The Enduring Importance of Scaffolding Safety

By Tyler Doupe

Scaffolding is routinely used by laborers in the construction, oil and gas, power generation, and maritime industries. It serves a number of important functions, including helping workers reach elevations they couldn’t safely access with a ladder. Scaffolding also provides increased stability compared to a ladder and allows workers to more easily complete two-handed tasks. When used properly, scaffolding helps laborers stay safe on the job; however, improper or ineffective use can quickly result in deadly consequences.

While the most common scaffolding-related mishap remains falls from elevation, there are ample variables that can turn deadly when working with scaffolding. One needn’t look any further than the Willow Island disaster of 1978 to understand the dire effects of improper scaffolding use. That tragic ordeal played out on April 27, 1978, at the Pleasants Power Station in Willow Island, West Virginia. On that fateful day, a section of scaffolding was prematurely attached to an uncured section of concrete which subsequently collapsed, killing 51 people.

The Willow Island disaster remains one of the deadliest construction accidents in US history and serves as a sobering reminder of exactly why scaffolding structural support requirements must be observed and enforced without exception. 

Disaster Is Almost Always Preventable

Tragedies like the Willow Island disaster can almost always be prevented through strict adherence to OSHA safety standards at the organizational level, including observing scaffolding regulation compliance, concrete strength requirements, and hoisting guidelines.

In addition to strict organizational adherence to established safety standards, proper training at the employee level is also essential to ensure that everyone on the job site is armed with the necessary information to stay as safe as possible when working at an increased elevation.

Safely Working with Scaffolding

Workers who use scaffolding during the course of their job duties should be trained in a variety of areas, including:

• Hazard recognition
• Fall protection
• The safe construction of scaffolding
• Load capacity
• And falling object awareness

In short, when used effectively by well-trained laborers, scaffolding allows people across a variety of industries to stay safe and productive when working above ground level. Staying vigilant around scaffolding and ensuring organizational checks and balances remain in place at all times ensures a safer and more productive workplace for all.

To learn more about the proper use of scaffolding, be sure to check out OSHAcademy Course 604: Scaffolding Safety. For additional information on safely working at increased elevations, consider taking Course 714: Fall Protection Program.