Feature
Selecting A Competent Scaffolding Contractor
By Robert Candy, Chief Executive and Founder of the Scaffolding Association - The UK’s largest trade association for the scaffolding and access sector with over 630 member companies and growing.
With over 6000 scaffolding contractors in the UK, and the range of different types and makes of scaffolding construction, it is vital to identify the most suitable and competent contractor for your project to avoid unscrupulous businesses who operate to less than desirable or competent standards.
Therefore, before you even start searching for a scaffolding contractor, it is vital to establish the scope of the contract work you are undertaking in order to plan accurate costings and quotations. For example, some contracts would be considered as having basic structures, while others are much more complex and would require detailed design input well before the project starts.
Every project varies in its complexity, so consideration should be given to specific factors such as: ➡ The ground conditions the scaffold will be built on ➡The accessibility of the site ➡The amount of weight that will be placed upon the structure by materials ➡ Restrictions or special requirements for the structure being scaffolded e.g. listed building status, etc
It is wise to contact a scaffold designer directly to discuss the requirements of the contract together as these specialists can then provide a set of drawings that a scaffolding contractor can easily work from. By doing this, it can relieve any contractual/ sub-contractor headaches associated with any variations and, in an increasingly price driven market place, can offer more cost certainty to you and your client.
Safety should always come first when using scaffolding to ensure that any risks associated with working at height are effectively controlled and managed. Any contractor must understand that working at height inevitably has several meanings depending on the individual, businesses or profession. However the interpretation that is most important is that which is defined by the Health & Safety Executive’s (HSE) website - ‘working at height means work in any place where, if precautions were not taken , a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury.
HSE say that an individual is considered working at height if they are: ➡working above ground/floor level ➡could fall from an edge, through an opening or fragile surface ➡ could fall from ground level into an opening in a floor or a hole in the ground
Working At Height Regulations
These place duties on employers, and those who control any work at height activity. They include provisions that: ➡all work at height is properly planned and organised ➡those involved in work at height are competent ➡the risks from work at height are assessed, and appropriate work equipment is selected and used ➡the risks of working on or near fragile surfaces are properly managed ➡the equipment used for work at height is properly inspected and maintained
The latest HSE’s workplace fatality figures speak for themselves - they show that 138 workers were killed in work-related accidents in Great Britain from 2023-2024, of which the most common cause of fatal injury from across all business sectors were reported as falls from height (50 deaths in total). Year after year, falls from height are consistently the most common cause of death in the workplace.
You should therefore look to select a scaffold contractor that is able to demonstrate that they meet their health and safety obligations and erect their scaffolding in accordance with the relevant British Standards i.e. BS EN 12811: Temporary Works Equipment - Scaffold and BS 5975: Codes of Practice for temporary works procedures and the permissible stress design of falsework.
For further details or advice please visit the website at:
scaffolding-association.org, contact the team on 0300 124 0470 or
info@scaffolding-association.org
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