2 Tips To Prevent Injury While Making Repairs Using Your Factory's Scaffolding Equipment
If your new job at the factory requires that you work on scaffolding equipment to make repairs, you may wonder what precautions you can take to make sure you do not fall while working high above the ground. If so, use the following tips to prevent injury while you are making repairs using your factory's scaffolding equipment.
Wear the Right Type of Boot
Before you start to ascend the ladder to the scaffold's plank, look down at your feet to make sure you are wearing the right type of footwear for the job. If you are wearing tennis shoes or any other type of footwear with a slick bottom, change your shoes before you attempt to make repairs while on the scaffolding equipment.
Even though the plank has ridges to help create a nonslip surface, you should also have footwear that performs the same task. Make sure you are wearing boots that have a thick rubber sole that gives you traction even on slick surfaces.
You can test the traction of your boots by skimming your foot along a concrete floor. If you meet resistance, you are probably wearing the right type of boot. However, if your foot glides easily, you should change your boots or postpone going up onto the plank until you can obtain new ones.
Attach Your Safety Belt's Lanyard Immediately
Another way to keep yourself safe while working on the scaffold is to immediately attach your safety belt's lanyard to the hook on the railing as soon as you reach the plank. This lanyard could save your life.
If you were to slip and fall off of the plank, the lanyard is designed to keep you from hitting the ground below. While you may still have muscles strains from the pulling of the rope as you fall, this safety measure will keep you from serious injury from broken bones or possible death from a broken neck.
Before you climb onto the plank, make sure you are using a length that is short of the distance between the plank and the ground. One way to test this is to attach the lanyard to the railing, then descend the ladder. If you are able to make it all the way to the floor, you will need to get a shorter one before you can safely work.
Using the above tips can help you safe while you are using your factory's scaffolding equipment to make repairs. If you have any further questions, speak with either your supervisor or contact a representative from which your factory buys the scaffolding equipment, such as at Savage Scaffold & Equipment Co., to find out more about any of the equipment's safety features.
