Staircase safety?

Mudstar

I have been told today that I can not use a plank and ladders to work in high staircases and is a safety hazard.
The safety act and regulations has nothing in regards to this issue unless I have over looked something.
Has anyone else been up against this isssue and what did you do to resolve it?

brdn_drywall

i have been up against this issue several times in the past, the way i resolved it was to invest a couple of grand in scaffolding with aluminum planks.
when working 10 ft. or better you must have a safety rail system in place, or be tied off. scaffolds cannot work in every stairwell though so you must take fall prevention steps when using a ladder plank system, i have in the past used ladders and planks in combination with a scaffold, when i did this i knew that if gc, or workplace heath and safety would want to see that i took all the necessary precautions for fall prevention.
i must admit though that i also bought half sections so when doubling up sections i would be below the 10ft. working height, full sections are usually to high in most residential settings anyway.

brdn_drywall

something tells me you must have had accidents in your area and the safety crack down is on,get pc to recommend how he thinks you should do it , then rent the necessary equipment, then include it into your costs/price next time if the costs are too much then you probably should work evenings and weekends when there not there lol.(shouldn't laugh been there and done that in certain situations.)

Mudstar

No accidents that I know of, I was just working on a plank supported by 2 ladders on eather end with the plank up against the far wall 8 ft up and supported on a 5 ft step ladder at the other end as there was no other equipment there to do this part of the job. I just needed to slap 50 ft of tape up and spot the screws, and joe safety rep. for the builder happened to come in the house I was working on. This is the very first time this has happened to me. Funny thing is my forman said on the first job I did for him when I ask how to do the staircase he said a plank and ladder would get the job done. I'm comfortable in doing this, this way, as we all have been for years anyways. The insulator, boarder, taper, and painter all use this method to complete there tasks as far as I know. Its that or grow some wings and fly up there to do the job, right! but I guess they want us to change are methods , a costly change for them. Charging for the extra cost in equipment they suggest and time will have to be discused before continuing, or having the ministy get involved to discuss there options might be in order if they want to get stupid about there actions towards the issue. Evenings and weekends should be and are my time and I should not have to work them to try to avoid a issue we all know we can do safely anyways, its just getting stupid out there with this rules.

brdn_drywall

things are changing for the worse everywhere and like the economy it'll get worse before it gets better.
the way i see it by not complying you'll get written up a few times, then sent home (kicked off the job site) then if your still negligent the fines start coming.
it's really just a matter of investing in some new equipment, and changing work habits. The worst part is were all gonna be driving cube vans soon getting all this crap to work soon if they keep changing things.

drywallnflorida

set up baker scaffolding

brdn_drywall

i've got sets of step horses from two right up to six feet, two bakers, and steel scaffolding 5 ft. annd 3ft. so whatever the job takes to do safelly i got it, but ya the bakers are the best for certain heights and manuver around much faster.

Mudshark

Up here in British Columbia getting by with a baker and doubling up on the wooden planks, or use the extendable aluminum planks.

Need to use a ladder in some cases such as the "U" shaped stairway in conjunction with the baker, but this seems to to satisfy the safety guy on the bigger jobs.

JustMe

Someone had told me a bit a go that bakers had been made a no-no to use in B.C. Is that in error, then?

2buckcanuck

old post but
in house safety dude or ministry safety dude are not engineers,they can stop u from going out there, but they cannot ticket you.
If you want to make the poop travel back up hill,tapers are not considered "competent carpenters " meaning we half to have a journey man carpenter build it for us,
we are allowed to build scaffold 2 sections high though,nothing higher,but most stairwells will not accommodate them .
the really dumb thing we found in our area ,is if a carpenter builds it, it must have a escape hatch?????and get approved by a engineer ,which cost $500....nutz
still a on going battle

DSJOHN

Old post,but there is a stair staging setup [I own one] not the most efficient method --aluminum ext plank and ladder has always worked for me, bought my setup from amazon---tool crib of the north

SlimPickins

You could buy a yo-yo(retractable safety "rope"), a harness, and a big eye bolt. Much safer than just being tied off...they activate when you fall so length of rope isn't a concern, and it only feeds out as much as you need at the time. I bet the total time to get into the harness, screw in the lag, and attach the yo-yo wouldn't be much more than 10-15 minutes.

I was once working on a commercial job....window sills were at 40", but safety code required top of rail to be at 42", so I was nailing 2x4 across the bottom when the Super comes up and tells me I have to be tied off to put that 2x4 on. I was flabbergasted. But, I walked aaaaallll the way back to the job trailer to get a harness and a yo-yo and a ladder.

