Can your Supervisors identify the mistakes or unsafe acts here? Would you accept this in Malaysia?

ROLE AND PURPOSE OF SUPERVISION

The role of the scaffolding supervisor is an important position within any scaffolding company, and, like all personnel on construction sites, they need to be competent. The right people for the job should be selected and provided with training where appropriate. Individuals must have the necessary skills and aptitude for supervisory activities, such as;

• Planning, communication, delegation and leadership etc; Having a thorough understanding & promoting safe methods of work that follow current regulations.
• The correct use of control measures; and the experience and credibility to gain respect from others as they will be responsible to ensure the safety of all those directly and indirectly under their supervision.

They will be responsible for the daily liaison between the client and site operatives, and are often acting as the leading representative for the scaffolding contractor on site & will most likely be accountable for not just the control of materials, but for the quality and safety of scaffold provided and contribute to the overall efficiency of the business, by planning works and constantly monitoring the costs of the job against the budget, including labour, design costs, transport, subcontract labour, accommodation, hire plant and other site expenses.

HAVE YOU GOT THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN PLACE

To comply with the new working at height regulations coming to Malaysia it is important that all scaffolds are supervised by a competent person to ensure they are erected and dismantled in full compliance with the safest methods of work; as set out in SG4;15. Currently there is no DOSH Syllabus for training, or certification for the supervisor role, to show individualises have sufficient skill, knowledge & experience, in the same way there is for the scaffolding erector. This often leads to unsafe acts of work that does not prevent workers against the risk of falling or dropped objects and structures that are not compliant with Malaysian or British Standards as shown.

SENIOR MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT

Senior management can visibly support supervisors in their role. They can also show positive commitment to site supervision through for example, financial investment and training in supervision.

The 3-day OSTS International Scaffolding Supervisor course from CISRS UK is now available in Petaling Jaya, offering both theory and practical training to ensure delegates have the knowledge & skill to comply with the new working at height regulations identified by DOSH.

The training main objective is to ensure a safe working environment is achieved and maintained throughout the entire scaffolding process.

The training also includes:

• Planning, developing & writing risk assessments & method statements to grant all sites are safety compliant with the client & companies H&S policies.
• Delivering toolbox talks to cascade the safety information to the workforce.
• Motivating and ensuring the required staff have the correct skill, knowledge & training to comply with local regulations, legislation and international best practice.
• The use of correct Technical Guidance and scaffolding standards, to ensure that a comprehensive record of documentation and certification of scaffolding inspection work is maintained, assisting in the satisfactory 'handover' of completed package from contractor to client.
• Forward planning and organising of work, including preparing materials prior to commencement of work.
• Responding to and rectifying problems on site to maintain a high standard for both customer and staff relations.

Now is the time to raise the level of safety by ensuring all supervision staff have been trained to the highest standards available in Malaysia with certification and registration from the United Kingdom through an international scheme.

Help stop all unsafe acts before they become another statistic and promote the best working at height procedures available to the scaffolding industry.