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Scaffold erection job hazard analysis (JHA) template

Scaffold crews face falls, collapse, falling tools and power line contact. OSHA requires scaffolds to be erected, moved, dismantled or altered only under the supervision of a competent person (29 CFR 1926.451(f)(7)), and fall protection for anyone on a scaffold more than 10 feet above a lower level (29 CFR 1926.451(g)(1)). Plan every lift before the first frame goes up.

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The task

Erecting, using and dismantling a supported frame scaffold, from base plates to the top guardrails, under the direction of a competent person.

Steps, hazards and controls

Controls run from most effective to least. A citation beside a control means an OSHA paragraph requires it; with no citation it is good practice.

StepHazardControls
1. Plan the scaffold and name the competent personScaffold is built wrong or loaded beyond its design
  1. Eliminate: Where the work can be done from a scissor lift or the ground, skip the scaffold.
  2. Engineering control: Have a qualified person design the scaffold, and build and load it to that design. (29 CFR 1926.451(a)(6))
  3. Administrative control: Put a competent person in charge of every erecting, moving, altering and dismantling task. (29 CFR 1926.451(f)(7))
  4. Administrative control: Train the crew before they start, including erectors and anyone who works from the scaffold. (29 CFR 1926.454(b))
Scaffold will be near energized lines
  1. Eliminate: Ask the utility to de-energize or move the lines before any scaffold work starts.
  2. Administrative control: Keep the scaffold and anything conductive handled on it outside the clearance distances in the standard. (29 CFR 1926.451(f)(6))
2. Prepare the foundationPosts sink or kick out on soft or uneven ground
  1. Engineering control: Set legs, posts and frames on base plates and mud sills or another firm foundation. (29 CFR 1926.451(c)(2))
  2. Engineering control: Level the ground first and use screw jacks to correct small differences.
  3. Administrative control: Walk the footprint for trenches, backfill, voids and slick spots before delivering materials.
3. Erect frames, bracing and tiesScaffold tips or sways
  1. Engineering control: Keep uprights plumb and braced to prevent swaying and displacement. (29 CFR 1926.451(c)(3))
  2. Engineering control: Guy, tie or brace any scaffold taller than four times its base width, and add ties for cantilevered loads. (29 CFR 1926.451(c)(1))
  3. Administrative control: Do not intermix parts from different manufacturers unless they fit together without force. (29 CFR 1926.451(b)(10))
Erector falls while building up
  1. Engineering control: Have the competent person decide whether fall protection is feasible for erecting and dismantling, and use it where it is. (29 CFR 1926.451(g)(2))
  2. Engineering control: Install hook-on or attachable ladders as soon as the erection has reached a point where they can be used safely. (29 CFR 1926.451(e)(9)(ii))
  3. PPE: Wear a full-body harness tied to a point approved for it when the competent person calls for it.
4. Install safe accessClimbing the end frames or cross braces
  1. Engineering control: Provide a ladder, stair tower, ramp or other safe access when a platform is more than 2 feet above or below the access point. (29 CFR 1926.451(e)(1))
  2. Administrative control: Do not use cross braces on frame scaffolds as a way up or down. (29 CFR 1926.451(e)(9)(iv))
  3. Administrative control: Keep the access path clear of tools, hoses and stored material.
5. Deck the platformGaps and loose planks let a worker or tool fall through
  1. Engineering control: Fully plank or deck each platform between the front uprights and the guardrail supports. (29 CFR 1926.451(b)(1))
  2. Engineering control: Where planks overlap to make a long platform, overlap them only over supports, by at least 12 inches unless they are nailed together or otherwise restrained. (29 CFR 1926.451(b)(7))
  3. Administrative control: Replace any plank that is cracked, warped or split before it is set.
Platform too narrow for the crew and material
  1. Engineering control: Use platforms at least 18 inches wide, with narrow exceptions the standard spells out. (29 CFR 1926.451(b)(2))
  2. Administrative control: Limit materials on the deck to what the day needs.
6. Add guardrails and overhead protectionFall from the working level
  1. Engineering control: Protect each employee more than 10 feet above a lower level with a guardrail system or personal fall arrest system as the scaffold type requires. (29 CFR 1926.451(g)(1))
  2. PPE: Use a personal fall arrest system where the standard calls for one, such as on suspension and ladder jack scaffolds. (29 CFR 1926.451(g)(1)(i))
Tools or debris fall on people below
  1. Engineering control: Add toeboards, screens, debris nets or catch platforms, or barricade the area below. (29 CFR 1926.451(h)(1))
  2. PPE: Wear a hard hat in addition to the overhead protection. (29 CFR 1926.451(h)(1))
7. Inspect, use and dismantleA defect is missed
  1. Administrative control: Have a competent person inspect the scaffold before each work shift and after any event that could affect its integrity. (29 CFR 1926.451(f)(3))
  2. Administrative control: Immediately repair, replace or brace any damaged or weakened part, or remove the scaffold from service until it is repaired. (29 CFR 1926.451(f)(4))
Overload, weather and housekeeping hazards
  1. Administrative control: Do not load beyond the maximum intended load or rated capacity. (29 CFR 1926.451(f)(1))
  2. Administrative control: Keep workers off scaffolds covered with snow, ice or other slippery material, except to remove it. (29 CFR 1926.451(f)(8))
  3. Administrative control: Stop work in storms or high winds unless a competent person has decided it is safe and the workers are protected by a personal fall arrest system or wind screens. (29 CFR 1926.451(f)(12))
  4. Administrative control: Do not let debris build up on platforms. (29 CFR 1926.451(f)(13))
  5. Administrative control: Never move a scaffold horizontally while people are on it, unless it was designed by a registered professional engineer for that movement or it is a mobile scaffold used under 1926.452(w). (29 CFR 1926.451(f)(5))

