Look over the scaffold before you climb
Scaffolds 5 min 29 CFR 1926.451
Why it matters
A scaffold that was fine yesterday can be wrong after rain, wind, or a hit. A competent person inspects it before each work shift and after any event that could affect it. A green tag is only a company habit, not an OSHA rule. A cracked plank, a missing rail, or a soft base means get off and say so.
The talk
The frame scaffold is where you left it, with brick or paint buckets still on the boards. It rained overnight. One leg has sunk into the mud. A toeboard is gone because someone pulled it to pass a pallet. The top rail on the end bay is missing. A green tag from last week still hangs on the frame, and people read that tag as a promise. A worker grabs a cross-brace to climb because the ladder is on the other tower. The brace is slick from the rain. Do not trust that tower until the person who has the authority has looked at it today.
A competent person inspects the scaffold before each work shift and after any event that could affect it, such as rain, high wind, or being struck. That look is the rule. A tag is only a company habit. Do not say OSHA requires a green tag. A tag can help your company keep track, but it does not replace the inspection, and a tag from yesterday does not cover this morning. Top rail height is between 38 and 45 inches, about 42 inches. Use a midrail and toeboards where required. Do not climb the cross-braces unless that scaffold is designed to be climbed that way. Most frames are not a ladder. Get off and tell the competent person if a plank is cracked, a rail is missing, or the base looks soft. Soft ground under a leg lets the whole tower lean once people and material get on it.
Before this shift, the competent person inspects the scaffold. If rain, high wind, or a strike from a load happened after that look, it gets inspected again before you go back up. Do not treat a green tag, or any tag, as the OSHA inspection. Climb the ladder or the way this scaffold was built to be climbed. Do not climb the cross-braces unless this one is designed for that. Look at the top rail. It should sit between 38 and 45 inches, about 42. Check for a midrail and for toeboards where this job requires them. If a plank is cracked, a rail is missing, or a base looks soft, get off and tell the competent person. Do not keep stacking material on a tower that has started to settle. The work waits until that person says the scaffold is ready.
Key points
- A competent person inspects the scaffold before each work shift.
- Inspect again after rain, high wind, or a hit that could affect it.
- A tag is a company habit. Do not say OSHA requires a green tag.
- Top rail height is between 38 and 45 inches, about 42.
- Use a midrail and toeboards where required.
- Do not climb the cross-braces unless the scaffold is designed for that.
- Get off and report a cracked plank, a missing rail, or a soft base.
Do this
- Wait for the competent person to inspect before the shift.
- Call for another look after rain, high wind, or an impact.
- Check the top rail, the midrail, and toeboards where they are required.
- Climb only the way this scaffold is designed to be climbed.
- Get off and tell the competent person when something looks wrong.
Do not do this
- Do not say OSHA requires a green tag.
- Do not trust yesterday's tag after weather or a hit has changed the scaffold.
- Do not climb the cross-braces unless this scaffold is designed to be climbed that way.
- Do not stay up on a cracked plank or a bay with a missing rail.
- Do not ignore a base that looks soft or has sunk.
Talk about it
- Who is the competent person inspecting our scaffolds before this shift?
- Did rain, high wind, or a strike happen since the last look?
- Which towers have a cracked plank, a missing rail, or a soft base we need to get off now?
Listens with this phone's voice. Nothing is sent out.
Send to the crew
The crew link opens the talk so each person can read it and sign on their own phone.
Scan at the jobsite. It opens the crew sign-off.