Posted By Amandac Jess The scaffold should be inspected on handover from the Scaffold Co, and then every 7 calendar days, and after an event which could compromise the integrity or inclement weather (if outside) until it is struck. The inspector will need to be competent and qualified. Hope this answers your question.

Posted By garyh The fault surely lies not with the contractors, but with the contractor selection procedure. The issues about RAs, SSOWs, PTWS and all the rest of it should be resolved way before they get on site.

Posted By Phil Hodgson I agree with the last posting the issues surronding the scaffolding work should have been sorted out before the job started the contractors comments around I wont work here again could be the best things he as said to you ( never again comes to mind !! ) you want to work with somebody thats wants to work safely & is prepared to listen to you

Posted By Robert K Lewis Rees Hope they are not using the F91 - it became obselete a decade+ ago!! But still it does show the competence of many organisations because I have to admit they still use the term in talking to me. My advice is always to keep the scaffolder on site until the scaffold is inspected and accepted. By all means you could contract the erection company to do the inspections if you do not have the skills. Clearly this team did not have the skills to inspect though as you can only accept a scaffold in good order at handover!! They are saying it is not in good order and theerefoere the contract to supply is not completed. Bob

Posted By Ron Hunter Robert; what's so wrong with using F91 forms? They're not mandatory I know, but they still serve a purpose to record 7 day inspections do they not? Jess33: You describe a "no unauthorised entry" sign - I guess the standard prohibition sign. That sign would apply equally to an inspected, compliant and properly handed-over scaffold. It doesn't mean the scaffold is incomplete or unsafe.

Posted By john houlihan Dear All, Just to clarify a few points made: Quite right the F91 is obsolete. Quite right the scaffold is required to be handed over following a thorough inspection, once all parties are happy and the scaffold structure is accepted; Please note an inspection by the same scaffold company may be a biased one! the scaffold becomes the responsibility of the hirer/main contractor, as regards seven day inspections. A ScaffTag does not constitute as an inspection but is merely an indicator that an inspection has taken place, in which case a recorded formal inspection report will be available. All too common are scaffold structures with a scafftag in place with no recorded inspections made. In the case of the aforementioned scaffold contractor; they should not be allowed to strike a blow until a risk assessment was put in place. Just to clarify another point: all scaffolders are required to be competent, ie. CISRS. The only time an untrained person would be allowed to work at height is when they were actually being trained. I wish you the best of luck.

Posted By Robert K Lewis Scafftags are no guarantee of any inspection - they are simply a useful visual aid to deteremine the current status of the scaffold. Many erection teams would like to leave it uninspected and scaff tagged as such. They believe it absolves them from responsibility for any fault found. As for the F91 one has to rember that this form does not require all the information listed within the Workplace regulations and thus needs to be extended- it is not then an F91. Bob