Hello! My name is Rob and I live in a small town which is located about 50 miles outside of Sydney. Now and again, I like to visit my brother who works at an industrial plant in the city. When I visit him, my brother lets me into his office and gives me tours around the plant. They produce all kinds of cool things using the tools they have there. However, I recently learnt they didn't always own the things they needed to complete the job and would instead hire them. I learnt all kinds of cool things about hiring industrial equipment. Although I don't work in the industry, I wanted to share what I had learnt with the rest of the world.
If you are erecting scaffolding and sending workers up to do a job, you need to take several steps to ensure they are safe. That includes putting together the scaffolding correctly and locking all of the components into place. Beyond that, however, you may want to make the area safer with some safety signs. Here are four signs you may want to use.
1. Don't Use Scaffolding While Being Put Together
Whilst you are putting together the scaffolding, you may want to post a sign like this. In fact, you may want three signs so you can display one near each side of the scaffolding that is not leaning against a building.
This sign alerts everyone that the scaffolding is still being constructed, and it helps to deter people from climbing on the scaffolding. As soon as the scaffolding is complete and safe to use, you can take down these signs. You may want to opt for folding signs (like the design used for many "wet floor" signs) that can be displayed temporarily and put away quickly.
2. Don't Use Scaffolding Without Hard Hats and Fall Arrest Equipment
When the scaffolding is ready to use, you may want to put up a sign that instructs your workers on which safety gear they need. Ideally, your workers should have training so they know what to do, but a gentle reminder can help to boost compliance and lower the rate of accidents.
3. Weight Limits
To further improve safety for your workers, you may want to post signs that spell out the weight limit of the scaffolding. Most scaffolding comes with small stickers that spell out the weight limits. However, you may want to invest in a safety sign so you can make a bigger impact.
If you use different types of scaffolding for different jobs, you may want a sign that has a blank. That way, you can note the weight limit for one type of scaffolding, but if you are using other scaffolding sometime down the line, you can erase that weight limit and change it.
4. People Working Overhead
So that pedestrians exercise due caution while passing your scaffolding, you may want a sign that alerts them of the presence of workers over head. For instance, if you use safety cones to route the foot traffic away from your scaffolding, you may want to add this type of sign. It just lets everyone know what's going on.