Prevent Unauthorised Access To Your Building Works
Do you understand your health and safety obligations with regards to scaffolding security? Ensure that you have adequate safeguarding measures in place.
A 27% spike in workplace accidents, revealed by the National Access and Scaffolding Confederation’s 2019 report, proves just how important it is to keep your construction sites secure. The NASC focuses on guidance to encourage positive safety strategies within the industry, and scaffolding security should be a core concern for construction site managers.
Why Does Scaffolding Need Securing?
Scaffolding is in the unusual position of being both ‘at risk’ and ‘a risk’. Typically comprised of either steel or aluminium, scaffolding is a valuable raw material which catches the eye of intruders who want to strip the scaffolding down and sell it on to make a profit. As scaffolding is notoriously hard to trace by police, this represents a lucrative opportunity for criminals.
However, scaffolding can also make an inviting playground for children or other unauthorised personnel who use the scaffolding to gain access to your construction project. Scaffolding also offers access to incomplete buildings or adjacent properties which might be the target of the intruders.
Health and Safety Executive
The Health and Safety Executive sets out key principles in guidance HSG151 where it outlines the need for contractors to prevent unauthorised access to scaffolding. This should occur throughout the day, including outside of regular working hours, but also during times where contractors may be present, but out of sight. Sufficient measures should be implemented to prevent all unauthorised personnel, such as youths and members of the public, from accessing scaffolding.
How To Prevent Access To Scaffolding
At the beginning of a construction project, a detailed site assessment should take place to determine the type and level of risks posed by the works. A bespoke security strategy must then be designed to mitigate these risks. A robust plan must have security solutions including strong perimeter fencing to keep unauthorised visitors from accessing the scope of the site in the first place. The fencing should be fixed into place and be continuous, leaving no vulnerable gaps for trespassers to make use of.
It is also best practice for construction staff to remove ladders at the end of a working shift, or to use a ladder tower which should be secured. These precautions will further halt the attempts of trespassers to access the scaffolding and will minimise the possibility of a fall or injury.
Using Scaffolding Alarms
As a more advanced form of scaffolding protection, construction managers can invest in scaffolding alarms. These allow you to react to real-time intrusions and provide an appropriate response to deal with the perpetrators. Wireless alarms will be attached to your scaffolding which come with an in-built PIR detector. This enables surveillance of your scaffolding to be monitored from a remote security station. In the event that the alarm is triggered by a suspected security breach, surveillance footage will be viewed and verified before an SIA approved responder will be dispatched to your site. Scaffold alarms are a versatile security device which can easily be disassembled and reassembled at your next project as required.
It’s simple and critical for construction managers to secure their scaffolding on all building works. Get in touch with Sicuro for a FREE site security assessment today.
