February 18, 2013

Incident due to scaffolding

An incident where a scaffolding pipe slipped and the scaffolder was saved by his safety harness highlights the importance of check couplings for suspended scaffolds.
The key lessons learnt from the incident as mentioned in scaffmag.com are
  • "It is considered good practice to install check couplers above the suspension scaffolding coupler as described in AS/NZS 4576 Guidelines for scaffolding.
  • The scaffold should be visually inspected by the work party prior to using the scaffold.
  • Scaffolds should be inspected regularly by a competent person.
  • Only equipment within its certification period should be used.
  • Safety equipment should be suitably rated for the personnel using it.
  • Fall arrest equipment should be anchored at a suitably rated anchor point.
  • The rescue plan should reflect the hazards the job presents rather than using a generic rescue plan for all scaffold jobs".
 Read about the incident in this link. 

Contribute to the surviving victims of Bhopal by buying my book "Practical Process Safety Management"

No comments:

Post a Comment