Scaffolding

Did you know?

Did you know that any person accessing and working on a scaffold requires awareness training on inspection and use?

Summary

Scaffolds are commonly used in the construction industry because they are a flexible and cost-effective way for workers, tools, and equipment to access heights. There are many important safety considerations when working with scaffolds including the selection of the appropriate scaffold, proper assembly, training, inspections, and use.

There are different types of scaffolding available. Selecting the right one for the job is essential. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions or the design specifications and respect the equipment’s limitations. Using scaffolding can put workers at risk if the manufacturer’s instructions and the legislated requirements are not followed.

Pay attention to potential overhead hazards, soil conditions and any hazards working overhead may create, such as falling debris. Common concerns when working with scaffolds are:

  • Falls related to building, climbing, using and dismantling the scaffold.
  • Using improper materials to build scaffolds.
  • Platforms that are weak or damaged.
  • Failure to install all required components such as base plates, connections, and braces.
  • Platforms that are not fully planked or “decked.”
  • Lack of guardrails and toe boards.
  • Installing or moving scaffolds without the minimum clearances from electrical wires and other overhead hazards.
  • Entering and leaving the scaffold safely using the designated access ladder.
  • Improper loading or overloading the scaffold or platform.
  • Moving rolling scaffolds while workers are on the platform.
  • Failure to use a personal fall arresting system or to use it properly, when necessary.

This document contains information about general regulatory requirements for use, erection, inspecting, and dismantling of various types of scaffolds.

Scaffolds - General

“Scaffold” means a temporary elevated or hanging platform and its structural members that are used to support persons and materials, or both.

There are different types of scaffolds, all offering unique advantages. Each time a person is required to use a scaffold to perform work at heights, an assessment of the hazards must be done to determine the most appropriate type of scaffold. The most up-to-date version of CSA Standard Z797 Code of Practice for Access Scaffold sets out considerations for selection of scaffold and planning of work.
Workplace Health and Safety Regulations specifically outline safety requirements for a variety of scaffolds including: [N.S. Reg. 52/2013]

General Requirements

An employer or contractor must:

  • Make sure the equipment listed in the table below follows the requirements outlined in the applicable CSA Standard.
Type of scaffold CSA Standard Legislative reference
Access Scaffolds Latest version of CSA standard CSA Z797, “Code of Practice for Access Scaffold” [N.S. Reg. 52/2013, s.23.3 (1)] [N.S. Reg. 52/2013. s. 23.10 (1)]
Suspended work-platforms Latest version of CSA standard CSA Z91, "Health and Safety Code for Suspended Equipment Operations" and CSA standard Z271 Safety Code for Suspended platforms. [N.S. Reg. 52/2013, s.23.11(1)(a)] [N.S. Reg. 52/2013, s.23.11(1)(b)]
  • Protect people on the worksite and nearby from the danger of being hit by any objects falling off the scaffold. Follow the procedures outlined in the latest version of CSA standard CSA Z797, "Code of Practice for Access Scaffold". [N.S. Reg. 52/2013, s. 23.8]
  • Make sure scaffolds can support at least 4 times the weight of any load that will be on them. Do not allow a load on any scaffold that is heavier than 25% of the load the scaffold was designed to hold. [N.S. Reg. 52/2013, s. 23.3(2)]
  • Have scaffolds inspected daily by an engineer or a competent person. Report these daily results to those using the scaffold as required by the latest version of the CSA standard CSA Z797 "Code of Practice for Access Scaffold". [N.S. Reg. 52/2013, s. 23.9]
  • DO NOT allow the use of the following equipment:
  • Have required written certification by a qualified engineer for the scaffold’s design and installation if:
  • Make sure if sawn lumber platforms are used that they are made of planks that are: [N.S. Reg. 52/2013, s. 23.10(2)]
    • No. 1 grade or Select Structural Spruce-Pine-Fir (S-P-F) grade and sized 51 mm thick and 254 mm wide, or
    • No. 2 grade or better and at least 38 mm thick and 235 mm wide rough sawn lumber that are doubled up and fastened one on top of the other.
  • When working on a scaffold, fall protection is required regardless of whether guardrails are installed or not. [N.S. Reg. 52/2013, s. 23.13(4)]

