Did you know that the four leading causes for construction related deaths were falls, electrocution, getting caught between two objects, and being struck by an object? In fact, one in every five workplace fatalities involves a construction worker. This is why safety equipment, like hard hats and steel toe boots, are necessary during any construction job.
Although the amount of fatally injured construction workers has decreased by around 200 people on average between 2008 to 2013, the amount is still far, far too high. For this reason, employers need to supply their workers with heavy equipment training and construction safety training courses.
One of the most important kinds of construction safety courses that can be given is scaffolding safety training. There’s an estimated 2.3 million construction workers working on scaffolds during their jobs, making scaffold injuries more commonplace than they should be. In fact, about one in five of all fatal falls on site are from scaffolds! This means that there are over 60 people fatally injured from these accidents.
Thankfully, this shocking number can be reduced with some simple safety training. Here are a few basic safety training tips to help you keep any workers from falling.
Make Sure They’re Set Up Properly.
This is naturally a given. Of course an improperly constructed scaffold can cause many accidents. However, it should also be taken into account when setting it up that it should be away from any power lines by at least 10 feet. When setting up, missing bracing elements and tie-ins should also be looked for, as this weakens the scaffold’s integrity.
Avoid Usage in High Winds.
Safety training dictates that scaffolds shouldn’t be used in high winds. If there unsafe weather possibilities, extra safety equipment should be used as well. This can include such things as wind screens, or lifting slings.
These are only a couple safety training tips to help scaffold injuries down. To help ensure that everyone on a worksite is safe, more safety training should be pursued. If you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments. Continue.