There are many safety issues to consider when working on site especially if there is scaffolding involved. Out of all work places the construction field is thought to be one of the most at risk for accidents occurring which is why its important for the employers to be sure the staff are all fully aware of the issues surrounding safety on site. For example there are certain checks that need to be done after the scaffolding has been erected to make sure there are no obvious dangers, some of these basic checks include:

• First before actually placing the scaffolding anywhere you would need to make sure the ground it is going to be standing on is firm and stable. This would mean it couldn’t be placed on wet ground or frozen ground that could melt and become soft. This doesn’t mean if the ground was wet or frozen you could use resting blocks under the legs as support as this could become unstable very quickly.
• As well as the safety for those working on site you would also need to consider the safety of pedestrians and any one else that may come into close vicinity of the scaffolding. To protect any one from falling debris for example you would need to fix netting or sheeting to catch anything that may fall, because if anything were to fall and hit someone not wearing a hard hat it could seriously hurt them especially if it fell from height. Also to protect against harm from debris you should ensure there are chutes fixed into place to be used for the discarding of debris.
• There are certain regulations on how ladders should be placed and secured onto the scaffolding. They need to have rungs to secure them to the poles of the scaffolding and also need a board for landing; there must be enough space for people to fit through the gap whilst carrying materials easily and there need to be eye bolts and hooks to secure the ladders in place also.
• The main thing to take into consideration is personal safety so you will need to ensure any people that work on the site are wearing full protective gear the most important being head protection so this means that all staff should be wearing hard hats at all times on site. As well as making sure all staff are wearing correct safety wear you should also make sure that all staff are trained to the right level before working on the scaffolding.