Bracket Scaffolds and Roof Brackets

An employer or contractor must:

  • Make sure brackets on all bracket scaffolds are spaced no more than 3 m apart. [N.S. Reg. 52/2013, s. 23.6(1)(a)]
  • Make sure all bracket scaffolds can support at least 4 times the load they are expected to carry. [N.S. Reg. 52/2013, s. 23.6(1)(c)]
  • Make sure all bracket scaffolds can withstand the forces applied to them. Do not exceed the manufacturer’s load limitations and follow the manufacturer’s instructions. In order to withstand the limits established by the manufacturer, bracket scaffolds must be bolted to a wall or welded to a steel structure that is attached to a wall that is able to withstand the force applied. [N.S. Reg. 52/2013, s. 23.6(1)(b)]
  • Make sure, when using roofing brackets, they are securely fastened to the roof. Like brackets on scaffolds, they must be spaced no more than 3 m apart and be able to support at least 4 times the load they are expected to carry. [N.S. Reg. 52/2013, s. 23.7]

Pumpjack Scaffolds

An employer or contractor must:

Rolling Scaffolds

An employer or contractor must make sure that a scaffold that is required to safely perform work is erected, installed, assembled, used, handled, stored, adjusted, maintained, repaired, inspected, or dismantled in accordance with the latest version of CSA standard CSA Z797, “Code of Practice for Access Scaffold”. [N.S. Reg. 52/2013, s. 23.3(1)]

Suspended Work-Platforms

An employeror contractor must:

  • Protect people below the suspended work-platform and nearby from being hit by anything falling from the platform. Follow the procedures in the latest version of CSA standard CSA Z271, "Safety Code of Suspended Platforms". [N.S. Reg. 52/2013, s. 23.11(2)]
  • NOT allow anyone to use a suspended work-platform that is out of level by more than 10%. Only allow the platform to be moved to level it. [N.S. Reg. 52/2013, s. 23.11(3)]

An employee must:

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT

S.N.S. 1996, c. 7

Section 17

17. (1) Every employee, while at work, shall

(a) take every reasonable precaution in the circumstances to protect the employee's own health and safety and that of other persons at or near the workplace;

(b) co-operate with the employer and with the employee's fellow employees to protect the employee's own health and safety and that of other persons at or near the workplace;

(c) take every reasonable precaution in the circumstances to ensure that protective devices, equipment or clothing required by the employer, this Act or the regulations are used or worn;

(d) consult and co-operate with the joint occupational health and safety committee, where such a committee has been established at the workplace, or the health and safety representative, where one has been selected at the workplace;

(e) co-operate with any person performing a duty or exercising a power conferred by this Act or the regulations; and

(f) comply with this Act and the regulations.

(2) Where an employee believes that any condition, device, equipment, machine, material or thing or any aspect of the workplace is or may be dangerous to the employee's health or safety or that of any other person at the workplace, the employee shall

(a) immediately report it to a supervisor;

(b) where the matter is not remedied to the employee's satisfaction, report it to the committee or the representative, if any; and

(c) where the matter is not remedied to the employee's satisfaction after the employee reports in accordance with clauses (a) and (b), report it to the Division.

Occupational Safety General Regulations

N.S. Reg. 44/99

Part 1 Title and Definitions

Section 2 Definitions

2. In these regulations,

(a) "Act" means the Occupational Health and Safety Act ;

(aa) "adequate" means sufficient to protect a person from injury or damage to health;

(b) "ALI" means the Automotive Lift Institute;

(ba) "angle of repose" means the angle with the horizontal at which material will no longer flow freely;

(c) "ANSI" means the American National Standards Institute;

(ca) "approved" means approved by the Department or by an agency or authority designated or selected by the Department to make approvals;

(d) "ASME" means the American Society of Mechanical Engineers;

(e) "ASTM" means the American Society for Testing and Materials;

