Scaffold Inspection Record Template

What requires or shapes this record

No source opened for this page gives one inspection interval for every place, and this form sets none. In Great Britain, HSE says a scaffold used for construction should be inspected before first use, then every 7 days, and after conditions such as bad weather or substantial alteration, and regulation 12 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 sets a 7-day rule for a working platform used for construction work from which a person could fall 2 metres or more. In the United States, OSHA's rule for construction scaffolds (29 CFR 1926.451(f)(3)) asks for an inspection by a competent person before each work shift and after any occurrence which could affect structural integrity. CCOHS in Canada says to inspect on an adequate basis, keep a log and check the rules of your jurisdiction. Those are three different answers. Your own jurisdiction, contract and procedure decide the interval, the events that trigger an inspection and who may inspect. This page is general information, not legal advice. A record of an inspection is not the scaffold design and not the handover certificate from the scaffold erector, and no source here says that a completed form shows that you meet a rule.

• HSE (Great Britain), Scaffolds, and Work at height FAQs, construction pages (opened 20 October 2026, no date shown)

  Great Britain's Health and Safety Executive says it is the responsibility of the scaffold user or hirer to ensure the scaffold is inspected after installation and before first use, at an interval of no more than every 7 days after that, and after any circumstances liable to jeopardise its safety, such as high winds. Inspection is by a competent person whose knowledge, training and experience suit the type and complexity of the scaffold, and the report must note any defect or matter that could create a risk and any corrective action taken, even when it was taken promptly. The page also says a scaffold not assembled to a recognised standard configuration must be designed by calculation by a competent person, that the user should tell the scaffold provider the intended use and the loads to be imposed, that the provider gives back information including the load class and a reference to enable recording, and that a scaffold not available for use should carry warning signs and be physically closed off. HSE's work at height FAQ page (hse.gov.uk/construction/faq-height.htm, opened the same day) repeats the first-use, 7-day and event-based inspection, and says that tags are not a legal requirement but a visible tag system can supplement the inspection record. The form follows these ideas in its own wording; the 7-day interval is stated here as what HSE says for Great Britain and is not printed on the form.

• Work at Height Regulations 2005 (SI 2005/735), regulation 12 and Schedule 7 (legislation.gov.uk; applies to England, Wales and Scotland)

  Regulation 12 applies only to work equipment to which regulation 8 and Schedules 2 to 6 apply, and it does not use the word scaffold. It requires that equipment whose safety depends on how it is installed or assembled is not used in any position until it has been inspected in that position; that equipment exposed to deterioration is inspected at suitable intervals and each time exceptional circumstances occur; and that a working platform used for construction work from which a person could fall 2 metres or more is not used in any position unless inspected in that position within the previous 7 days. The result of an inspection is recorded and kept until the next one is recorded. For that 7-day case the inspector prepares a report with the Schedule 7 particulars before the end of the working period and gives it to the person on whose behalf the inspection was made within 24 hours, and the employer keeps it at the site until the construction work is finished and then for 3 months at an office. Inspection means a visual or more rigorous inspection by a competent person as appropriate for safety purposes. Schedule 7 lists the location and description of the equipment, the date and time, matters that could give rise to risk, action taken, further action considered necessary, and the name and position of the person reporting. The form's sections 1, 3, 5 and 7 cover that kind of information in our own layout; the form is not a statement that it meets the regulation.

• 29 CFR 1926.451, General requirements for scaffolds, and 1926.450(b), definitions (US OSHA, read through the eCFR API, current to 16 October 2026)

  A United States rule for construction work. Paragraph (f)(3) says scaffolds and scaffold components shall be inspected for visible defects by a competent person before each work shift and after any occurrence which could affect a scaffold's structural integrity. Paragraph (f)(4) says a damaged or weakened part must be immediately repaired or replaced, braced, or removed from service until repaired. Paragraph (a)(6) says a scaffold is designed by a qualified person and constructed and loaded in accordance with that design, and (f)(1) says it is not loaded beyond its maximum intended load or rated capacity, whichever is less. Paragraph (f)(6) sets minimum distances to power lines that depend on the voltage, with an exception, paragraph (g)(4) asks for guardrails before the scaffold is released for use, and paragraph (h) asks for protection from falling objects. Section 1926.450(b) defines a competent person as one capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards and with authorisation to take prompt corrective measures. The rule has no inspection form of its own, and the form's checks are our own. The distances and the text are not reproduced here, and other countries differ.

