Stilts

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Stilts
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Stilts

• First stilts used in France during the 1870s for
  walking through marshes.
• The 4 major types of stilts are
• Hand-held
• Peg
• Spring
• Drywall

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Hand-held

• Hand-held pole stilts
  are made of
  two long
  poles, each with a
  foot support on them.
• The stilter holds on
  to the upper end of
  the
  pole and rests
  their
  foot on the foot
  plate.
• Usually homemade
  and used by children.

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Peg

• Peg stilts, also known as Chinese stilts, are the
  most common stilts used by professional
  performers. These stilts strap on at the foot,
  ankle, and knee and give the walker a great deal
  of flexibility in what they can do. The light
  weight stilts make it possible to walk fast, make
  fast direction changes and dancing (fast turns).

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Spring

• Spring stilts or jumping stilts were introduced
  in 2004 under the trademark Poweriser and are
  marketed for recreational and extreme sports use.

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Drywall

• Drywall stilts are used in many areas of life.
  Because of the possibility of standing still and
  natural walking motion, it's used by many
  painters, workers, actors, and magicians. Drywall
  stilts are heavier than peg stilts and made for
  slower but safer walking and working and are the
  most safe of all stilts, and used by
  approximately half of the pros.

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Drywall cont.

• Dura Dura stilts are a type of dry wall stilt.
  Dura Stilts employ a spring system, which act as
  servos to the muscle system, and dual leg
  sections transfer movement from the ankle to the
  ground. Pivot points under the heel and ball of
  the foot allow a natural walking motion, and
  large soles promote stability.

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Drywall cont.

• Dura Stilts is the most successful commercially
  available stilts design. There are now many
  companies that produce a copy of this type of
  stilt, though the category continues to be known
  as dura stilts.

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Safety

• A total of 3.4 million was paid on 277 claims
  from 1996 to 2002.
• The median cost of compensable claims was 7,223,
  and these claims caused a median of 73 lost
  workdays.
• The majority of injuries reported were by drywall
  subcontractors.

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Leading Causes

• Falls accounted for 65 of all claims
• The next leading cause of injuries related to the
  use of construction stilts was overexertion.

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Fall Avoidance

• Identify and remove objects that may result in a
  fall.
• Share information on stilt hazards with other
  trades helps with housekeeping efforts.
• Be trained to recognize items that are potential
  fall hazards. Items can be as large as a job box
  and as small as a nut or screw.

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Overexertion

• Using only high-quality, well-maintained stilts
  to reduce the stress they can place on the body.
• Rotating tasks so that part of the day is spent
  off stilts.
• Instructing all employees who wear stilts how to
  inspect, maintain and properly wear the
  equipment.
• Using extreme care when putting on and taking off
  stilts, as injuries have occurred during these
  tasks.

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OSHA

• Stilts are covered under
• 1926.452(y)
• Only discusses wearing stilts while working on
  scaffolding.

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OSHA Says

• An employee may wear stilts on a scaffold only if
  it is a large area scaffold.
• When an employee is using stilts on a large area
  scaffold where a guardrail system is used to
  provide fall protection, the guardrail system
  shall be increased in height by an amount equal
  to the height of the stilts being used.

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OSHA Says Cont.

• Surfaces on which stilts are used shall be flat
  and free of pits, holes, and obstructions, such
  as debris, as well as other tripping and falling
  hazards.
• Stilts shall be properly maintained. Any
  alteration of the original equipment shall be
  approved by the manufacturer.

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• There is no question that construction stilts
  make some types of construction work easier.
• With proper preparation, use and instruction,
  that work can be safer, too.

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Sources

• EMC Insurance Companies Loss Control Insights
  for Contractors
• Wikipedia http//www.wikipedia.org/