The analysis of the stages of scaffolding “life” with regard to the decrease in the hazard at building works

Abstract The paper presents the attempts at determining the reasons for the hazardous incidents which threaten the safety of people working on scaffolds, as well as in their vicinity. The article is divided into two parts, the former referring to the information on the accident rate involving scaffoldings as well as the research on the likelihood of the occurrence of perilous situations, the inspection of their technical state and the breaches of the OSH Regulations included. The latter part is devoted to the thorough analysis on the particular stages of the scaffold operation life, the special attention being paid to the practices, errors and failures while designing scaffolding. Moreover, it concerns the selection of the scaffold elements, the assembly and disassembly of scaffolding as well as their usage which can result in an accident or a building collapse. The range of activities that contribute to the decrease in or even the avoidance of risky situations involving scaffolds is hereby presented in conclusions.