• CCOHS (Canada), Platforms - Scaffold Use, OSH Answers fact sheet (last revised 1 November 2017, confirmed current 8 October 2024)

  The Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety says to install, inspect, maintain and repair scaffolding according to standards, regulations and the manufacturer's instructions, and to check before use that the base is sound, level and adjusted, the legs are plumb and all braces are in place, locking devices and ties are secured, cross members are level, and planks, decks and guardrails are sound and secure. It says to inspect on an adequate basis, and to keep a log of inspections and related items or repairs. It lists things not to do, among them using a scaffold without guardrails, loading beyond the rated working load, working on scaffolds in storms or high winds, working below a scaffold without head protection and using scaffolds near electrical wires. It sets no inspection interval and refers to the legislation of your jurisdiction. CCOHS's rolling scaffold fact sheet (ccohs.ca/oshanswers/safety_haz/platforms/rollingscaffold.html, opened the same day) says to inspect a rolling scaffold before each use and after any modifications. The ten groups of checks on the form draw on these ideas; the wording is ours.

Each source checked on 20 October 2026. Not legal advice; check the text in force for your site.

Field by field

The form is built around one question: may anyone use this scaffold now, and on what terms. It records who and what was inspected, why, what was found, the decision, which tag or sign was changed, what must be put right and by when, and who inspected and on what basis of competence. The scaffold types and the 34 checks are examples written for a general access scaffold: change them for your own work and for towers, suspended and special structures, keep the wording between inspections so that records can be compared, and replace any check that your design or your rules say differently. The form does not give loads, classes or an interval.

Site or project and location of the scaffold

Why: An inspection is true of one structure at one place and time. A location such as the elevation, grid line or lift range lets the next inspector find the same scaffold, and the date and time show how old the finding is.

Common mistake: Writing the site name only, so a record cannot be matched to one of several scaffolds on that site.

Scaffold ID or tag number

Why: Ties the record to the scaffold's own identity and, where you use tags, to the tag on it. HSE says the provider's information includes a reference number and date to enable recording and checking.

Common mistake: Inventing a new ID on each inspection, so the history of one scaffold cannot be followed.

Scaffold type

Why: Types differ in what they rely on to stay up and in whose guide applies, such as a system maker's instructions. The options are examples to help the inspector pick the right question set. They are not a standard's classes.

Common mistake: Ticking the type the scaffold was ordered as and not the type it now is after an alteration.

Erected by

Why: Names who built it, so a question about the design or a fault can be put to them. A record of an inspection does not replace what the erector hands over.

Common mistake: Treating the user's inspection as the erector's handover, or the reverse, so neither is done.

Design or configuration reference

Why: The checks are made against the design or the manufacturer's guide, not against memory. HSE says a scaffold is built to a recognised standard configuration or to a designed calculation, and the reference says which.

Common mistake: Leaving the reference blank, so an inspector cannot tell a missing tie from a tie the design never had.

Intended use and load class in your design

Why: Whether the load on the platforms is acceptable depends on what the design states for the intended use. The form supplies no loads: copy the class and any limit on people or material from your own design. HSE and OSHA both tie use to the design or rated capacity.

Common mistake: Writing a load class from a general rule of thumb, or loading out a platform that was designed for access only.

Reason for this inspection

Why: A first-use inspection, a periodic one, one after weather, after alteration or after an impact answer different questions and may be required by different rules. Which ones apply, and when, is for your jurisdiction and your procedure.

Common mistake: Recording every inspection as periodic, so events such as a storm or an alteration leave no trace.

Checks: Yes, No or N/A

Why: Three answers keep fine apart from not fine and does not apply. A note for every No gives the place and what was seen, which is what a defect report is built from. HSE says the report must note defects and any corrective action taken even if prompt.

Common mistake: Ticking Yes for a part you could not reach or see, or against how the scaffold looked at the last inspection.

Ties and anchors

Why: Ties hold the scaffold to the building. HSE says ties are installed as it is erected and removed in stages as it is struck, and that an equivalent tie must be provided if one is moved to allow work. A moved tie is a change to the design.

Common mistake: Checking that ties exist but not their number and pattern against the design.

Loading, signs and tags

Why: Checks the load against the design, that the status marker matches what was found today, and that nothing has been added that the design did not allow. HSE says never to sheet or net a scaffold without telling those who designed and erected it, and that a tag is not a legal requirement but can supplement the record.

Common mistake: Leaving a green tag on a scaffold that has been altered, so the tag says one thing and the structure is another.

Protection of the public and of people below

Why: The harm from a scaffold is not only to those on it. OSHA's rule asks for falling object protection, CCOHS says not to work below a scaffold without head protection, and HSE says erection and dismantling should not take place over people or busy pavements.

