Osha Approved Planks - BS

oldrivers

i was trying to span a stairway but my aluminum plank wasnt long enough so i had to put a ladder in the midddle of the stairway wich i did not like at all. so i went and bought 3- 24x48 inch 1/2 sheets of plywood and 2 -10 foot 2x6's and made my own plank i put the 2x6's on the edge and ran the plywood to make a 2x10 plank i boxed the ends and ran some center supports every 4 foot or so . i used pl 400 and screwed it together , it was the most stable plank i ever used.
the job soup saw me using it and had a fit saying it was illegal and not osha approved and made me get rid of it before osha came around.

but its a bunch of bs because most osha approved planks are very flexi and they tip from side to side whe you walk on them. however my homemade plank did not flex a bit and was a full 2 feet wide .

osha really has some bad rules as far as im concerned.

mdshunk

If you're a sub, tell the job super to go pound sand. He has no jurisdiction over you in that regard.

JustaFramer

You can make your own planks. That super is a idiot. Get some documentation about planks from osha. So next time you can show douchebag.

Actually MD the job superitendent has total jurisdiction over sub contractors wheather you like it or not. Safety on the whole job site is apart of their job.

mdshunk

That's what you think. Barring contract language or any possible peril to someone not employed by that sub, the super can try to have such authority, and many claim they do, but they ABSOLUTELY DO NOT. Maybe morally, or in their own fat heads, but no project super has any authority over me if it's not in the contract. If what I'm doing is only unsafe to me, that's my problem. If I'm doing something that would be unsafe to others around me or would cause damage to the project, that's a horse of another color.

I'm not saying that I do anything unsafe myself, but I tire of people on jobsites who attempt to claim more authority than any law or contract actually gives them.

TempestV

osha will not only fine the contractor with the violation, but also the contractor that he is a sub for, right on up to the GC. According to Osha, it is the job of the contractor to make sure that the subs working for them are working safely.

mdshunk

Yeah... code citation, please.

Urban myth.

You may be unaware of OSHA Directive Number CPL 02-00-124, which specifically covers multi-employer worksites.

JustaFramer

I don't know how they do it in the east but it is in the contract to protect the GC. That a Sub can and will be removed from a site for just about any reason mostly from safety issues. Sub are just subs they can be replaced just like a employee from a sub. Subs are nothing more than contracted employees.
If the GC's actually knew how to do most of the work they farm out they would not use subs.
That and the use of subs to cut each others throats to the point they are nothing more that "SUB-serviant slaves that can't not maintain not only their employees wages for a family the sub is only one step from the soup line.

TempestV

don't know the code for it, but a former boss of mine got caught with a tablesaw without a guard, and both he and the contractor he was working for got slapped with a $700 fine

oldrivers

My point is just because something isnt osha approved doesnt mean that it isnt better than osha approved. In this case it was better, not only was my plank " perfect" it made the job easier and i felt safer , being a taper you have all your tools ,mud buckets up on the planks and you have to side step to get around them. with my home made plank there was plenty of room without side stepping close to the edge and it didnt twist like those aluminum ones do.

But i have the same attitude ' if your not insuring me or responsible for me then i dont want you telling me how to set things up etc if im the only one using it. next time im gonna just lock the door and put up a curtain while voilating oshas rules.

And sometimes the osha approved planks are so mangled because some idiots dont use the right scaffold braces with the right scaffolding and they force the plank on and they get all boogered up.
they'll use a 10-3 brace and stuff it on a 10-4 scaffold and jam the plank on. Ive never seen scaffolding braces so bent up with improper usage.

thom

My tapers generally borrow one of the stucco guys 2X8's to scaffold across a stairwell. I generally use a 2X12, but I'm big and heavy.

Celtic

hmmmm.....
What color is the horse when you walk away from it:
- for lunch,
- to take a dump,
- to get a "closer" look at the cutie walking by,
- to get some more material,
- etc etc etc

and someone else has climbed aboard it?








What if someone else was just using the "orange extension cord that has no GFI protection" ?

tinner666

I guess they were protecting the shrub. The ladder could have gone up another 4'. I'd trashed the bush without a second thought. Homeowner wants to give me grief about ladder placement, I offer to put it on the truck and leave.

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Frank Slate Roof Repairs, Richmond, Va.

tinner666

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Frank Slate Roof Repairs, Richmond, Va.