Online Scaffolding Training: Online Courses, FAQs, and More

OSHA puts out a list of the ten most commonly cited standard violations every year. Here's a list of OSHA's Top Ten, 2016. Scaffolding is on the list, and so we've got some great online scaffolding training available for you in this article.

Many of the same standards appear on the list again and again. As a result, we've pulled together a series of blogs to help you train your workers about each of the ten most cited standards. In this article, we've got a LOT of scaffolding training materials for you.

Let us know if you've got some other resources you'd suggest. The comments field awaits.

The Need for Online Scaffolding Training

As the OSHA citation data below shows, we've got a lot of work to do when it comes to working with scaffolding more safely. Training's not the whole solution, but it can clearly contribute. We recommend using online scaffolding training courses along with other forms of scaffolding training in a blended learning solution for the most effective scaffolding training.

To help you comply better, here's the regulation itself (1926.451) and below are some additional statistics about scaffolding violations and citations.

Total Scaffolding citations- 3,900, a good-sized drop from 2015's total of 4,681.

Ranking in previous year- #3 (same as this year)

Top five sections cited-

1. 1926.451(g)(1) Employee fall protection, 614 citations
2. 1926.451(e)(1) Means of access to scaffold platforms through means such as stairs or ladders, 507 citations
3. 1926.451(b)(1) Platform to be fully planked or decked between front uprights and guardrail supports, 464 citations
4. 1926.451(g)(1)(vii) Fall arrest or guardrail systems on unspecified scaffolds, 324 violations
5. 1926.451(g)(4)(i) Guardrail systems, 203 citations

With that intro completed, let's move on to some training material and helpful information about scaffolding.

Online Scaffolding Training Materials

Here is a sample of our Scaffolding e-learning course. The full course covers scaffolding hazards, types of scaffolds, scaffolding best practices, and more.

Check it out, it's pretty cool.

Scaffolding FAQs

Here are some common scaffolding-related FAQs and answers to boot.

What’s the regulation, again?

1926.451 (Scaffolds)

Does OSHA have a Safety & Health Topic webpage for scaffold-related hazards and regulations?

Here's OSHA's Safety & Health Topic page for Scaffolding.

Why is safety on scaffolds important?

According to an OSHA Scaffolding eTool,

"An estimated 2.3 million construction workers, or 65 percent of the construction industry, work on scaffolds frequently. Protecting these workers from scaffold-related accidents would prevent 4,500 injuries and 50 deaths every year, at a savings for American employers of $90 million in workdays not lost." (Source)

What are some common hazards related to scaffolds?

Common hazards associated with scaffolding include the following issues:

• Access
• Collapse
• Electrical
• Falls
• Instability
• Struck-by

Who is allowed to design a scaffold?

Only a qualified person can design a scaffold. Once the qualified person has designed a scaffold, it must then be constructed and loaded in according with that design.

What is a qualified person?

According to OSHA, a qualified person is a person who:

• Possesses a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing.
• Has extensive knowledge, training and experience.
• Can solve or resolve problems related to the work or the project.

What is the "pre-planning" that a qualified person must do as part of the process of designing a scaffold?

As part of the scaffold design process, a qualified person must "pre-plan" to assure the safe erection and use of the scaffold. This includes:

• Determining the type of scaffold necessary for the job.
• Determining the maximum load of the scaffold.
• Assuring a good foundation.
• Avoiding electrical hazards.

What are "erectors" and "dismantlers?"

An erector is someone who assembles scaffolding, and a dismantler is someone who disassembles scaffolding.

Do erectors and dismantlers have to receive training?

Yes, erectors and dismantlers must receive training before they can assemble and/or disassemble scaffolding.

Here's more information about scaffolding training requirements.

Who must provide that training the scaffolding erectors and dismantlers?

A competent person must be the one who delivers training to scaffolding erectors and dismantlers. This competent person must:

• Be capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards
• Have authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate hazards

What are scaffold users?

Scaffold users are those whose work requires them, at least some of the time, to be supported by scaffolding to access the area of a structure where that work is performed.

Do scaffold users have to receive training?

Yes, every employee who performs work while on a scaffold must receive training.

Who must lead the training delivered to scaffold users?

A qualified person provide training to each employee who is a scaffold user.

What is a qualified person?

This competent person must:

• Possess a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing.
• Have extensive knowledge, training and experience.

What must the training for a scaffold user include?

The training must enable employees to recognize the hazards associated with the type of scaffold being used and to understand the procedures to control or minimize those hazards.

Here's more information about scaffolding training requirements.

What are some types of suspended scaffolds and what requirements apply to each?

Suspended scaffolds are platforms suspended by ropes, or other non-rigid means, from an overhead structure.

There are several types of suspended scaffolds, and OSHA imposes different requirements for each.

These types are:

• Catenary
• Float (ship)
• Interior hung
• Multi-level
• Multi-point Adjustable
• Needle Beam
• Single-point Adjustable
• Two-point (swing stage)

What are some types of supported scaffolds and what requirements apply to each?

Supported scaffolds consist of one or more platforms supported by outrigger beams, brackets, poles, legs, uprights, posts, frames, or similar rigid support.

There are several types of supported scaffolds, and OSHA imposes different requirements for each.

These types are:

• Frame scaffold or fabricated frame
• Ladder jack
• Manually propelled/mobile
• Pole or wood pole
• Pump jack
• Specialty
• Tube and coupler

Does OSHA have any eTools for the scaffolding regulation?

There are three. Or four, depending on how you count 'em. There's:

• One focusing on scaffolding in general
• One on improper scaffold construction (this one is geared to the construction industry)
• One about staging scaffolds (this one is geared to shipyard work)
• A fourth that's focused on aerial lifts , which can replace traditional shipyard scaffolding

Much of the information printed above on this page came from that first OSHA scaffolding eTool.

Does OSHA provide any other helpful resources?

They have an entire webpage on scaffolding in the construction industry, and here are a bunch of resources to help with your scaffolding training program.

What about NIOSH? Do they offer resources too?

They have a nice two-part checklist. Here's the Scaffolding Self-Inspection Checklist Part 1 and the Scaffolding Self-Inspection Checklist Part 2.