Common mistake: Inspecting the structure and not the pavement, the barrier or the exclusion zone below it.

Electrical and overhead hazards

Why: Contact with power lines or an overhead obstruction is a hazard to the people on the scaffold. OSHA's rule sets distances that depend on voltage, CCOHS says not to use scaffolds near electrical wires, and the line owner or your rules decide the distance for you.

Common mistake: Judging the distance by eye and recording Yes without the line owner's or your own rule's figure.

Decision

Why: The result in three words: safe to use, safe to use with restrictions, or do not use. Restrictions are written out, such as one bay closed or a load limit, so users know what is allowed. OSHA's rule says a damaged part is repaired, replaced, braced or removed from service.

Common mistake: Writing safe with restrictions and not stating the restriction, so nobody can tell what is allowed.

Tag or sign changed

Why: A decision that is not shown on the scaffold is not a decision to the people using it. The field records what was changed: a new tag, a tag removed, a do-not-use sign or a barrier, with its number or wording, the time and who did it.

Common mistake: Deciding do not use and leaving the old tag on, or removing the sign before the fix has been checked.

Defects, action, owner and due date

Why: HSE says the report notes any defect and the corrective action taken, and that doing so helps spot a recurring problem. Each defect has an owner and a due date, and is closed only when someone has looked at the fix.

Common mistake: A defect line with no owner, or one closed by the person who ordered the work without a look at the result.

Inspector's competence

Why: HSE, OSHA and the Work at Height Regulations all rely on a competent person, and they do not all define it in the same words. Who decides competence is your own procedure, so the form asks what it was based on, with a reference and any expiry.

Common mistake: Writing a card or a title with no check that it covers this type and complexity of scaffold.

Next inspection and sign-off

Why: The interval or trigger comes from your rule or procedure, which differs by jurisdiction, and the form asks for its reference. The signatures show who inspected, who is in charge of the scaffold or area and, if told, the erector. Where the record is kept and for how long is again a matter for your rules.

Common mistake: Copying an interval from another country's guidance and not from the rule that applies to your site.

Worked example

IllustrativeA record for an invented scaffold on an invented site (invented people, references and dates)

The scaffold, the dates, the checks and their results are invented to show how the form is filled in. They are not recommendations: your interval, your inspector and your restrictions come from your own design, procedure and the rules that apply to you.

When a spreadsheet stops being enough

A paper form or a spreadsheet works for a few scaffolds on one site. It stops working when many scaffolds on several sites must each be inspected on a schedule and after events, when a tag on the structure must always match the latest record, when a defect must reach an owner with a due date and a check that it was closed, and when a record must be found by scaffold, by site or by inspector some months later.

A software record keeps one history per scaffold, ties each result to the design reference and the revision in force, turns a No into an action with an owner and a reminder, shows scaffolds that are overdue by the interval you set, and holds the inspector's competence evidence with its expiry. Ask how it works offline, because many sites have no signal, and how the interval is set for your jurisdiction. The list below applies the workflow rule used by the working at heights software guide. Nothing in it shows that a product holds scaffold tags or per-scaffold histories, so test it with one of your own scaffold records.

Same rule for every product: tagged “Fall Protection”, “Safety Equipment”, “Permit to Work”, “Permits to Work (PTW)”, “Control of Work”, “Construction Safety”, “Equipment Inspection”, “Safety Management” or “EHS Management”, with a sourced working-at-height or fall-protection capability in its record, or one the vendor stated to us, labelled as vendor-stated. Documented and conditional capabilities qualify; check the linked scope before treating a module as included.

Tekmon pays for a sponsored placement (above); its place in this list follows the same rule as every entry. How lists are ordered

• Safesite · Fall protection inspection templates and equipment-linked inspections · Documented

  Product scope and boundaries

  Vendor source · Profile checked 14 October 2026

• Tekmon · Fall Protection (vendor-stated) · Vendor-stated, not yet publicly confirmed

  Product scope and boundaries

  Ask to see it in a demo · Profile checked 28 September 2026

• HammerTech · Fall protection section in high-risk inspection checklist · Conditional

  Product scope and boundaries

  Vendor source · Profile checked 14 October 2026

• Rapid Global · Hot work permit issuing · Documented

  Product scope and boundaries

  Vendor source · Profile checked 14 October 2026

• Papertrail · Fall protection and height-safety equipment records · Documented

  Product scope and boundaries

  Vendor source · Profile checked 14 October 2026

All 5 matching profiles are shown. Documentation review, not hands-on testing or a claim of compliance.