(ea) "CGA" means the Compressed Gas Association;

(f) "CGSB" means the Canadian General Standards Board;

(g) "competent person" means a person who is

(i) qualified because of their knowledge, training and experience to do the assigned work in a manner that ensures the health and safety of every person in the workplace, and

(ii) knowledgeable about the provisions of the Act and regulations that apply to the assigned work, and about potential or actual danger to health or safety associated with the assigned work;

(ga) "compressed air" means air mechanically raised to a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure;

(h) "CSA" means the Canadian Standards Association;

(i) "demolition" means the destruction or removal of all, or part, of an existing building or structure;

(ia) "Department" means the Department of Labour and Advanced Education;

(j) "designated" means, in relation to an employer, appointed in writing by the employer;

(k) "electrical installation" means the wires, machinery, apparatus, appliances, devices, material and equipment used or intended for use for the generation, transmission, distribution, supply and use of electrical power or energy, and includes a power line and power line equipment;

(l) "engineer" means a person who is registered as a member or licensed to practise under the Engineering Profession Act and is competent to do the work being performed;

(m) "firefighter" means

(i) an employee who provides fire suppression services to the public from a fire department within a municipality or local service district, or

(ii) an industrial firefighter;

(n) "guardrail" means a fall protection system consisting of vertical and horizontal members that

(i) are capable of withstanding concentrated forces, as prescribed in these regulations or an applicable standard,

(ii) warn of a fall hazard, and

(iii) reduce the risk of a fall;

(o) "hazardous substance" means chemical or biological material, dangerous goods within the meaning of the Dangerous Goods Transportation Act or a controlled product within the meaning of the Hazardous Products Act (Canada) that is likely to, because of its harmful nature, cause injury or damage to the health or safety of a person exposed to it;

(p) "hoist" means a device or equipment and its structure used for lifting or lowering material, including cranes, an automotive lift, a winch, a chain fall or other similar device, but does not include a lift truck, a power operated elevating work platform, a device to which the Elevators and Lifts Act applies or a hoist that operates in a shaft in the underground at a mine;

(pa) "ITSDF" means the Industrial Truck Standards Development Foundation;

(q) "industrial firefighter" means an employee who

(i) is designated to fight fires at the employee's place of employment, and

(ii) is employed by an employer who does not, in the normal course of its business, provide fire suppression services to the public;

(qa) "latest version" means, in relation to a standard or other publication, the latest edition of the standard or publication as supplemented, amended, added to, replaced or superseded;

(r) "lift truck" means a lift truck as defined in the latest version of ANSI standard ANSI/ITSDF B56.1, "Safety Standard for Low Lift and High Lift Trucks";

(s) "locked out" means to have

(i) isolated the energy source or sources from a machine, equipment, tool or electrical installation,

(ii) dissipated any residual energy in a system, and

(iii) secured the isolation of the energy source or sources by an inhibiting device that is operated by a key or other process,

and to have performed a "lock-out" has a similar meaning;

(t) "machine" Repealed. [N.S. Reg. 52/2000, s. 1]

(u) "manufacturer's specifications" means

(i) the written instructions of a manufacturer of a machine, material, tool or equipment that outline the manner in which the machine, material, tool or equipment is to be erected, installed, assembled, started, operated, used, handled, stored, stopped, adjusted, carried, maintained, repaired, inspected, serviced, tested, cleaned or dismantled, and

(ii) a manufacturer's instruction, operating or maintenance manual and drawings respecting a machine, tool or equipment;

(ua) "mobile crane" means a mobile crane to which the latest version of CSA standard CSA Z150 , "Safety Code on Mobile Cranes" applies;

(v) "NFPA" means the National Fire Protection Association;

(va) "overhead crane" means any mechanical device or structure that is used to raise, lower and move material that travels overhead and that incorporates a

(i) power driven drum, bridge and cable or rope,

(ii) single or multiple girder, and

(iii) moveable bridge carrying a moveable or fixed hoisting mechanism,

but does not include wall cranes, cantilever gantry cranes and semi-gantry cranes;

