Construction

A scaffold platform is the surface on which employees walk and work. It may also be referred to as a deck or planking. The following criteria apply to scaffold platforms:

• The space between the platform and uprights must not be more than 1 inch wide. In other words, platforms must be planked or decked as fully as possible. The space must not exceed 9 inches when side brackets or odd-shaped structures result in a wider opening between the platform and the uprights.
  • The requirement to provide full planking or decking does not apply to platforms used solely as walkways or solely by employees performing scaffold erection or dismantling.
• Each scaffold platform and walkway must be at least 18 inches wide, with the following exceptions:
  • Each ladder jack scaffold, top plate bracket scaffold, roof bracket scaffold, and pump jack scaffold must be at least 12 inches wide. There is no minimum width requirement for a boatswain's chair.
  • Where scaffolds must be used in areas so narrow that platforms and walkways cannot be at least 18 inches wide, the platforms and walkways must be as wide as feasible, and employees on those platforms and walkways must be protected by the use of guardrails or personal fall arrest systems. (Requirements for guardrails and personal fall arrest systems will be covered later in this course.)

The front edge of all platforms must be no more than 14 inches from the face of the structure where the scaffold is being used, unless the employer implements guardrail systems or personal fall arrest systems. This spacing requirement is meant to protect employees from falling between the platform and the structure. There are two exceptions:

• Front edges of outrigger scaffolds must be no more than three inches from the face of the structure.
• Front edges of scaffolds used for plastering and lathing must be no more than 18 inches from the face of the structure.

Each end of a platform unit, unless cleated or otherwise restrained by hooks or equivalent means, must extend over the center line of its support at least six inches. The use of cleats, hooks, and similar securing devices is allowed as an alternative to the six-inch extension because of their ability to restrain movement of platform units.

Unless the unit is designed and installed so the cantilevered portion of the unit is able to support employees or material without tipping or has guardrails which prevent employee access to the cantilevered end, each platform unit 10 feet or less in length must not extend over its support more than 12 inches, and each platform unit greater than 10 feet in length must not extend over its support more than 18 inches.

Where platform units are abutted to create a long platform, each abutted end must rest on a separate support surface. Abutted platform units do not rest one on another, but instead are end-to-end. Consequently, one unit does not support the other, and proper support can only be provided by separate support surfaces.

Where platforms are overlapped to create a long platform, the overlap must occur only over supports, and must not be less than 12 inches unless the platforms are nailed together or otherwise restrained to prevent movement.

At all points of a scaffold where the platform changes direction, such as turning a corner, any platform that rests on a bearer at an angle other than a right angle must be laid first, and platforms which rest at right angles over the same bearer must be laid second, on top of the first platform.

To learn more about Scaffolding Safety visit our Construction Scaffolding Safety Online Training web page.