Scaffold inspections: how often, who can do them, what to record

What scaffold inspection actually means on a live job

Scaffold inspection is not a paper exercise. It is a competent person walking the job with a critical eye before first use, then at least every 7 days, and again after anything that might have knocked it about. I am talking about a wet Tuesday where wind has rattled the sheeting, a telehandler clipping a standard, or a subbie moving ledgers to make room for cladding packs. The point is to catch the things that look fine from 10 metres away but are wrong when you put a boot on a board.

The 7-day cycle is not folklore. Regulation 12 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 requires working platforms used for construction work, where a person could fall 2 metres or more, to be inspected at intervals not exceeding 7 days. Inspections are also required after installation or assembly in a new position and after exceptional circumstances that could jeopardise safety. The regulation also requires a report to be made, with Schedule 7 setting out the particulars it must contain. If you remember nothing else, remember this: inspect it, fix what you find, and write it down properly.

I review a lot of RAMS and too many treat scaffold inspection like a tag on a handrail. Tags are useful, but they are not the inspection. The inspection is you, or your competent scaffold inspector, checking ties, foundations, bracing, guardrails, access and loading, and then recording it in a way that stands up when the HSE turns up or when your own team needs to know what changed overnight.

How often to inspect and when to recheck

Before a scaffold is used for the first time, make sure the required inspection has been completed. For working platforms used for construction work where a person could fall 2 metres or more, further inspections are required at intervals not exceeding 7 days. Inspections are also required after assembly in a new position and after exceptional circumstances that could jeopardise safety. In practice, picking a fixed inspection day can make the routine easier to manage and less likely to be missed.

You must also inspect after events that could affect stability or integrity. Work at Height Regulations 2005 reg 12 calls this out. Think high winds that flap sheeting and shake ties, heavy rain undermining sole boards, snow loading on boarded lifts, impact from plant, heat from a hot works area baking the fittings, or significant alterations by trades. If in doubt, inspect. If you have to ask whether last night’s gale counted, it probably did.

On complex jobs I like a short visual check at the start of each shift as well. Not a full Schedule 7 inspection, just a quick look by the supervisor for damage, missing toe boards, and blocked ladder access. It catches the silly stuff that happens between the formal inspections, like someone removing a mid‑rail to feed a duct and forgetting to put it back.

If you want a simple starting point for the paperwork that sits alongside your inspection record, the Scaffolding RAMS Template UK | RAMS AI is a straight, UK‑focused example.

Who is competent to inspect a scaffold

The inspection must be carried out by a competent person with the knowledge, training and experience appropriate to the type and complexity of scaffold being inspected. CISRS provides Basic and Advanced Scaffold Inspection training, and the appropriate level will depend on the scaffold involved. System scaffolds may also require appropriate product knowledge or endorsement. A card or certificate can help demonstrate training, but competence also depends on having the knowledge and experience to inspect that particular scaffold properly.

If you are the principal contractor, be clear who is inspecting what. The scaffolder often inspects their own work on handover and through the job, but that does not remove your duty to make sure inspections are happening at the required frequency and standard. If a site manager with general safety training is doing the weekly check, they need evidence of relevant scaffold inspection training and experience, not just a generic course.

Competence is not just a card. I want to see judgement. A competent inspector should understand when a scaffold falls outside the applicable standard configuration and requires a specific design. They should recognise questionable tie arrangements, unsuitable loading and other conditions that need further investigation rather than simply relying on the paperwork.

What the inspection report must include

Schedule 7 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 sets out the particulars an inspection report must contain. These include the name and address of the person for whom the inspection was carried out; the location and description of the work equipment inspected; the date and time of the inspection; details of any matter identified that could give rise to a risk to health or safety; any action taken as a result; details of any further action considered necessary; and the name and position of the person making the report.

The report must be completed before the end of the working period in which the inspection is carried out, and the person for whom the inspection was carried out must receive the report, or a copy of it, within 24 hours.

I also include who the scaffold is for and the contractor in control of the area, any limitations on use, the maximum number of boarded lifts and the stated SWL per lift, plus whether the scaffold is built to TG20:21 or to a bespoke design reference. If there are exclusions, like no loading on the north elevation until extra ties go in, write them in bold. Vague notes cause arguments.

Reports must be kept on the site until the work is complete, then retained for 3 months by the employer, as required by Work at Height Regulations 2005 reg 12. I prefer a bound book or a controlled digital system with versioning. Loose sheets disappear in a cabin that smells of cut cement board and wet gloves. If you change anything significant after the inspection, add an entry rather than overwriting the original.

When you are building or reviewing the method statement that supports safe use of the scaffold, the Scaffolding RAMS Checklist | RAMS AI is a handy reminder of the common hazards and controls.

What gets rejected on real inspections

The most common fails I see are the simple ones. Missing or incomplete guardrails or toe boards on any open edge, gaps wider than a boot at hop‑ups, ladders that do not extend 1 metre above the landing, and unsecured ladders sitting on stacked bricks. Loose or damaged boards, especially end splits and lifted clips, get picked up within seconds by any half‑awake inspector. Make it so nobody has to think about it.

Ties and bracing cause headaches. I see lovely even tie patterns that are fixed into soft mortar, ties removed to let cladding through, or rakers added without base plates. Ledger bracing missing on long runs, standards out of plumb on narrow streets, and transoms not locked in where part‑loaded bays create uplift. If there is sheeting or debris netting, check the extra wind load is actually tied back to something that can take it.

