Weld failed on gate stopper with a potential 10 metre fall to the ground.....check all your gate stoppers immediately!!!

1. SAFETY TOOLBOX April 2009
Scaffold Gate Stopper Failure – Potential for Injury
• An incident report was raised when a member of the maintenance team identified
that the stopper on a scaffold gate had failed.
• The gate was on an exit approximately 10m from the ground and was the final exit
onto the ladder.
• The person was exiting a scaffold when he noticed that the gate could be pushed
past its stop point – If the person had put his weight against it there was the
potential to overbalance and subsequently fall to the ground.
Initial investigation found that there has been inadequate weld fusion during
manufacture.
Stopper (welded end)
Type of Scaffold Gate which failed
Area of the gate where stopper should be welded
The Scaffold Inspector has been requested to carry out an inspection of the stopper at
his weekly inspections, plus the scaffold team will inspect all scaffold gates before
erecting.
Note: We have been using scaffold gates since 2005 – this is the first time this kind of
damage has been reported.
Further investigation will be carried out by the Inspection & Materials team.
If you notice further problems with the gates please inform the Shift Manager or a
Scaffold Supervisor so that the scaffold can be inspected and where necessary
modified.
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