Visual Standards

We have implemented this “Visual Standards” initiative to ensure that we operate to the highest possible standards. The visual guide’s pictorial examples – taken from best practice on our own sites and using our own equipment – ensure that everyone including Estimators, Contracts Staff, Contracts Supervisors, Scaffolders and Labourers can visualise and understand best practice and put it into place on all of our projects.

An example would be the Visual Standards of Going Beyond SG4 Preventing falls in scaffolding operations.

In recognition of the significant hazards and risks that scaffolders are exposed to every day, when erecting, altering or dismantling scaffolding, our trade body the National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) produced Safety Guidance SG4 in 1996 as ‘scaffolding industry good practice’ for work at height. It is noteworthy that “since SG4’s inception, there has been an 82% reduction in the frequency rate of falls from height” (NASC). While SG4 has saved lives, there are still unfortunately falls from height, and therefore we at TRAD decided to go beyond the minimum standards detailed in SG4 to further secure the safest working environment for all our scaffolders, by stipulating the erection of advanced double guardrails on ALL scaffolds, including non-working lifts.

TRAD are a long standing member of the confederation and the NASC achieved zero fatalities last year (indeed there has only been one fatality in the last fifteen years among NASC member companies). SG4 has been revised many times since its inception and the current revision SG4 reflects the challenges facing our industry through new fall protection technology, and changing methods of construction and maintenance (and is part of a suite of guidance produced by the NASC, including safety and technical guidance, with SG4 and TG20 being the best known).