(vb) "personal flotation device" means personal protective equipment that is capable of supporting a person with their head above water without the direct effort of the person wearing the equipment;

(w) "power line" means the above-ground or underground wiring that is used to distribute electricity;

(x) "power line equipment" means the components that are required to distribute electricity by means of a power line;

(y) "power operated elevating work platform" means a mobile horizontal working surface that provides access and support to a person at a workplace, and that is elevated and lowered by means of a mechanism and [that complies with] Part 23: Scaffolds and Other Elevated Work Platforms, of the Workplace Health and Safety Regulations made under the Act, including a standard listed in subsection (4) thereof;

(z) "powered mobile equipment" means self-propelled equipment that is designed to operate on land in conditions other than a public highway, but does not include equipment primarily designed to transport persons, a lift truck or a power operated elevating work platform;

(aa) "SAE" means the Society of Automotive Engineers;

(ab) "structural fire-fighting" means the activities of rescue, fire suppression and conservation of property from fires involving buildings, structures, vehicles, vessels, aircraft or other large objects constructed by human effort;

(ac) "surface mine" means a work or undertaking, other than a trench, for the purpose of opening up, proving, removing or extracting any metallic or non-metallic mineral or mineral bearing substance, rock, earth, clay, sand or gravel by means of an open excavation, and includes a pit or quarry;

(ad) "tower crane" means any mechanical device or structure that

(i) incorporates a power-driven drum and cable or rope and a vertical mast or tower and a jib,

(ii) is of the traveling, fixed or climbing type, and

(iii) is used exclusively for raising, lowering and moving material;

(ae)"trench" means an excavation in which the excavation depth exceeds the excavation width;

(af) "work area" means a location at the workplace at which an employee or self-employed person is or is likely to be working;

(ag) "worked" means drilled, blasted, extracted, excavated, loaded or subjected to other similar work.

[N.S. Reg. 52/2000, s. 1; 151/2003; 53/2013, ss. 1, 93]

Workplace Health and Safety Regulations

N.S. Reg. 52/2013

Part 1 INTERPRETATION AND APPLICATION

Section 1.11 Engineer's certification required for other use of equipment or components

1.11 (1) An employer must obtain a written certification from an engineer in accordance with subsection (2) that certifies that the employer's intended use of equipment, components of equipment or components of a system provides an adequate level of safety for all persons at or near the workplace in all of the following circumstances:

(a) the employer intends to use the equipment, components of equipment or components of a system for a purpose or in a manner that is

(i) not specifically permitted by the manufacturer's specifications,

(ii) not specifically permitted by an applicable standard referred to in these regulations;

(b) the employer intends to use equipment, components of equipment or components of a system for which no manufacturer's specifications exist or are provided.

(2) An engineer must do all of the following before certifying equipment, components of equipment or components of a system under subsection (1):

(a) ensure that the use of the equipment, components of equipment or components of a system as intended by the employer is in accordance with generally accepted engineering practices;

(b) identify, as part of the written certification, any measures to be taken to provide an adequate level of safety.

(3) An engineer must sign any written certification they prepare under this Section.

Part 23 SCAFFOLDS AND OTHER ELEVATED WORK-PLATFORMS

Section 23.1 Definitions for Part 23

23.1 In this Part,

"boatswain's chair" means a simple body support device used for work positioning that typically incorporates a rigid seat and a suspension bridle and is suspended from an anchorage;

"bracket scaffold" means a scaffold consisting of a work-platform that is supported by metal brackets and attached to a structural wall but does not include a side bracket or end bracket;

"crane-supported work-platform" means a work-platform suspended from the cable of a hoist or crane, or attached directly to the boom of a crane by mechanical fasteners;

"elevating work-platform" means a type of integral chassis aerial platform that has an adjustable position platform that is supported from ground level;

"ITSDF" means the Industrial Truck Standards Development Foundation;

"ladderjack scaffold" means a scaffold erected by means of attaching 1 or more brackets to 1 or more ladders to support a work-platform;

"lift truck" means a lift truck as defined in the latest version of ANSI standard ANSI/ITSDF B56.1,

