When Are Outriggers Required On My Baker Scaffold?

First of all, what are outiggers?  Outriggers are components that get attached to a scaffold base to help prevent it from tipping.  OSHA requirements call for outriggers or securing a scaffold whenever you are exceeding a 4 to 1 height to base width ratio.  This would mean that if you are on a 5' wide scaffold tower and your platform height is 20' or higher, you would then have to install outriggers on the scaffold or secure the scaffold to the structure to prevent the scaffold from possibly tipping.  Baker scaffolds are narrower than the heavy duty frame type scaffolds.  The baker type scaffolds that International Decorators owns are 29" wide.  Our baker scaffolds have a manufacturer requirement that is more stringent that the OSHA outrigger requirement for scaffolds used at construction sites.  Our baker scaffold manufacturer requirements call for outriggers to be used whenever you are double stacking or triple stacking sections to create a scaffold tower.  The highest you are allowed to erect a baker type scaffold tower is 3 sections high which is approximately 18' high.  So the next time you find that you are double stacking or triple stacking your baker scaffolds meaning that your platform height is going to exceed the 6' height, you are required to install outriggers or secure your scaffold to the structure. 
Do I need to install outriggers on all 4 sides of my baker scaffold?  You do if you are not close to a wall.  If your scaffold is out in the open area of a room or building and your scaffold could possibly tip in any direction, you would then be required to install outriggers on both sides of your scaffold meaning that you would need 4 outriggers.  If your scaffold is set up close to a wall, the wall will act as your outrigger and prevent you from tipping towards the wall, so in this case, you would just need to install 2 outriggers on the scaffold opposite of the side of the wall. 

Below is a photo showing carpenter, Kent Cutshall, using outriggers on his baker scaffold.  Kent's scaffold is not double stacked and his platform is below the 6' height, so outriggers would not be required.  However, Kent chose to install outriggers as a safety precaution since he is using force against the structure to drill holes in the structural steel.  Kent is also using safety rails to prevent falls and he appropriately has all 6 wheels locked.  Great job - Kent!

Next Quarterly Safety Meeting Will Be On 11/5/11

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees:  We have scheduled our 4th and final quarterly safety meeting for 2011.  The meeting will be held on Saturday, 11/5/11 at 7:00am at our Barrington office location.  Please mark your calendars.  The exact training topic has not yet been determined.  We will provide more information to everyone over the next couple of weeks.  Please plan on attending as your attendance is vital to sustaining our overall safety culture and in our battle against injuries.  As always, if you have any safety related questions, please contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689. 

Have a Safe Day!

Safety Coordinator Reports E-mailed Direct to Safety Coordinators

Good morning to all I.D.I. Safety Coordinators:  You should have all received an e-mail this morning from me explaining that we are now e-mailing our Safety Coordinator report to all of you.  That e-mail contained an attachment which is our Safety Coordinator spreadsheet.  If you are having any trouble opening the attachment or trouble understanding the spreadsheet, please contact your Superintendent or our Safety Director, Peter Graham, at (847) 417-1689 so we can help you with it. 
You will be receiving this report via e-mail from me every Monday morning unless I am not in the office on a particular Monday in which case I will e-mail the report the next business day that I am in the office.  The reason for e-mailing each of you this report is to help us to better manage obtaining the toolbox talks and safety inspection forms from you.  This report will also serve as a reminder if you are behind on getting your safety documents turned in and will also serve as a notice that if you turned one in and for some reason didn't get credit for it.  If you see any descrepancies on the spreadsheet, please give our Safety Director, Peter Graham a call at (847) 417-1689. 
Also, thank you for being a Safety Coordinator and helping us in the battle against injury prevention.  Performing your safety inspections and toolbox talks on Monday mornings is a vital and necessary part of our safety culture.  Please do your part and gather your crew for the safety talk; your actions may prevent a serious injury from occurring. 

Have a Safe Day!