We use the 'a$$hole rule' when considering safety....if that thing puckers up, it's time to consider the safest approach.

M T Buckets Painting

You took the words right out of my mouth.

WTF are you talking about????????

SPAM!

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Checkers

We do stairwells of concern on the weekends with bamboo ladders spanned with 2x4s.

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Mudshark

Most times get by with the minimal plank and ladder, sometimes bakers around here. I think the bakers have a load limit that is often broken. Seems the safety rep can interpet the fall protection guidelines how he sees fit. One job the safety guy made us set up scaffolding with double planking to span the gaps and had us screw off plywood on top so that no more than a 6" opening was open to a fall hazard. Usually manage to "sneak in after hours and weekends on these jobs to "git er done" when no one is around.

M T Buckets Painting

When working in staircases, I usually set up my Little Giant ladder with a stretch board on it. Once the finishing is complete, I remove the stretch board and set my Little Giant work platform near the top of the ladder. From the work platform I am able to spray the primer with a spray wand and thoroughly reach everything in most scenarios.

I don't know if this will meet safety standards for some of you but, if it does... The Little Giant ladder is a sturdy and safe device to work from. I would stay away from the knock off brands. I can definately tell the difference in quality.

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2buckcanuck

mudstar started this post but.....
In Ontario, the whole stair well set up thing is a catch 22, no matter what you build or use, it will not pass as safe. When you ask what to use or do, they say they don't know and their working on it (for past 5 years)

Their trying to implement too many commercial job site rules to residential work, like

hard hats on all the time
fall arrest tickets
whimis ticket, I get that one but $250 every year for same coarse
Mud buckets must have MDS label on them or have "mud" written on side with marker....$250 fine if not
Must wear sanding mask, and should be clean shaven for it to work right, or take whimiss coarse again
Must have a 1st aid kit, and be in proper order
must have a written down route to nearest hospital,,,,or get fine
triggers/2 steps illegal
milk crate illegal to use as step
mini scaffold, all four wheels must be locked when on it, planks must be side by side, not in a step formation
ground plug on cords must be there, can't repair cords with tape, or slightest crack/cut in cord, get new one, plus fine
no shorts allowed in the summer

I could sit here all night typing
Every year it's the same at those Government safety meetings .......you guys arn't listening....so were increasing the fines.......we hired 2,000 more safety inspectors (civil servants) to enforce the law.......and we made up some more stupid laws for you to follow.

It's all about the money, so they can keep their jobs,,, off of our hard work and sweat

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moore

You guys are killing me . with the temp. steps they have here , ,,, a baker would be a death trap,, ladder@exstendible plank will do. ,, but codes are codes.[bull ****] ,,and rules are rules[bull ****] I don't want to fall ,, or get hurt . IT'S ALL COMMON SENSE ,,! use your head,, IF it looks unsafe . IT IS
NOT SAFE.. OSHA COULD CARE LESS ABOUT YOUR SAFETY!!!!

the ONLY thing OSHA. WANT'S is MONEY.....

COMPENSATION INS, RACKET,,,,MOB........IF i have personal health insurance . why do i need the MOB insurance..

Mudshark

Wow - 2 Buck - sounds a lot worse for rules in Ontarable than it does in Beautiful BC. Someone had told me stilts were outlawed there as well. Is that correct?

Some of ours are the same as yours and create some discontent at times (power cords, locking all wheels on scaffolding, no milk crates, sanding masks, hard hats) The bit about marking your mud pail or be fined blows me away. What is the MDS label? The Whimis ticket is starting to be imblemented but not strictly enforced. 2 step triggers illegal?? We allow shorts but no tank tops, shoulders must be covered.

I guess doing the upside down bucket dance while in closets is a no no then.

2buckcanuck

oddly enough, stilts were made legal again a year or 2 ago

MDS,,,,,if I remember my whimiss , Is manufacturers data sheet, so If some dumb a$$ were to eat your mud, they will know how to save their life, by knowing whats in your bucket.

2 steps get confusing, if the top is over 18" wide, then their ok. but it's ok if you stand on first step, then if there's planks involved it's blah blah blah,

Shorts, wear them in the winter, nothing said,,,,,,but on a hot humid day in the summer, you will get the lecture of I could give you a ticket but......
shorts can fall under proper gear to be worn doing certain job

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