Hire and Rental News - November 2018

ACCESS in ACTION 42 ACCESS IN ACTION • NOVEMBER 2018 Ladder Scaffold) is AS1892.1, Joseph said. “The Standards Australia Committee responsible for Drafting the AS/NZS 1576 series of Australian / New Zealand Standards for Scaffolding, BD-036, is currently in the process of reviewing AS/ NZS 1576.5 among other parts of AS/ NZS 1576 and other associated Australian Standards for Scaffolding. Contact: josephl@safesmartaccess.com.au or visit: www.safesmartaccess.com.au SAFEWORK AUSTRALIA According to a SafeWork Australia spokesperson: • Working at height can be a dangerous activity. The model Work Health and Safety laws require duty holders to eliminate the risk of a fall by ensuring, so far as is reasonably practicable, that work is carried out on the ground or on a solid construction. If that is not reasonably practicable, a duty holder must minimise the risk of a fall by working through the hierarchy of control measures from the highest level of protection and reliability to the lowest. • In some circumstances, higher order controls, such as working on the ground or on a solid construction, just won’t be possible. If that’s the case, a lower order control – such as a trestle ladder scaffold – may be more suitable. In many cases, a trestle ladder scaffold is a better option than other lower order controls such as ladders or administrative controls. • Trestle ladder scaffolds are a type of temporary work platform that offer the benefit that once erected or installed, do not require any further maintenance or operation by a worker. Trestle ladder scaffolds can be useful for light duty work such as painting and fixing fascias and gutters. • If you are using a trestle ladder scaffold for work at heights of 2m or above, ensure guard railing and toe boards are installed to prevent workers and material from falling off the open side or the end of the work platform. • If you need to work at heights of 2m or above and don’t have access to guard railing and toe boards, a trestle ladder scaffold would not be Trestle ladder scaffold systems – what is required for compliance continued from p40... suitable. In this case, you should consider alternative options such as small scissor lifts, light duty mobile scaffolds or modular scaffolding. • Scaffold working platforms are also often rated as light, medium or heavy duty. Trestle ladder scaffolds are generally rated as light duty and should only hold up to 225kg per bay. If you will be performing heavier tasks, such as bricklaying or demolition work, you should use a heavier duty scaffold. For more information on trestle ladder scaffolds, check out the Model Code of Practice: Managing the risk of falls in housing construction. As mentioned previously, you will need to contact the relevant work health and safety regulator for specific information on the laws and regulations for using trestle ladder scaffolds. Contact: www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au WORKSAFE VICTORIA According to Andrew Taylor, Senior Engineer, Specialist Services with WorkSafe Victoria , with the exception of the legislative differences (Workplace Health & Safety (WHS) Regulations vs Occupational Health & Safety Regulations 2017) and therefore the definition of a fall, the content fromWorkSafe NSW (see above) is consistent with what WorkSafe Victoria would accept. “Similar to NSW, Victoria also uses the relevant published standards as quoted fromWorkSafe NSW’s comments, to form part of a state of knowledge the duty holder should be aware of when using trestle scaffolds in workplaces to help inform the user of how to control risk,” Andrew said. “The only other point to note, and it is not a difference with NSW because I believe they would have a similar opinion, is regarding the use of plank clamps. Some users use plank clamps to exceed the maximum allowable plank span with no justification / demonstration the plank can be used in this manner. In any case, exceeding the allowable span creates differential deflection when standing on one of two planks and thus creates a trip hazard.” andrew_taylor@worksafe.vic.gov.au or visit: www.worksafe.vic.gov.au QLD SAFEWORK Stuart Davis, Principal Adviser (Construction Engineering), Engineering Unit, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland – Office of Industrial Relations provided the following information about trestle ladder scaffolds. Queensland allows 225mm platform width for light work for platform height of less than 3m for housing construction work and platform height of less than 2m for non-housing construction work (refer to section 306O of the Queensland WH&S Regulation 2011). Queensland allows omission of edge protection for platform height of less than 3m for housing construction work and platform height of less than 2m for non-housing construction work – refer section 306N of the Queensland WH&S Regulation 2011. Trestles with a platform height of 4m and over are rare but it can be argued a scaffolding High Risk Work licence isn’t required because the competencies differ from traditional scaffolding; the erection of trestle ladder platforms is relatively straightforward. Queensland specifies the maximum vertical gap between (1) mid rails and top rails and (2) mid rails and bottom rails or toe boards must not exceed 450mm – refer section 306E(5)(b) of the Queensland WH&S Regulation 2011. Queensland construction work 3m and over for housing construction and 2m and over for non-housing construction – if there is no risk of falling materials then a toe board can be omitted and replaced with a bottom rail – vertical gap is not to exceed 450mm – section 306E(5). Contact: Stuart.Davis@justice.qld.gov.au or visit: www.worksafe.qld.gov.au SAFEWORK WA By WA’s WorkSafe and Labour Relations Divisions – Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. The Director of SafeWork WA’s Construction inspectorate said in WA, working platforms need to be scaffolds. SafeWork WA has the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations 1996, which call up the Australian Standards that do not allow trestles. WA has not yet