Scaffolding Guidance

The National Access and Scaffolding Confederation has reissued its guidance on preventing falls (Preventing Falls in Scaffolding Operations).  It has been revised several times and has influential results of its standards, in that scaffolders now use fall protection harnesses and lanyards when erecting and dismantling scaffolding.

The National Access and Scaffolding Confederation say that as a result of the application there has been an 82% reduction in falls from height in a 15 year period amongst member companies.

The guidance is easy to understand and you do not have to be a scaffolder to understand it.  Whether you are a client, principal contractor, site supervisor or health and safety advisor you can check that scaffolders are working safely.

Points to remember are:- 

1)    Planning and working at height eg. Training, risk assessment, rescue plans, weather effects and design work.

2)    Description of the scaffolder’s safe zone and how to construct one.

3)    Less usual scaffolding applications eg. bridging, loading bays, chimney scaffolds, debris chutes.

4)    Methods of access and egress.

5)    Personal fall protection including the use of harnesses, lanyards and anchor points, and

6)     Rescue arrangements.

Scroll to Top