about that Orange refused to rent them the scaffolding which I thought was reassuring in some degree. I pointed out that we needed to find a scaffold designed for the height and that's where we ended up with this. The manuals for this particular scaffold specified that the height was achievable.

I definitely will ask for a better access method though, trap doors seem in order.

 

[StradivariusBone]

This was plan B after we lost a few LEDs to a bad powercon. Don't ask how they got it on that stage

 

[MNicolai]

Those one-man lifts are quite portable for their weight.

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[StradivariusBone]

I wish they had a way for it to climb stairs as easy as it fits into a pickup. I like the older Genie instructional videos. The narrator always sounds like he's about 5 seconds away from calling you a knucklehead and berating you for lifting with your back.

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[Van]

Those one-man lifts are quite portable for their weight.

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Reading the manual, HA!

 

[JohnD]

I was thinking about posting that pic of a MEWP on a forklift, but (sigh) it wasn't worth the effort.

 

[cbrandt]

I was thinking about posting that pic of a MEWP on a forklift, but (sigh) it wasn't worth the effort.

It has forklift pockets on the bottom, what else are you supposed to use them for?

 

[Van]

I believe he is referring to this one:

 

[StradivariusBone]

And it looks like they left the bucket no less. Ingenuity!

 

[MarshallPope]

And it looks like they left the bucket no less. Ingenuity!

To be fair, I'd want to get off as soon as possible as well.