A scaffold platform must generally be capable of supporting, without failure, its own weight plus at least:

Explanation

Section 1637(b)(2) requires every scaffold to be designed and constructed with a dead load safety factor that supports, without failure, its own weight plus four times the maximum intended working load; 29 CFR 1926.451(a)(1) says the same. Six times (b) is the real figure from the same federal standard, but it applies to the SUSPENSION ROPES of a suspended scaffold under 1926.451(a)(4), not to the platform - a candidate who has read the standard is the one most likely to pick it. Two times (a) is a general construction rule of thumb and would leave a light-duty platform rated at 25 pounds per square foot with no margin for a stacked pallet of block. Ten times (d) belongs to no scaffold provision at all.