Foundations are often poor. Sole boards that do not span, base plates missing or buried, soft ground churning after rain, or a drain cover taking a standard with no spreader. Up top, check end‑to‑end couplers where lifts change level, check returns and hop‑ups are properly guardrailed, and check there is a safe clear route for the users. For pavement lifts, look for brickguards over public areas and the right signage.

Paperwork matters too. Where the scaffold is erected to a recognised standard configuration, the appropriate compliance documentation should match what has actually been built. Where a specific scaffold design is required, the relevant design information should be available and the scaffold should correspond with it. If the paperwork, design and scaffold on site do not match, investigate the discrepancy before signing the inspection off. And if the tag at access says inspected on Friday but your report says Thursday, expect questions.

Worked example: a scaffold inspection record that passes muster

Here is a realistic example based on the Schedule 7 requirements in the Work at Height Regulations 2005. It is written like I would expect to see it in a site book. Project: High Street Refurb, 25‑39 High Street, Leeds. Area inspected: North elevation, 8 bays, 4 lifts boarded at lifts 1 and 3, pavement gantry to bays 1‑3. Description: Independent tied scaffold with inside boards, brickguards at public interface, debris netting bays 4‑8.

Inspector: S. Carter, CISRS Advanced Scaffolder, Competent Person. Employer: City Scaffolding Ltd. Date and time: 09:10, Tuesday 14 May. Weather in last 48 hours: heavy rain and gusty winds. Inspection type: routine 7‑day inspection after weekend weather. Items examined: foundations and sole boards, standards and ledgers, transoms, ties and bracing, guardrails and toe boards, access ladders, boarded lifts, public protection, sheeting and netting, signage and tags.C ompliance/design reference: Applicable scaffold compliance sheet Ref HSR-001.

Findings and actions: Bay 2 inside toe board missing at lift 1, replaced and secured, ok. Ladder at bay 5 short by 2 rungs, extended above landing, tied and the stile damaged section removed, ok. Tie at bay 7 removed during cladding works; reinstated in accordance with the applicable scaffold design and anchor requirements, checked and recorded as satisfactory. Sole board under bay 4 standard sitting on loose rubble, reset on 100 mm sole spanning two courses, ok. Debris netting fixings re‑tensioned after wind, ok. No further defects noted.

Limitations and restrictions: Do not store plasterboard packs on lift 3, maximum imposed load 2.0 kN/m². No loading bays installed yet, no materials to be craned to lift 4. Public route under bays 1‑3 to be kept clear and monitored during deliveries. Next inspection due: on or before 21 May, or after any significant alteration or adverse weather. Overall assessment: scaffold safe to use at time of inspection. Signature: S. Carter.

Keeping reports, tags and communication tight

Organisation is what makes scaffold inspection work. Keep your reports in one place in the site office, not spread across three clipboards. Regulation 12 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 requires the relevant report to be kept at the site until the construction work is completed and then retained at an office for 3 months. If you are using a digital system, make sure it timestamps entries, locks edits and can export on request. If you do it on paper, number the pages and use indelible ink.

Tags at access points are good practice. They are not the legal record, but they do tell users whether the scaffold is open, restricted or out of use. When I change a tag, I add a matching note in the inspection record. If a scaffold is out of action while a tie is reinstated, the tag says closed and there is barrier tape. Users will test you on this, so be decisive.

Tell people what changed. After a big fix, walk the foreman and the main users up the lift and show them. Take ten minutes at the 07:30 brief to remind everyone to report missing rails, loose boards or blocked ladders. Most damage is caused by someone trying to help their own trade, like shifting a transom to get a duct through. If you communicate early, you will catch that before it becomes tomorrow’s defect.

Questions we get asked

Do I need to inspect a scaffold every day?

You must inspect before first use, then at least every 7 days, and after any event that could affect stability such as alteration or adverse weather, as required by the Work at Height Regulations 2005 reg 12. Daily visual checks by supervisors are good practice but are not a substitute for the formal inspection.

Who is allowed to sign the scaffold inspection?

A competent person must conduct and sign the inspection, which means someone with the right knowledge, training and experience for the scaffold. On UK sites this is often a CISRS Scaffold Inspection card holder or an experienced scaffolder not signing off their own build. For designed scaffolds, an engineer or temporary works supervisor with scaffold experience may be used.

How long do I need to keep scaffold inspection reports?

Keep the report on site until the work is complete, then retain it for 3 months, as required by the Work at Height Regulations 2005 reg 12. Many firms keep them longer for their own records, but the legal minimum is 3 months after completion.

What counts as adverse weather for a reinspection?

High winds that move sheeting or sway lifts, heavy rain that undermines sole boards, snow loading on boarded lifts, or storms that throw debris or impact plant into the scaffold all count. If you think the weather could have affected stability or integrity, do a reinspection as required by Work at Height Regulations 2005 reg 12.

Is a scaffold tag enough on its own?

No. Tags are a useful quick reference at access points but they are not the legal inspection report. The legal report with the Schedule 7 particulars must be made and kept as required by the Work at Height Regulations 2005 reg 12 and Schedule 7.

The short version

Scaffold inspection is simple in principle, hard in practice. For working platforms used for construction work where a person could fall 2 metres or more, inspect before first use and then at intervals not exceeding 7 days. Scaffolds must also be inspected after exceptional circumstances that could jeopardise safety. Use a competent person, deal with defects properly and keep an accurate record.

The inspection requirements are set out in regulation 12 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005, with Schedule 7 specifying the particulars the report must contain. Keep the relevant report at the site until the construction work is completed and then retain it for 3 months. Focus on the real fail points: guardrails, ties, bracing, foundations, access and loading.