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Surf's Up! Ride the Wild Scaffold!
July 2009
Issue 33
Well, we couldn't resist. Now that the bruddas at the Cal/OSHA Standards Board have amended sections 1632 and 1646 of the construction regulations to allow workers to self-propel rolling scaffolds (a maneuver called "surfing"), it's open season for all sorts of bad jokes and puns.
You can find the new regulation at Title 8 California Code or Regulations section 1646. Any kook who wishes to catch the glide and make use of this new freedom can use our new "Cal/OSHA Rolling Scaffold Check-List" in our Resources section.
The change was requested by Joel Cohen, a brudda Certified Industrial Hygienist and principal in the Cohen Group. His concern was for the ergonomic hazards associated with interior work of short duration. Representatives of specialty contractors testified that to be compliant with the old standard, their workers had to ascend and descend rolling scaffolds up to 100 times a day, thereby exposing themselves to greater hazards than they would face if they could only get that ol' bummer Cal/OSHA to allow them to surf.
A major hurdle to the new rule was the mandate in section 1637(b)(4) that scaffolds only be used in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations because scaffold manufacturers universally advise against surfing in their written materials. A Gandelf from a rolling scaffold manufacturer testified at the Standards Board's final hearing that they understand that surfing can be done safely, and his company believes that the new rule will allow scaffolds to be surfed safely in California. But they will not change their official position for risk management reasons. In other words, they don't want to be sued for having done anything short of prohibiting the practice.
No problem: Section 1637(b)(4) now has an exception which states that new sections 1646(i ) and (j) over-ride any manufacturer's admonitions to the contrary.
Cowabunga!
But not everyone is stoked. The new rule has raised eyebrows among many in the safety community, not the least for the fact that Cal/OSHA was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the relaxed rule. And several general contractors, including a significant number of VPP members, are very concerned that the new practice will lead to increased injuries... and citations and litigation.
But nothing in the new language of 1637 or 1646 makes surfing mandatory. For general contractors and developers who are concerned the new rule will cause some hodaddy to hot-dog it, get blasted and wipe out, they can bail: They can forbid the practice on a job-by-job basis, or amend their subcontracts to specifically prohibit surfing on all of their work sites.
If you have questions on the new rule, give us a call.
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