Required PPE

What the standard says

  • Set scaffold legs and frames on base plates and mud sills or other firm foundation. (29 CFR 1926.451(c)(2))

    “Supported scaffold poles, legs, posts, frames, and uprights shall bear on base plates and mud sills or other adequate firm foundation.”

  • Restrain supported scaffolds taller than four times their base width from tipping by guying, tying or bracing. (29 CFR 1926.451(c)(1))

    “Criteria for supported scaffolds. (1) Supported scaffolds with a height to base width (including outrigger supports, if used) ratio of more than four to one (4:1) shall be restrained from tipping by guying, tying, bracing, or equivalent means, as follows:”

  • Fully plank each working platform. (29 CFR 1926.451(b)(1))

    “Scaffold platform construction. (1) Each platform on all working levels of scaffolds shall be fully planked or decked between the front uprights and the guardrail supports as follows:”

  • Fall protection is required more than 10 feet above a lower level. (29 CFR 1926.451(g)(1))

    “Each employee on a scaffold more than 10 feet (3.1 m) above a lower level shall be protected from falling to that lower level.”

  • A competent person inspects before each shift. (29 CFR 1926.451(f)(3))

    “Scaffolds and scaffold components shall be inspected for visible defects by a competent person before each work shift, and after any occurrence which could affect a scaffold's structural integrity.”

  • A competent person must supervise erecting, moving, dismantling and altering. (29 CFR 1926.451(f)(7))

    “Scaffolds shall be erected, moved, dismantled, or altered only under the supervision and direction of a competent person qualified in scaffold erection, moving, dismantling or alteration.”

  • Provide safe access when the platform is more than 2 feet above or below the access point. (29 CFR 1926.451(e)(1))

    “When scaffold platforms are more than 2 feet (0.6 m) above or below a point of access”

Training

Each employee who works on a scaffold must be trained by a person qualified in the subject matter to recognize hazards of the scaffold type (29 CFR 1926.454(a)). Employees who erect, disassemble, move, operate, repair, maintain or inspect a scaffold must be trained by a competent person (29 CFR 1926.454(b)).

Frequently asked questions

Does OSHA require a JHA for scaffold erection?
OSHA does not require a written JHA for scaffold erection. It does require a competent person to supervise erection (29 CFR 1926.451(f)(7)) and trained crews (29 CFR 1926.454). A JHA is a practical way to record that planning.
What goes in a scaffold erection JHA?
List the planning, foundation, framing, access, decking, guardrail and inspection steps. Under each step write the hazards and the controls in order from strongest to weakest. Add the competent person, the crew and the date.
Who inspects a scaffold and when?
A competent person inspects the scaffold and its components for visible defects before each work shift and after any occurrence that could affect structural integrity (29 CFR 1926.451(f)(3)). Write the result on a tag at the access point.

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