Posted By ian mcnally Hi, I recently sent out a reminder to a number of scaffolding contractors, (some of whom are national companies) to provide suitable rescue procedures which do not just rely on dialling 999 to deal with a person being suspended in a harness. I must say, I have been under whelmed with the responses and only one so far has been able to provide a suitable system. I was surprised to hear that none of the companies I spoke with had ever been asked for a clear rescue system, bearing in mind that a number of these also work for MCG companies I am beginning to wonder if I am alone in my quest or whether I am taking the Regulations too far. I would be very interested to hear if anyone else out there is experiencing similar problem in this respect. Many it would seem consider it to be the Principal Contractors prime responsibility not theirs.

Posted By Des Daly Ian, Bit surprised to read that National scaffolding companies are not refering you to the National Access and Scaffolding Confederation's (NASC) Safety Guidnace Note SG19:02 Safety Harness -Rescue Procedure and Risk Assessment Flowchart. This is an excellent document and one of the spin offs from the NASC, SG4:00 Working Group that has been meeting for the last two and a half years. I am a member of this group and was tasked, with another member, with looking at the whole issue of rescue. We looked at all aspects of rescue and identified that Principal Contractors may need to make provison for rescue as part of their arrangements for emergencies under CDM, if for example, other trades on may be wearing safety harnesses. If not, the SG19:02 Flow Chart sets out what the scaffolding contractor should do. Regarding the erection of temporary roofs using traditonal scaffolding equipment (non system). I have to agree with you that the industry has no recognised safe system of work. Recently I was asked to devise a safe way of erecting/dismantling a temporary roof and rather than re-invent the wheel phoned around colleagues in the industry and the NASC and found that there was nothing. This prompted me to think of our foremost training organisation the CITB and via the NASC we asked them what is the safe system of work for temporary roofs that scaffolders are being are being trained in at their centres, response was......they're not! I felt that this was an intolerable situation. I suggested a scenario to the CITB that - "we send our people to be trained by them and then subsequently during the erection of a temporary roof a HSE inspector visits site and stops them working without a safe system of work" - perfectly feasible. It seemed very odd ( and worrying)that the CITB would be training scaffolders to erect temporary roofs unsafely - but they are! Over the last two and a half years the SG4:00 have began to realise how out of alignment that the CITB is with the actual needs of the scaffolding industry and health and safety law. You can obtain copies of SG19:02 from the NASC ( tel 020 7608 5095). I would be interested in seeing the safe system of work that you devised on behalf of your scaffolding contractors.