Revised Code of Practice for Bamboo Scaffolding Safety comes into effect Sat

The Code of Practice for Bamboo Scaffolding Safety (CoP) will take effect on Saturday, with the Labour Department ensuring strict enforcement action if the code is violated.

This came after the CoP was gazetted on April 19 this year, and a grace period of six months was provided to allow the industry to have sufficient time to understand and prepare for the revised requirements.

During this grace period, the Labour Department (LD) has strengthened its publicity and promotion, as well as education and training through various channels to facilitate the industry's better understanding of the content of the CoP.

The revised Code of Practice for Bamboo Scaffolding Safety (CoP) will officially take effect tomorrow (Oct 19).

The major revisions of the CoP include enhancing technical requirements for the bracings, putlogs and access and egress of bamboo scaffolds; prohibiting unauthorized alteration of bamboo scaffolding including putlogs; further specifying the requirements of supervising work of competent persons to the bamboo scaffolders who perform erection, addition, alteration or dismantling of bamboo scaffolds and inspection prior to inclement weather; and requiring all workers who perform erection, addition, alteration or dismantling of TOS to hold a valid certificate of "Advanced Level Truss-out Scaffolder Safety Training" or "Intermediate Level Truss-out Scaffolder Safety Training" issued by the Construction Industry Council before performing specified work.

The department ensured that if there are any violations during the scaffolding operation of the project that are detected, stringent enforcement actions will be taken immediately, including issuing suspension notices and improvement notices and initiating prosecutions without prior warning.