What counts as a modification
A modification is any change to the scaffold as it was handed over. Removing or moving a board, a guardrail, a toe board, a brace or a tie all count, as do adding a lift, extending a platform, fixing sheeting or signs, or taking part of the scaffold down.
Small changes count too. A single board lifted to pass a pipe through, or a guardrail taken off to load material, changes the scaffold that was inspected.
The question is not how big the change is, but whether the scaffold is still the one in the design and the handover.
Why only the scaffolding team
The scaffolding team knows how the scaffold carries its loads and what each component is doing. A tie that looks redundant to a cladding fixer may be what keeps that section upright; a brace in the way may be what stops the run from racking.
Changes made by other trades are also invisible to everyone else. The next person onto the platform assumes it is as it was handed over, and the inspection record says so.
Keeping changes with the scaffolding team keeps one person responsible for the scaffold's condition — which is what makes the handover and the inspections mean something.
How a change is requested
A trade that needs the scaffold changed asks the person responsible for it, explaining what is needed and why: access to a window, room for a delivery, a platform at a new level.
The request is checked against the design. Some changes are simple and can be made straight away; others — removing ties, adding loads, sheeting — need the designer's agreement, and sometimes a revised design.
Adjustments as the work front moves are a normal part of scaffold work, and planning for them is easier than reacting to them. On a long job, regular changes are often built into the programme.
Making the change safely
While the change is made, the affected area is closed to other users. Any protection that has to be removed is replaced as soon as the work allows, and replacement ties go in before original ties come out.
Partial dismantling follows the same principles as full dismantling: from the top down, with ties removed only as the structure above them is taken away.
When the change is complete, loading information and signs are updated if the use of the scaffold has changed.
Inspection before reuse
A modified scaffold is inspected before anyone uses it again, and the inspection is recorded. Until then, the altered area stays closed.
If an unauthorised change is found, the scaffold — or that part of it — is taken out of use until it has been put right and inspected.
Adjustments and partial dismantling as the work front moves are part of the erection, supervision and dismantling service, including short-notice attendance when a change cannot wait.
