Christmas Decorations – Take care this year

Mr Scaffold regularly gets calls this time of year from partners looking for a safer way for their loved ones to put up Christmas decorations.

Most studies online indicate that Christmas decorations are the number one cause for injuries around the home at this time of year. Falls contribute a significant percentage of those statistics.

Mr Scaffold recommends the following:

Avoid using furniture and tables to stand on, as they’re not designed for that – use a scaffold where possible or ladder as a last resort.
Before using the scaffold, ensure you level your scaffold platform and lock all the wheels before each use.
Make sure your scaffold or ladder is the right height for the job at hand.
Before using a ladder, make sure it’s structurally sound, its rungs are clean and dry, and it’s set up on a firm and level piece of flooring or ground.
Set the platform for the scaffold at the required height and ensure the guardrails & toeboards are correctly positioned
Place the bottom of the ladder 0.3 metres away from the wall for every 1.2 metres that it rises up the wall.
Never stand on the top two rungs of any ladder.
Wear footwear with good grip and move slowly and carefully up and down the scaffold or ladder. Footwear can also protect you from the pieces of a dropped, broken or misplaced decoration or globe.
Have somebody hold the base of the ladder and do not reach out to the side of the ladder to decorate.
Don’t work with live cords, lights or cables. Aluminium is an extremely good conductor of electricity.
Don’t drink and decorate as alcohol and heights don’t mix.

Above all, take care over the Christmas break, and for those travelling, please be careful on the roads. Mr Scaffold would like to thank you for being with us this year, and we look forward to another exciting year ahead. 2019 is shaping up to be another milestone year for Mr Scaffold, with a few changes and exciting jobs already in the pipeline. Be sure you don’t miss them by dropping by to our website next year, and of course, if you need a new or hire scaffold for your project, give us a call on 1300 677 223.

Avoid using furniture and tables to stand on, as they’re not designed for that – use a scaffold where possible or ladder as a last resort.

Before using the scaffold, ensure you level your scaffold platform and lock all the wheels before each use.

Make sure your scaffold or ladder is the right height for the job at hand.

Before using a ladder, make sure it’s structurally sound, its rungs are clean and dry, and it’s set up on a firm and level piece of flooring or ground.

Set the platform for the scaffold at the required height and ensure the guardrails & toeboards are correctly positioned

Place the bottom of the ladder 0.3 metres away from the wall for every 1.2 metres that it rises up the wall.

Never stand on the top two rungs of any ladder.

Wear footwear with good grip and move slowly and carefully up and down the scaffold or ladder. Footwear can also protect you from the pieces of a dropped, broken or misplaced decoration or globe.

Have somebody hold the base of the ladder and do not reach out to the side of the ladder to decorate.

Don’t work with live cords, lights or cables. Aluminium is an extremely good conductor of electricity.

Don’t drink and decorate as alcohol and heights don’t mix.