Collo, you have said that there is no risk of falling objects on working platforms, enough to worry about and then on the other-hand said, main contractors are guilty of leaving working platforms full of debris. Debris and a 50mm gap does present risk in my book. By closing the 50mm gap we are also reducing the risk of slips, trips and falls. I have investigated many accidents involving this gap, not only from falling objects but twisted ankles and broken knees. We can mitigate against the risk and set up exclusion zones, etc. but then we are not following the hierarchy of risk. We must prevent falling in the first place rather than mitigating against the consequences.
Superscaff75, Yes this little gap has been the cause of many accidents over the years and the cost, time involved used to be consuming, where strips of plywood would be cut, nail or screwed to the working platform. This process is time consuming and expensive, also undermining the integrity of the scaffold boards; BS 2482, and also creating a trip hazard. So whilst removing one hazard you would be creating more.
There is a product specifically designed for this purpose and is cheap, easy to install and totally re-usable, thus making it reasonably practicable to eliminate this risk. The product is called ScaffGap. Try googling it, you will be pleasantly surprised.
on a more general note, it is not for us to decide what parts of the Work at Height Regulations we want to keep or delete as we see fit. They are what they are for reason.
A metre length of re-bar that fell 70ft through the 50mm gap on a working platform is a good example of the risk. The project on which this incident occurred cannot get enough of ScaffGap now.
A nut, bolt, washer etc would cause considerable injury when falling from a significant height. Minimising the liklihood of this occuring would be by following Reg. 10. of the WAH Regs 2005.......Close the Gap!
John Houlihan CMIOSH