Missing Tie and a Tag That Says Safe
During a walk-round you find a frame scaffold along a building facade at 9 m height. The scaffold tag at the access point is green and dated this morning, signed by a labourer who is not a scaffolder. Looking up, you see that the row of ties nearest the corner is missing for two bays, and one tie that is present is fixed to a plastic window frame rather than the structure. The scaffold carries bricklayers and pallets of blocks on two lifts. A worker says the ties were removed yesterday to let a membrane crew work and were never replaced. The scaffold contractor is off site until Monday; it is Friday afternoon.
1. Assess the status of the scaffold and the validity of the tag.
Read the worked answer
The scaffold is not safe and must be taken out of service. Missing ties over two bays at the corner remove restraint exactly where wind uplift and overturning are highest, and a tie fixed to a plastic window frame provides no reliable anchorage. The scaffold is loaded with pallets, so the consequence of collapse is serious.
The green tag is invalid. A tag is only a record that a competent person inspected and found the scaffold fit; it is not a substitute for inspection. A labourer signing it does not make it valid, and the tag cannot cover a condition that changed after signing. The correct action is to stop work, remove or overturn the tag, and mark the scaffold as out of service until a competent person reinstates the ties and re-inspects.
2. Set out the actions and sequence needed before bricklaying can restart, including who should authorise it.
Read the worked answer
Sequence: stop and isolate the affected lifts; remove workers and unload the pallets to reduce load; barricade access and fit an out-of-service tag; photograph and record the defects; contact the scaffold contractor or another competent scaffolder to reinstate ties to the building structure at the designed spacing, including the corner bays, and replace the window-frame tie with a proper anchor. Then have a competent person inspect the whole scaffold, check ties, bracing, standards, ledgers, guardrails and loading, and only then re-tag and authorise reloading. The principal contractor should also investigate why ties were removed without a permit and why an unauthorised person signed the tag.