For construction workers who work from scaffolds: power line clearances, fall protection and safe access, falling object protection, and the use and load rules you follow every shift.
Based on OSHA 29 CFR 1926 Subpart L (1926.450-454), construction · about 7 min read
Need proof of training? The full course (25 min) adds practice questions, a job scenario, the final quiz and a certificate your employer can verify.
Your employer must have you trained by a person qualified in the subject matter to recognize the hazards of the type of scaffold you use and the procedures to control them. As applicable, training covers:
Electrical, fall and falling object hazards in your work area
Correct procedures for electrical hazards, and for erecting, maintaining and disassembling the fall protection and falling object protection systems being used
Proper use of the scaffold and proper handling of materials on it
The maximum intended load and load-carrying capacities of the scaffolds used
Any other pertinent requirements of the scaffold rules (Subpart L)
Retraining
When your employer has reason to believe you lack the skill or understanding needed, you must be retrained. At least in these situations:
Worksite changes create a hazard you were not trained on
Changes in the types of scaffolds, fall protection, falling object protection or other equipment create a hazard you were not trained on
Your work shows you have not kept the needed proficiency
This course covers general knowledge. Training on the scaffolds you actually use still applies.
Scaffolds must not be erected, used, dismantled, altered or moved so that they, or any conductive material handled on them, might come closer to exposed, energized power lines than these distances:
Insulated linesLess than 300 volts: 3 feet 300 volts to 50 kv: 10 feet More than 50 kv: 10 feet plus 0.4 inches for each 1 kv over 50 kv
Uninsulated linesLess than 50 kv: 10 feet More than 50 kv: 10 feet plus 0.4 inches for each 1 kv over 50 kv
For lines over 50 kv the table also allows an alternative: 2 times the length of the line insulator, but never less than 10 feet.
The only way closer: where it is necessary to do the work, and only after the utility company or electrical system operator has been notified and has de-energized the lines, relocated them, or installed protective coverings.
If you are on a scaffold more than 10 feet above a lower level, you must be protected from falling to that level.
Which protection?
Scaffolds not given a specific rule (this includes typical supported frame and tube-and-coupler scaffolds): a personal fall arrest system or a guardrail system.
Single-point or two-point adjustable suspension scaffolds: both a personal fall arrest system and a guardrail system.
Boatswains' chairs, catenary, float, needle beam and ladder jack scaffolds: a personal fall arrest system.
Crawling boards, self-contained adjustable scaffolds, walkways within scaffolds and overhand bricklaying have their own specific rules; your site training covers them if you use them.
Guardrails
Installed along all open sides and ends of platforms, before the scaffold is released for use by anyone other than the erection or dismantling crew.
Toprail height on supported scaffolds placed in service after January 1, 2000: between 38 and 45 inches above the platform.
Crossbracing can serve as a midrail when the braces cross between 20 and 30 inches above the platform, or as a toprail when they cross between 38 and 48 inches.
Steel or plastic banding must never be used as a toprail or midrail.
Personal fall arrest
On a scaffold, your lanyard attaches to a vertical lifeline, horizontal lifeline, or scaffold structural member.
When a platform is more than 2 feet above or below the point of access, use a proper means of access: a portable, hook-on or attachable ladder, stair tower, stairway-type ladder, ramp, walkway, integral prefabricated access, or direct access from another scaffold, structure, personnel hoist, or similar surface.
Never climb the crossbraces. They are not a means of access.
Hook-on and attachable ladders: bottom rung no more than 24 inches above the scaffold supporting level.
Stepping across from another surface is allowed only when the scaffold is no more than 14 inches away horizontally and 24 inches vertically.
Do not build up the platform
No boxes, barrels or other makeshift devices on the platform to raise your working height.
No ladders on the platform to raise your working height, except on large area scaffolds where your employer has met specific conditions for securing the scaffold, platform and ladder.
On top of your hard hat, you must be given added protection from falling hand tools, debris and other small objects: toeboards, screens or guardrail systems, or debris nets, catch platforms or canopies. Objects too large or heavy for those measures must be kept away from the edge and secured as needed so they cannot fall.
Protection for people below
Where tools, materials or equipment could fall and strike employees below, one of these is used:
Barricade the area below where objects can fall, and keep people out of it
Toeboards along platform edges more than 10 feet up, with paneling or screening up to the guardrail where materials are piled higher than the toeboard
A guardrail system with openings small enough to stop the falling objects
A canopy, debris net or catch platform over the people below
Your housekeeping
Do not let debris accumulate on platforms.
When swinging loads are hoisted onto or near the scaffold and could hit it, tag lines or equivalent measures must control them.
The maximum intended load is the total of all persons, equipment, tools, materials, transmitted loads and other loads reasonably expected on the scaffold at any one time. A scaffold must not be loaded beyond its maximum intended load or its rated capacity, whichever is less. Count yourself, your coworkers, your tools and every pallet of material.
Inspected every shift
A competent person must inspect the scaffold for visible defects before each work shift, and after anything that could affect its structural integrity. A damaged or weakened part must be immediately repaired or replaced, braced, or removed from service until repaired.
Do not change it yourself
Scaffolds are erected, moved, dismantled or altered only under the supervision and direction of a competent person, and only by experienced, trained employees that person selects. Guardrails are required along all open sides and ends of platforms, so do not pull a guardrail or a plank yourself to make room. Report the need and let the competent person decide.
Do not ride a scaffold while it is moved horizontally, unless it was designed by a registered professional engineer for that movement, or it is a mobile scaffold moved under the specific mobile scaffold rules.
Snow, ice or slippery materialNo work on the scaffold, except as necessary to remove the snow, ice or slippery material.
Storms or high windsNo work, unless a competent person has determined it is safe and you are protected by a personal fall arrest system or wind screens.
Fact-checked against the regulation text on October 09, 2026. This certificate records completion of awareness training based on OSHA 29 CFR 1926 Subpart L for employees who perform work while on a scaffold. It is not an OSHA card or license, and it does not qualify anyone to erect, dismantle, alter or inspect scaffolds. Employers must provide training by a qualified person on the scaffolds actually used, and any required site-specific training and evaluation.
This guide explains the rule in plain words. Always read the regulation itself and your employer's site-specific procedures.