Hazard alert – collapse of temporary structures and scaffolds

Prevention measures

Employers must take our province’s frequently high wind conditions into consideration, and ensure adequate bracing and support for scaffold systems and temporary structures, as outlined in P​art 28.6 and Part ​30.3 of the Workplace Safety and Health Regulation.

SAFE Work Manitoba reminds employers of their responsibilities:

• Develop safe work procedures, train workers on the procedures, and ensure that workers follow the procedures for scaffold-related work. These safe work procedures must include emergency response plans in case the scaffold fails.
• Appoint one or more competent persons to supervise the erection, installation, dismantling and removal of the scaffold system.
• Ensure that scaffolds do not bear loads greater than what they are rated for and that workers are informed of the rated load.
• Unfinished structures, including masonry walls and temporary structures, as well as scaffolds, must be adequately braced or supported to withstand any load or force that could be imposed on them, including wind and wind gusts.
• In the case of scaffolds, employers must make sure they can support at least four times the maximum load to be imposed on them. When a temporary support system is in place, employers must also ensure it is not removed until the structure has been permanently stabilized.

Workers’ responsibilities include:

• Following the safe work procedures developed for the workplace, and using all necessary equipment and personal protective devices when erecting, installing, using and dismantling scaffold systems.

The standard for access scaffolding, CSA Z797-09 Code of Practice for Access Scaffold, also provides criteria for the design of access scaffolding, including loads and forces, structural analysis ​​and design, erection, dismantling, safety requirements, maintenance and test procedures.