Safety Coordinators - Monday Toolbox Talk Reminder!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees - This is just a reminder to our group of prestige Safety Coordinators; we need your help in keeping up the safety momentum by performing your weekly toolbox talks on Monday mornings. We have noticed a drop off in the number of weekly toolbox talks and safety inspection forms being turned in by active Safety Coordinators.  These two procedures are a vital part of our safety culture and there are many reasons that we need them performed consistently.  As far as the weekly safety inspection form, Safety Coordinators should walk their job site on Monday morning before 1^st break and look at the areas that our employees will be working in during that given week.  Then document any safety hazards found on the safety inspection form.  The next step is to gather our employees together at your site to perform a weekly toolbox talk on a topic that is timely or pertinent to the job site conditions, the equipment being used or based on the hazards found during your walk through safety inspection.  Read the toolbox talk to the crew of employees and talk about the topic so that everyone has a clear understanding of the training.  Then, you should report any hazards found during your walk through safety inspection to the crew of employees.  Advise them of the hazards so they know to stay clear of them and discuss together what corrective measures are to be implemented to eliminate the hazard.  If the hazard cannot be eliminated or we are not responsible for eliminating the hazard because we didn’t create it, then you should call our Safety Director to report the hazard so an abatement plan can be put into place. 

The reason we find it critical to perform these procedures on Monday mornings is because the job site may have changed over the weekend and the toolbox training is to start the week off by getting everyone focused back on safety following the weekend.  Starting off the week on a positive safety note can have a tremendous affect on reducing injuries by creating the safety awareness. 

Please do your part in promoting a positive safety culture and starting next Monday, perform the safety inspection and toolbox talk session.  Your efforts may prevent a serious injury from occurring.  Don’t forget to have everyone who was involved in the training session sign the toolbox talk roster and to turn both documents into our safety department.  If you have any questions about performing toolbox talks and/or job site safety inspections, please call our Safety Director, Peter Graham at (847) 417-1689. 

Have a Safe Day!

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees:  This is a follow up reminder from our recent quarterly safety meeting held on 8/13/11 in which we covered ladder safety.  Click on the video below to see how "not" to use a ladder.  If you are using a ladder today, tomorrow or ever, please remember to use it in a safe manner whether you are at home or at work. 

Have a Safe Day!

Final Reminder - Makeup Safety Meeting Tomorrow at 4:00pm!

Good afternoon to all I.D.I. employees:  Just another reminder that our quarterly safety makeup meeting is tomorrow, 8/24/11 at 4:00pm at our Barrington office location at 28059 W. Commercial Ave.  Makeup meeting notices were mailed out last week to all of those that were invited.  If you are attending, please ensure that you contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham via e-mail at pgraham@4idi.com or you can call or text him at (847) 417-1689.  You should contact Peter no later than 11:00am on Wednesday, 8/24/11 as we need a fairly accurate headcount for chair rental, room size, etc.  The safety meeting training topic will be on Ladder Safety.  Again, please don't forget that we moved and the meeting will be held in Barrington, not in Waudonca                                             

 Have a Safe Day! 

Makeup Safety Meeting is Scheduled for Wednesday, 8/24/11

Good morning to all I.D.I. employees:  If you could not attend our quarterly safety meeting that was held on Saturday, 8/13/11 due to having to work for International Decorators on that day or because you were out of town or had a family emergency, you are invited to attend our safety makeup meeting.  The meeting will be held on Wednesday, 8/24/11 at 4:00pm.  If you are attending, please ensure that you contact our Safety Director, Peter Graham via e-mail at pgraham@4idi.com or you can call or text him at (847) 417-1689.  We need for you to call so we can ensure we have the appropriate room size, chairs, etc.  The safety meeting training topic will be on Ladder Safety.  Just a reminder that we moved back in June and the meeting will be held at our Barrington office located at 28059 W. Commercial Ave

Have a Safe Day!

Thank you, Peter