25.01.2019

Death wish?

Spotted this week on Highgate High Street in North London, two men working on the canopy of a retail property.

Two men are using an alloy scaffold tower to work on the front of the canopy and have set it up bang on the corner of an intersection, with no cones or barriers, where it might easily be clipped by vehicles turning left. Our correspondent said: “Well they may as well have it in the road”.
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Not best practice - but a Death Wish?

To be fair the tower has a platform height of just over two metres, it is well braced, with a proper platform ladder access, full guardrails and the legs have been adjusted to level it, while all four brakes appear to be applied. Ok there are no toe boards – but at a little less than two metres it's hardly a great risk, especially given that there is very little - if anything - on the platform. Additionally one of the men is standing guard to warn pedestrians and to keep a look out for any traffic approaching too fast and close. Add to that the fact that it looks like a quiet time of day in terms of traffic. However a couple of those bright orange barriers would have made all the difference – depending on how long they were out there of course.

So perhaps not best practice and possibly lacking a permit? But a Death Wish?
Not really, and one has to ask if perhaps a really good step ladder or podium might have been better?

Have a safe weekend.