Quick ones gents , If we bring some stonemasons onto scaffold we as local authority have made available for them to do such and such work on say a bridge then who and how often would the scaffold be inspected and by who ? or put another way who would be competent to check the scaffold and what training would be required ? so the scaffolders have erected the scaffold on day 1 who then can check the scaffold daily and weekly ? hope i have covered the jist of it . thanks j

...as Ray has already said the scaffolder has to do a weekly inspection and sign off the scaff tag

thanks guys The question just came up this afternoon by a manager, and I thought that it should be managed between them and the scaffold contractor. For the mentioned reasons above I was the one who happened to mention , by experience of working on scaffolds very rarely if ever have I seen , or maybe just not noticed the scaffold being inspected weekly ? by the scaffold contractor. Very cynical of me I know . but now then the question would be After torrential rainfall and working over water re-pointing the waterside of a 9 meter span bridge , or near embankments then who is competent to do the daily check ? I would like to see maybe a selection of skilled and unskilled workers do a basic inspection course which would then pardon the pun bridge this gap . should I push for this ? thoughts please j

Jerry The scaffold I am concerned about are the basic tube scaffold of tubed single lift invariably. so my concerns are the weights which get loaded ie stone and this can add weight very easy on the platform which I have seen through my times on the tools , so this brings the up to 7 days into play even more in my view ? I do feel that if we had some basic trained persons this would cover us . but I am wondering what the management view would be ? at the end of the day if the 7 day inspection by the trained scaffold company does not happen we have zero cover in effect . but yes Jerry your procedure seems spot on to me . thanks again guys J

There's also the potential for confusion of specification where one party specifies and commissions a scaffold to be used by another. you mention stonemason work, which usually demands the highest possible spec. for loading of platforms. Does the contractor have a basic appreciation of scaffold load categories, and have you as Client/ Principal adequately communicated the spec. and limits of the scaffold you have provided? Have you commissioned a contractor with sufficient experience in working from scaffold? As with most things, the simple answer is usually that the ownership of the risk rests with those who create it. You commission a scaffold, then that scaffold remains your responsibility for the duration.

Thanks guys , You have helped a newbie advisor yet again , The questions need to be asked then at least now putting this over to management I could get some results Thanks again gents j