![Scaff Step Survey [Results]](https://scaffmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/sccr.jpg "Scaff Step Survey [Results]")
The Survey
1. Does your employer or their customers insist on the scaff step being the only method used on their sites? 43.3% Use the step 33.3% Don’t work to SG4:10 23.3% Work in offshore or industrial using other more suitable methods for their environment. The answers below are only from scaffolders that use the step on a daily basis. The ones that use the step 54% said yes 46% said no 2. What other methods of advanced guard rails do you or your company use and what is your opinion on them? 53.3% said no other A.G.R. used 13.3% use a dummy lift but time and cost is an issue. 13.3% use a sliding tube. 6.7% use Fast Guard 6.7% use Haki Wand 6.7% use double lanyard and Wrappa Anchor 3. If you use a scaff step what type is it, does it sit on the guard rail or on the standard, does it have a ladder to the platform or not? All have steps going to the platform 93% sit on the guardrail 7% attach to the standard 4. If you use a scaff step do you feel safe using it, do you hemp while standing on the step? 71.4% feel unsafe using the step 28.6% do not feel unsafe using the step Also 64.3% hemp from the step 35.7% refuse to hemp from the step 5. Do you think that the scaff step causes extra strain and fatigue to the body? 71.5% say yes 28.5% say no One is more concerned about gin wheels 6. Are you happy with hemping over the guard rail, do you consider this dangerous. 71.4% are unhappy with hemping over guardrails 28.6% are not Also 85.8% consider it dangerous 14.2% do not 7. Do you use the scaff step on base lifts, if so how do you manage with uneven ground conditions? 50% use the step on base lifts and erect a foot lift if necessary 50% do not use it on base lifts 8. How are the scaff steps transported from site to site? 71.4% are transported by company vehicles 21.4% are transported in scaffolders own cars 7.2% are left on site 9. Do you consider them dangerous in wet or muddy conditions? 92.9% said yes 7.1% said no 10. Have you or have you witnessed an accident or near miss due to the use of the scaff step or hemping over the guard rail? 78.6% said they had ranging from trips because of the step cluttering lifts to broken bones losing footing on the step and dropped hemps which could have caused a fatality. 21.4% said no but 50% of them expect to see one soon. 11. Do you feel that your job is at risk if you complain about using something you consider unsafe or puts extra strain on your body? 71% said yes 29% said no 12. Do you think the SG4:05 traversing rule was adequate? 78.4% said yes although many admit it was flawed and easily abused 21.6% said noWhat do you think of the Scaff Step ? Let us know in the comments.
The Worthing Herald is reporting that Carroll Taylor, suffered head and facial injuries after the five foot long tube hit her as she waited for her husband to park the car, in the nearby Union Place car park.
She told the newspaper that she felt ‘lucky to be alive’, after the pole “gouged flesh” from her head and left her needing hospital treatment.
Sussex based Ashacre Scaffolding Limited, the company responsible for the structure, was fined £15,000 at Worthing Magistrates’ Court and ordered to pay costs totalling £5,936.83.
The court was told that Ashacre Scaffolding had erected the scaffolding to allow the Connaught Theatre’s guttering to be cleaned.
But an inspector from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) informed the court that when it was time for the scaffolding to be dismantled the correct safety procedures, such as restricting public access to the work area had not been adhered to.
A spokesperson from the legal team defending Ashacre Scaffolding stated that the company would have to close if they had to pay the fine and costs involved. 
Gordon Docherty, from Bristol, landed on his head after he fell from about ten metres at Universal Beverages Ltd (UBL) in October, 2009.
Mr Docherty was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
The inquest at Hereford Town Hall today heard that the scaffolding had only been inspected at ground level for about ten minutes prior to the fall, when in fact it should have taken about an hour an a half to ensure that it was fully safe for people to use.
An investigation was immediately launched following Mr Docherty’s death, which found that there were a number of defects in the scaffolding, including gaps “large enough to fall through.”
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