"Safety Standard for Low Lift and High Lift Trucks";

"lift truck work-platform" means a work-platform designed to be mounted on a high lift truck, or other elevating device, to provide a safe-working area for a person elevated by and working from the platform's surface;

"pumpjack scaffold" means a scaffold consisting of a work-platform supported by vertical poles and adjustable support brackets;

"rolling scaffold" means an assembled scaffold

(i) supported by wheels, and

(ii) moved manually,

"scaffold" means a temporary elevated or hanging platform and its structural members that are used to support persons and materials, or both;

"standard", in relation to a component of access scaffolding equipment, means a vertical scaffold member that supports the weight of a scaffold;

"suspended platform" means an access system that meets all of the following criteria, and includes but is not limited to permanently installed suspended equipment, temporary suspended equipment, a boatswain's chair, stages running on an incline and suspended work cages:

(i) it is suspended from overhead and arranged for hoisting, and may traverse the exterior or interior side of a building or structure, and

(ii) it consists of a platform and means of suspension, lateral restraint, hoisting and anchoring;

"transom", in relation to a component of access scaffolding equipment, means a horizontal scaffold member capable of supporting a platform or a lifting beam;

"work-platform" means a temporary horizontal working surface that provides access and support for a person at the workplace.

Section 23.2 Engineer's certification of scaffolding

23.2 In addition to any certification required under Section 1.11, an employer must ensure that the design and installation of a scaffold used in a workplace are certified by an engineer if

(a) required by the CSA standard CSA Z797:18 (R2023) , "Code of practice for access scaffold"; or

(b) the scaffold is a wooden scaffold that is taller than 10 m high measured from the height of the highest work-platform.

[N.S. Reg. 73/2024, Sch. A]

Section 23.3 Standards for scaffolds

23.3 (1) An employer must ensure that a scaffold that is required to safely perform work is erected, installed, assembled, used, handled, stored, adjusted, maintained, repaired, inspected or dismantled in accordance with the CSA standard CSA Z797:18 (R2023) , "Code of practice for access scaffold".

(2) An employer must ensure that a scaffold is

(a) designed to support and capable of holding at least 4 times the load that is likely to be on it; and

(b) not used for a load that is heavier than 25% of the load that it is designed for.

[N.S. Reg. 73/2024, Sch. A]

Section 23.4 Scaffolding equipment prohibited

23.4 A person must not use, and an employer must ensure a person does not use, any of the following equipment at a workplace:

(a) wooden pumpjack scaffold poles;

(b) wooden carpenter's brackets;

(c) ladderjack scaffolds.

Section 23.5 Pumpjack scaffolds

23.5 (1) An employer must ensure that any pumpjack scaffold system used is metal.

(2) A pumpjack scaffold must be installed and used so that all of the following conditions are met:

(a) the load on the pumpjack scaffold is less than 122 kg per square metre (25 lbs. per square foot) and no more than 2 persons are between supporting poles at a time;

(b) the height of the scaffold is no higher than 13.7 m;

(c) unless otherwise specified in the manufacturer's specifications, it has bracing every 4.6 m, starting at the base of the scaffold.

(3) A person must use pumpjack scaffolds in accordance with this Section.

Section 23.6 Bracket scaffolds

23.6 (1) An employer must ensure that a bracket scaffold meets all of the following conditions:

(a) brackets on a bracket scaffold must be spaced no more than 3 m apart;

(b) a loaded bracket scaffold must be securely attached to a structural wall that is able to withstand the force applied in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications by

(i) bolting the bracket scaffold to the wall, or

(ii) welding the bracket scaffold to steel structures attached to the wall;

(c) a bracket scaffold must be capable of supporting at least 4 times the load that is likely to be on it.

(2) A person must use bracket scaffolds in accordance with subsection (1).

Section 23.7 Roofing brackets

23.7 (1) An employer must ensure roofing brackets meet all of the following conditions:

(a) they must be securely fastened to the roof;

(b) they must have a span of no greater than 3 m;

(c) they must be capable of supporting at least 4 times the load that is likely to be on them.

