Domestic, Commercial and Industrial Scaffolding Hire in Guildford | Key Steps for a Safer Workspace

Like contractors, scaffolding erectors rely heavily on teamwork. You can ask for safety and toolbox talks if you use scaffolding companies regularly for the construction of towers and temporary roofs. Ultimately, while structural safety is our own responsibility, it is the main contractor who bears the burden for the safety of their workforce. Work at height naturally has its dangers and it is the prevention of falls that is one of the most important considerations of all.

DAG Scaffolding Ltd is a domestic scaffolding, commercial scaffolding and industrial scaffolding hire specialist for the Guildford area.

A well-planned system is the first step towards maintaining a safer workspace. If you promote a strong health and safety culture by training your personnel properly, everybody gets home safely at the end of the day. The following steps will help you to keep contractors and subcontractors protected.

Preventing Falls

Your contractors are equally at risk to falls as our scaffolding erectors, so this is one area that requires your strict attention. Take preventative measures prior to using a tower on any site in Guildford by ensuring the three-part side guard is in place. Scaffolding companies create side guards using a guard rail, a middle rail and a toe board. Also, keep an eye out for tripping hazards.

Make sure your contractors close ladder access hatches after using them.

Falling Objects

Work on towers and temporary roofs requires the use of tools and materials. It might be tempting for contractors to throw objects they no longer need to the ground because it is faster than carrying them down or using a hoist, but scaffolding companies strongly advise against this because those working on lower platforms, or people walking close to the tower at ground level, could be hit and injured. It is always better to take the longest and safest route.

Keep a close eye on where you leave tools while they are still in use too. Our scaffolding hire service in Guildford includes the supply of chutes and hoists.

Ladders and Stairs

You should always use a ladder or a staircase to move between floors on a domestic scaffolding, commercial scaffolding or industrial scaffolding tower. With low-level work, it may seem like a time-saving exercise to jump between platforms but even a fall from the first floor to the ground can cause serious injury. Use the facilities that we have provided. Taking the risk just isn’t worth it.

If you need ladder and staircases to grant safer access between floors, DAG Scaffolding Ltd will include them in the project’s final specification.

Load Capacities

Scaffolding companies visit projects in Guildford to perform an initial survey and when the spec goes over to our designers, working out the load-bearing capacity of the tower is part of their job. Once our scaffolding erectors have built your tower, you should keep a close eye on the number of contractors using it at any one time, and on the tools and materials taken onto platforms.

Never exceed maximum load-bearing weights and make sure that any tools taken onto the tower aren’t left on the floor to create a tripping hazard.

Making Changes

Scaffold towers and temporary roofs undergo a meticulous design process to ensure they are safe for their intended use. If you are working on a site in the Guildford area and feel that the scaffolding needs modification, never try to make changes and call in our scaffolding erectors instead. Never use a tower that has been altered or modified by somebody who isn’t qualified to do the job. Even the removal of one fitting can affect the tower’s overall stability.

Leave any changes to the professional team at DAG Scaffolding Ltd.

Reporting Defects

We have built an outstanding reputation across the South East region for the standard of our domestic scaffolding, commercial scaffolding and industrial scaffolding hire service. DAG has an impeccable safety record, and we take precautions over structural stability by coming back to Guildford every week to check our towers. In terms of the initial construction, you can rely on us to build structures to the set specification without our erectors making mistakes.

After high winds or bad weather, defects will be out of our control. If you spot any issues, please contact us immediately and never rectify them yourself.