485 Lexington Avenue
Forest Electric has a new job at 485 Lexington Avenue. We are working on the 8th and 9th floors. We are building out the floor, new lights, power, and we have a lot of overhead work as well. We are working with platform ladders, manlifts, and motorized baker scaffolds. Working in the ceiling presents certain hazards. Anytime you are working at heights, there is always the possibility of falling from heights.
We always want to minimize the hazards as much as possible. We do that by following safety procedures and protocols set by Forest and OSHA. One way we make sure hazards are minimized is by doing a ladder, lift, and mobile baker scaffold inspection prior to use. We put inspection tags on our lifts, ladders, and mobile baker scaffolds. These have to be initialed and dated for that day prior to use.
Workers inspect the equipment and make sure everything is working properly, that there isn’t any damage and all the manufacturer information is on the ladder. If there aren’t any issues, the worker signs and dates the tag, which states the equipment has passed inspection. If the equipment did not pass the inspection, it would be taken out of service and sent back to the warehouse.
Contributed by John Lambertson, Forest Electric Safety Manager, CSP, DOB SSM