| OSHA requirements are set by statute,
standards and regulations. Our interpretation letters explain
these requirements and how they apply to particular
circumstances, but they cannot create additional employer
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the requirements discussed. Note that our enforcement guidance
may be affected by changes to OSHA rules. Also, from time to time
we update our guidance in response to new information. To keep
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at http://www.osha.gov. |
May 18, 2000
Ms. Joanne Cullen
Alum-A-Pole Corporation
1011 Capouse Avenue
Scranton, Pennsylvania 18509
Ref: Scaffold Guardrail height; 29 CFR 1926.451(g)(4)(ii)
Dear Ms. Cullen:
This is in response to your February 4, 2000, letter to the
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in which you
ask for clarification of the required height of a scaffold
toprail. You specifically asked if scaffold systems that were
manufactured before January 1, 2000, but not sold by the
distributer until after that date, are required to meet the 38
inch requirement.
29 CFR 1926.451(g)(4)(ii) states, in part:
The top edge height of toprails or equivalent member
on supported scaffolds manufactured or placed in service after
January 1, 2000 shall be installed between 38 inches (.97m) and
45 inches (1.2m) above the platform surface. The top edge height
on supported scaffolds manufactured and placed in service before
January 1, 2000, and on all suspended scaffolds where both a
guardrail and a personal fall arrest system are required shall be
between 36 inches (.9m) and 45 inches (1.2m).
Under this provision:
- Scaffolds manufactured and "placed in service"
before January 1, 2000, must have a minimum 36 inch top guardrail
height. "Placed in service" means sold or leased by
the manufacturer for the first time to a user, equipment
leasing company, etc. It does not mean "used by a
contractor at a job."
Example: A scaffold is manufactured on December 1, 1999, and sold to an equipment
leasing company on December 20, 1999. It is leased to a user for
the first time on March 10, 2000.
Analysis: This scaffold was "placed in service"
before January 1, 2000, since the manufacturer sold it to a
leasing company before the cut-off date. A 36 inch top guardrail
height is acceptable.
- Scaffolds manufactured before January 1, 2000, but placed in
service after January 1, 2000 must have toprails at least 38
inches high.
Example: A scaffold is
manufactured on December 1, 1999, but the manufacturer does not
sell it until February 15, 2000, to an equipment leasing
company.
Analysis: This scaffold was placed in service after the
cut-off date since it was first sold by the manufacturer on
February 15, 2000. It therefore must have toprails at least 38
inches high.
- Scaffolds manufactured after January 1, 2000, must meet the
38 inch minimum.
In the situation you described, the key question
is whether the scaffold is sold to your distributor or not. If
you, the manufacturer, sold the scaffold to the distributor
before January 1, 2000, then it need not meet the 38 inch
requirement. However, if you merely deliver the scaffold to the
distributor on consignment and the distributor sells it for you
after January 1, 2000, then the scaffold does have to meet the 38
inch requirement since it was first sold after January 1,
2000.
If you need additional information, please contact us by fax at:
U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA, Directorate of Construction,
Office of Construction Standards and Guidance, fax #
202-693-1689. You can also contact us by mail at the above
office, Room N3468, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington,
D.C. 20210, although there will be a delay in our receiving
correspondence by mail.
Sincerely,
Russell B. Swanson, Director
Directorate of Construction
[Corrected 6/2/2005]
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