Scaffolding safety: what to check before you start

The scaffold's up, the erector's packed away and gone, and tomorrow your team climbs it. There's a tag hanging off a standard and you're not quite sure what it proves. Most people half-know the rules on scaffolding safety: something about tags, something about inspections, nothing they could actually point to.

This guide sorts the legal duties from the site habits. You'll get what the law requires, what the erector should hand you before they leave, what the tag really means, and the checks to work through before anyone goes up. It's written for small jobs where there's no safety department to ask.

What the Law Actually Requires

When people talk about scaffolding regulations, they usually mean the Work at Height Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/735), because those are the rules that govern scaffold work. In short, they say avoid work at height where you reasonably can, prevent falls where you can't, and minimise the consequences of any fall that does happen. We cover the full rules in our guide to the Work at Height Regulations for UK trades, so here we'll stick to what they mean for scaffolds.

HSE guidance sets the rhythm for scaffolding inspection: a scaffold used for construction should be inspected before first use, then every 7 days until it comes down, and each time it's exposed to conditions likely to cause deterioration, such as bad weather or a substantial alteration. The regulation is the law. The guidance is how you meet it on a real job.

Where CDM 2015 Fits In

On a construction site, once the scaffold is erected it becomes part of the working environment. CDM 2015 doesn't replace the inspection duties above. They still apply under the Work at Height Regulations, to whoever is a duty holder for the work being done from the scaffold. Confirm who that is on your job, and who carries out the inspections under the hire or contract arrangements, before first use.

Handover: What You Should Get From the Erector

Handover is the moment the scaffolder passes the scaffold, and responsibility for it, to you. Get it in writing. A handover certificate should confirm the scaffold was built to specification, state the permitted working platform loadings, and list any restrictions on use, such as boarded levels that aren't working platforms or limits on sheeting.

There's no statutory requirement for a handover certificate. It's industry practice, set out in NASC SG35 and BS 5975, and it's recommended for good reason: it's your record of what you were given and what it can carry. The handover inspection can count as the first inspection. After that, the regular inspections still have to happen, and who carries them out depends on who controls the work and what the hire or contract agreement says. Agree that in writing before first use, and if the certificate never arrived, chase it. If you're a duty holder for the work on the scaffold, you still need to be sure valid inspections are happening.

Scaffold Tags: Convention, Not Law

Green tag means go, red tag means stop. Most sites use them and they're a sensible habit, because they show at a glance whether a scaffold has been checked. But they're a site convention, not a legal requirement. The HSE says so directly, and plenty of people still get it wrong.

The law requires inspection by a competent person and a written report. A tag can usefully supplement that report by showing anyone who needs access that the scaffold has been inspected. But a tag is only as good as the inspection behind it. Trust the checks, not the tag.

One related point that is law: where scaffolding is unsafe or incomplete, a warning sign must be displayed and access must be physically prevented. So if an inspection finds a problem, sign it, keep people off it, and get it fixed and re-inspected before use.

What to Check Before You Start

Checking splits into two levels: the walk-round anyone using the scaffold should do, and the formal inspection only a competent person can do. You need both, and neither replaces the other.

The Walk-Round Every User Should Do

Before first use, and any time conditions have changed, walk the scaffold and look for the obvious. Think of this as your scaffolding checklist. It takes ten minutes and it catches the failures that actually hurt people.

What a Competent Person Looks For

The formal inspection goes deeper than the walk-round: structural condition, ties, foundations, load capacity and anything the design depends on. It ends in a report with the Schedule 7 particulars, which is the paperwork side of the duty. This is why the law names a competent person and leaves it there.

Common Scaffold Failures to Look For

These are the failures that show up again and again on small sites.

• Ties removed by another trade and never replaced.
• Guardrails or toe boards missing at working platforms.
• Damaged or poorly seated boards.
• Weak foundations with no sole boards on soft ground.
• Materials heaped at one point instead of spread.
• Unauthorised alterations by trades who needed the space.
• Deterioration after storms or freezing weather with no re-check.

After bad weather, or the moment anything looks different to the last inspection, re-check before anyone climbs.

Who Can Inspect a Scaffold?

A competent person is someone whose knowledge, training and experience fit the type and complexity of the scaffold. For tube and fitting scaffolds that usually means CISRS training; for system scaffolds, the manufacturer's scheme. A trained non-scaffolder, for example a site manager who has done a scaffolding inspection course, can be competent to inspect a basic scaffold.

The erector's inspection at handover doesn't cover you for the life of the job. Inspections have to keep happening, so know who is doing them. You can do them yourself if you're trained and competent for that scaffold. If you're not, make sure someone who is does them before first use.

Put It in Your RAMS

Scaffold work belongs in your paperwork, not just on the scaffold. Your RAMS should record how the scaffold will be inspected, who inspects it, and how the team is briefed on the pre-use walk-round. See our scaffolder RAMS page for a trade-specific starting point.