Builder of faulty scaffolding lacks labor dept’s approval

Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Friday ordered an immediate review of the standards applicable to the use of scaffoldings in construction sites, noting that most of the recent accidents were caused by their defective or faulty setup.

Baldoz issued the order following findings that the contractor that built the scaffolding that collapsed and killed five workers last week at a power plant in Pililla, Rizal province, went into business without submitting its safety programs to government scrutiny.

On Feb. 3, five laborers were killed while 12 others were injured after the metal scaffolding they were standing on collapsed as they were cleaning the interior of the Malaya Power Plant’s 76-meter high smokestack in Pililla.

DOLE Region 4A Director Alex Avila said East-West Works Industrial Services Inc., the contractor hired to repair the inner lining of a 76-meter high smokestack, was not registered with the DOLE and has no existing construction and safety and health program (CSHP) approved by the agency.

An investigation also showed that the contractor had no safe operating procedures for the erection and dismantling of scaffoldings and no detailed job hazard analysis, Avila said.

“The contractor used scaffoldings not designed and approved by a structural engineer,” he said.

Avila noted, however, that based on interviews with some of the survivors, the workers were in complete protective gear at the time of the accident.

“There are existing standards on the installation and dismantling of scaffolding that may already be outdated since building construction nowadays tends to be higher and higher. We need to review these standards and update them to strengthen construction safety,” Baldoz said in a statement.

The labor secretary also ordered DOLE regional offices to provide free safety training for contractors of small-scale establishments to avoid a repeat of such accidents. Tina G. Santos