Small Business Self-Evaluation Checklist: Scaffolding
Serious injury or death can result from failure to comply with all applicable safety requirements of federal, State and local regulations before erecting, using, or dismantling a scaffold.
This “Client Handout” provides small business owners a means of identifying potential problem areas that may occur with scaffolding operations. Any question answered “No” should be thoroughly investigated and corrective actions taken.
| Questions | Yes | No | N/A | |
| Is the scaffold erected and used under the direction of a competent person? | ||||
| Are all workers involved with or near the scaffold wearing hard hats? | ||||
| Are footings sound and rigid and not set on soft, muddy, or frozen ground (that could melt), or resting on blocks? | ||||
| Is the scaffold level? | ||||
| Are wheels/castors locked? | ||||
| Is the scaffold able to hold four times its maximum intended load? | ||||
| Is the platform complete from front to back and from side to side, fully planked or decked, and with no gaps greater than 1 in (2.54 cm)? | ||||
| Are guardrails and toeboards in place on all open sides? | ||||
| Are all sections pinned or appropriately secured? | ||||
| Is there a safe way to get on and off the scaffold without climbing on cross braces? | ||||
| Is the front face within 14 in (35.5 cm) of the work, or within 3 ft (0.91 m) for outrigger scaffolds)? | ||||
| Does the scaffold meet electrical clearance distances, as required by safety regulations? | ||||
| Are scaffold loads, including tools and other equipment, kept to a minimum and removed when the scaffold is not in use? | ||||
| Are workers removed from scaffolds during high winds, rain, snow, or bad weather? | ||||
| Is personal fall protection provided? | ||||
| Are materials secured and workers removed from the scaffold before it is moved? | ||||
| Are heavy tools, equipment, and supplies hoisted up (rather than carried up by hand)? | ||||
COPYRIGHT ©2005, ISO Services Properties, Inc.