Safety Measures to be Taken during Work on Scaffolds/Formworks, Supporting Structures and Staircases

1.             Scaffolds and formworks used in construction works have be installed or dismantled by qualified and authorized technical personnel by taking into account the dimensions and material properties of the scaffolds, and scaffolds should be designed and constructed in a strength suited to the highest loads that may be encountered in the course of the work to be performed on them.

2.             Scaffolds should be checked frequently, with a minimum inspection period of one month.

3.             Where standing surfaces of the scaffolds become slippery due to rain, snow, ice or similar reasons, appropriate measures should be taken to prevent slippage.

4.             Any damages observed in scaffolds/formworks or in any supporting structures should be immediately repaired; weak parts should be strengthened or replaced.

5.             Some types of formworks/scaffolds have their usage limit (that is to be used for how many number of times, e.g. Plywood formworks etc.) mentioned by manufacturers, or limit by local expert opinion. Such limits have to be identified and must be enforced to follow by Sub-Contracting/Servicing companies.

6.             No debris or waste materials which may restrict passage of workers should be left on scaffolds.

7.             Suitable measures should be taken to prevent swing of scaffolds during work.

8.             In cases where work must continue in foggy weather or in poor light conditions, lighting should be provided throughout the length of the scaffold as well as any stairways or passages leading to the work area.

9.             No obstacles should be left in the passages or routes leading to the work area.

10.          Clearance of scaffolds from the walls against which they are installed should be such that no tools or equipment should fall through it.

11.          Suspended scaffolds should not be loaded with weights higher than 400 kg per square meter and a maximum of 4 workers should work on this type of scaffold at any given time.

12.          Self-standing scaffolds have to be erected with the legs placed on level and firm spots on the ground.

13.          Bottoms of the feet of portable or hand-carried ladders, when used on metal or other slippery surfaces, have to be fitted with sheets of ribbed rubber or other non-slipping material.

14.          Ladders should not be jointed end to end in order to obtain larger lengths.

15.          Any stairs or ladders used by workers for access to and from the work area should be surrounded with ropes, chains or wooden guardrails to ensure safety.

16.          Top surfaces of the rungs or steps of ladders made of plain non-corrugated steel sheet or other flat metal material should be covered with a non-slippage material of suitable characteristic.

Safety measure to be Taken during Excavation

For a telecommunication site, the excavation works involve digging for tower foundation, for shelter/equipment room foundation and excavation for boundary wall (there could be few other types of foundations also, depending upon project specific need and agreement). So in continuity with previous post, following is a list of a few safety measures adopted during the excavation works at a telecom site.

·         All excavations’ bottom outlines have to be marked before start of any single excavation. And in cases where excavation work endangers an adjoining building or structure, temporarily or continuously, any measures dictated by sound engineering practice, will be taken. And such things have to be noted and if necessary need to be consulted with immediate Manager/Site Design Department prior to start of work.

·         In the area where excavation work is to be performed

Safety Measures to be Adopted and Taken Care of During Construction Work

Constructions Works refer to the set of activities performed for the build out of site which normally includes Excavation for foundations, Structural steel fixing, concreting of foundations, Construction of boundary wall equipment room/equipment shelter, erection of tower and power supply works at site.  Some of the activities are extremely risky such as excavation (which involves risk to settlement of nearby foundations such as a house just adjacent to the site, due to removal of lateral support for its foundation, and tower erection works). Following is a generalized list of safety measures to adopted for construction works. However, project and case specific measures also needs to be identified and adopted by the concerned Project manager and Site Engineer.

1.       Construction works should be essentially performed in the daytime. When work at night is necessary or compulsory, however, the working area and

General Safety Guidelines

Safety should be topmost priority while designing, carrying out work on site or during site visit, as there is no supplement to human life. In today's world the importance of HSE (Health and Environmental Safety) has been widely understood by most Operators and Vendors and there have been procedures in place to be followed at every step of work on site. And it the prime responsibility of a Project Manager, HSE Manager, Project Engineer and Site Engineer to ensure that routine HSE guidelines as described by the company has been being followed in its true sense. And where ever necessary, the project specific safety measures needs to be identified and adopted and beforehand.

 

Following are a few general safety guidelines to be adhered on site

 

1. During tower erection or BTS installation work, safety guidelines will be strictly adhered to and all appropriate measures will be taken. During work, necessary protective equipment such as safety belts or safety ropes will be used by workers, and no materials, tools or equipment will be dropped from above.
2. Care will be taken to avoid causing any harm or injury to site owners, general public or the material property situated in the general vicinity of the site, and excessive noise during work will be avoided to the possible extent.
3. Cleanliness and orderliness will be observed in all work activities. Care will be taken to avoid damage to the surrounding property or structures, and existing, completed work items will be protected.
4. All necessary measures will be taken to prevent any trip hazards at the sites.
5. At the end of the working day, roof access doors and gates will be closed and exposed equipment, if any, will be protected against rain or other elements.

 

What is this Blog all about....?

Purpose of this blog is  to share outcome of my experience in telecommunications as civil engineer. That is how different cross functional activities that are related with Site Design Civil, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (CME) are may be performed by a telecom vendor its supplier or subcontractor. This is however is to be noted that in this blog the things will be presented in a generalized way. And there may always be some case specific or project specific methods or procedures which suits even better in there own conditions.
Comments Suggestions are always be welcomed and will be incorporated for making improvement in this blog.


For your opinion specific to some post please write in comments of that post. and for generalized feedback, comments and suggestions please write to expertfront-313@yahoo.com

Thank You
Ahmed Bilal