Platform & edge protection
What is a toe board?
A toe board is the upstand along the edge of a working platform. It stops tools, materials and debris being kicked off the platform onto whoever is below, and gives a physical edge underfoot.
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Free to use on your own site, in training material or in a course handout, as long as the credit link stays on it. Paste this where you want the diagram to appear.
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<img src="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/toe-board/diagram.svg" alt="toe board — scaffold diagram from ScaffoldOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk/glossary/toe-board">What is a toe board?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://scaffoldoptix.co.uk">ScaffoldOptix</a>
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</figure>Toe boards are edge protection for objects rather than for people — the guard rails do the second job. On a platform where anyone is working with tools or loose material, both are needed, and a platform with guard rails but no toe boards is only half protected.
They are fixed at the platform edge and held in place with toe board clips or equivalent fittings. The requirement is a real upstand at the platform surface: a gap under the toe board defeats the purpose, because that is exactly the route a dropped fitting takes.
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 treat toe boards as part of the edge protection required where there is a risk of objects falling, alongside guard rails and, where needed, brick guards or debris netting.
What goes wrong on site
- Toe boards left off the return ends of a scaffold, so the platform is protected on the long sides and open at the ends.
- Toe boards removed to land material and not put back.
- A gap left between the toe board and the platform, which lets small items through.