(2) A person must use roof brackets in accordance with subsection (1).

Section 23.8 Safe-use practices for scaffolds

23.8 An employer must ensure compliance with the safe-use practices for scaffolds set out in the CSA standard CSA Z797:18 (R2023) , "Code of practice for access scaffold", including the falling object protection precautions if there is danger of objects falling from the scaffold and striking a person below.

[N.S. Reg. 73/2024, Sch. A]

Section 23.9 Inspections of scaffolds

23.9 (1) An employer must ensure that a scaffold used at a workplace is inspected daily by a competent person or engineer.

(2) The results of any inspection of a scaffold must be communicated to the users by methods described in the CSA standard CSA Z797:18 (R2023) , "Code of practice for access scaffold".

[N.S. Reg. 73/2024, Sch. A]

Section 23.10 Materials to be used in scaffold work-platforms

23.10 (1) Except as otherwise provided in these regulations, an employer must ensure that materials to be used in a work-platform as part of a scaffold comply with the CSA standard CSA Z797:18 (R2023) , "Code of practice for access scaffold".

(2) If sawn lumber is used for scaffold planks, an employer must ensure that it meets 1 of the following specifications:

(a) the planks are No. 1 grade or Select Structural Spruce-Pine-Fir (S-P-F) grade and sized 51 mm thick and 254 mm wide;

(b) the planks are No. 2 grade or better and sized no smaller than 38 mm thick and 235 mm wide rough sawn lumber, and are doubled up and fastened one on top of the other.

(3) An employer must ensure that material used as scaffold planks, other than sawn lumber, complies with the CSA standard CSA Z797:18 (R2023) , "Code of practice for access scaffold".

[N.S. Reg. 73/2024, Sch. A]

Section 23.11 Suspended work-platforms

23.11 (1) An employer must ensure that a suspended work-platform is

(a) inspected and operated in accordance with the latest version of CSA standard CSA Z91 , "Health and Safety Code for Suspended Equipment Operations"; and

(b) designed, constructed, installed, maintained, and inspected in accordance with the latest version of CSA standard CSA Z271 , "Safety Code for Suspended Platforms".

(2) If there is danger of objects falling from the scaffold and striking a person below, an employer must ensure that falling object protection precautions are taken in accordance with the latest version of CSA standard CSA Z271 , "Safety Code of Suspended Platforms".

(3) If a suspended work-platform is out of level by greater than 10%, an employer must ensure that

(a) no work is conducted on the platform; and

(b) the platform is moved only to adjust it to level.

Section 23.13 Elevating work-platforms

23.13 (1) An employer must ensure that portable, self-propelled and self-propelled boom-supported elevating work-platforms are designed, constructed, erected, maintained, inspected, monitored and used in accordance with the latest version of the following applicable standards:

(a) CSA standard CSA B354.1 , "Portable Elevating Work Platforms";

(b) CSA standard CSA B354.2 , "Self-Propelled Elevating Work Platforms";

(c) CSA standard CSA B354.4 , "Self-Propelled, Boom-Supported Elevating Work Platforms";

(d) CSA standard CSA C225 , "Vehicle Mounted Aerial Devices".

(2) An employer must ensure that elevating work-platforms used for fire-fighting are designed, constructed, erected, maintained, inspected, monitored and used in accordance with the latest version of the following applicable standards:

(a) NFPA standard NFPA 1901, "Standard for Automotive Fire Apparatus";

(b) NFPA standard NFPA 1911, "Standard for the Inspection, Maintenance, Testing and Retirement of In Service Automotive Fire Apparatus".

(3) An employer must ensure that a record of inspections, tests, repairs, modifications and maintenance activities required by the applicable standards in subsections (1) and (2) includes the name and signature of the person or persons who performed the required activities.

(4) Whether or not guardrails are also installed, before operating the equipment in subsection (1) or (2), an employer must ensure, in accordance with Part 21: Fall Protection, that fall-arrest equipment is worn and anchored to a suitable anchorage.