A £500,000 scaffolding package is among a series of opportunities being brought to market for Epic Systems’ new European headquarters near Bristol, with local contractors being urged to register their interest.
Around 125 firefighters were deployed to a major fire in Mitcham that affected a scaffolding yard, workshop and nearby property, with investigators now examining the cause of the blaze.
Newcastle City Council has opened a £260,000 scaffolding tender to provide specialist access for conservation repairs to Newcastle Cathedral’s historic 15th-century Lantern Tower.
A £500,000 scaffolding package is among a series of opportunities being brought to market for Epic Systems’ new European headquarters near Bristol, with local contractors being urged to register their interest.
Around 125 firefighters were deployed to a major fire in Mitcham that affected a scaffolding yard, workshop and nearby property, with investigators now examining the cause of the blaze.
Newcastle City Council has opened a £260,000 scaffolding tender to provide specialist access for conservation repairs to Newcastle Cathedral’s historic 15th-century Lantern Tower.
A £500,000 scaffolding package is among a series of opportunities being brought to market for Epic Systems’ new European headquarters near Bristol, with local contractors being urged to register their interest.
Around 125 firefighters were deployed to a major fire in Mitcham that affected a scaffolding yard, workshop and nearby property, with investigators now examining the cause of the blaze.
Newcastle City Council has opened a £260,000 scaffolding tender to provide specialist access for conservation repairs to Newcastle Cathedral’s historic 15th-century Lantern Tower.
A £500,000 scaffolding package is among a series of opportunities being brought to market for Epic Systems’ new European headquarters near Bristol, with local contractors being urged to register their interest.
Around 125 firefighters were deployed to a major fire in Mitcham that affected a scaffolding yard, workshop and nearby property, with investigators now examining the cause of the blaze.
Newcastle City Council has opened a £260,000 scaffolding tender to provide specialist access for conservation repairs to Newcastle Cathedral’s historic 15th-century Lantern Tower.
More Artificial Intelligence is heading to the scaffolding sector, with SMART Scaffolder set to launch a new AI-powered reporting system at ScaffEx26 next month.
The new technology, called SMART Forms, introduces AI voice reporting to a range of site-based inspections and reports, allowing users to complete digital forms by speaking naturally into a mobile device.
According to SMART Scaffolder, the system records conversations, converts speech into text and automatically matches information to the correct fields within the selected form.
The company will demonstrate the technology during ScaffEx26 in September, giving contractors and visitors their first opportunity to see the system in operation.
Site reporting remains one of the most time-consuming administrative tasks for many scaffolding businesses.
Inspection records, toolbox talks, vehicle checks and safety reports often require information to be entered manually, usually through a mobile phone or tablet while working in challenging site conditions.
SMART Scaffolder believes voice recognition can help reduce the amount of time spent typing while improving the quality of information captured on site.
Users can describe what they have seen or completed in their own words, while every report remains fully editable before submission.
The technology is currently available across several workflows, including anchor and tie testing, harness and lanyard inspections, vehicle inspections, toolbox talks, site audits, incident reports, theft and loss reports, and PPE acceptance forms.
Support for scaffold inspections, scaffold handovers and scaffold variations is expected to follow in 2027.
The launch also introduces an AI-assisted form conversion service designed to help contractors digitise existing paperwork.
Companies can submit paper forms, PDFs or Word documents to SMART Scaffolder’s technical team, which will convert them into digital workflows for use within the SMART Forms platform.
SMART Scaffolder says many standard forms can be converted and deployed within days.
The reporting tools form part of the wider SMART Scaffolder ecosystem, which includes estimating, compliance, inspection, handover and site management software.
Developed by CADS, SMART Scaffolder was originally created in partnership with Lyndon Scaffolding in 2016, now part of BRAND Access Solutions.
CADS has also worked with NASC on the development of TG20:21 and TG30:24 guidance, giving the company a long-standing connection with the scaffolding sector.
Scaffolding Association Australia has stepped up its campaign for scaffolding to be formally recognised as a skilled trade, alongside the creation of a structured apprenticeship and qualification route.
SAA chief executive Scott Barber and board member Tina Wieczorek held meetings at Parliament House in Canberra on 18 August as the association seeks changes to the way scaffolders are trained and recognised in Australia.
SAA CEO Scott Barber and Board Member Tina Wieczorek representing Australia’s scaffolding industry at Parliament House.
The discussions involved representatives connected with federal employment and skills policy, the Office of the Federal Safety Commissioner and BuildSkills Australia, the national Jobs and Skills Council for the built environment.
SAA is pressing 2 linked issues: formal recognition of scaffolding as a trade and a clearer apprenticeship pathway for people entering the occupation.
Australia already has scaffold training and high-risk work licensing requirements, but the association argues that a recognised trade pathway would give employers and workers a more structured route for skills development and career progression.
Barber was appointed SAA chief executive in July, having previously led the Working at Height Association. Wieczorek joined the SAA board in late 2025 after serving as chief executive of Scaffolding, Access and Rigging New Zealand, where vocational training and licensing reform formed part of her work.
BuildSkills Australia is responsible for training package development across construction and related sectors and works with industry and government on workforce and skills issues.
No government decision has been announced and no apprenticeship model or start date has been agreed. The Canberra meetings form part of SAA’s continuing case for reform rather than confirmation that skilled-trade status will be granted.
A Hong Kong bamboo scaffolder has described how a team of about 30 workers spent 3 months removing damaged scaffold from 7 blocks at Wang Fuk Court after the deadly Tai Po fire.
Yip Hon-ying, founder of Lok Sum Scaffolding Limited, told Hong Kong publication Zolima that his company took on the dismantling work after other firms declined the job.
Yip said he initially turned the work down twice because of the risks to his team. He agreed after a Housing Department official approached him for a third time and said no other company was prepared to take it on.
The team included Yip’s former teachers, senior scaffolders and younger workers. According to his account, the group added bracing to sections of the fire-damaged scaffold to reduce the risk of collapse, worked with officials on the dismantling sequence and used drones to inspect areas before workers moved in.
The operation took about 3 months and was completed without anyone being injured, Yip said.
Yip, 41, began learning bamboo scaffolding at 15 and founded Lok Sum Scaffolding at 24. The company specialises in truss-out bamboo scaffold for repair work and is listed by Hong Kong’s Occupational Safety and Health Council among its recognised truss-out scaffolding enterprises.
The Wang Fuk Court fire on 26 November 2025 killed 168 people and damaged 7 of the estate’s 8 residential towers.
Credit: Vernon Yuen/Nexpher/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
The disaster has brought intense scrutiny to the temporary materials used during the estate’s renovation. Hong Kong authorities have said investigations identified non-compliant protective netting, combustible foam boards and other fire-safety failures. An independent committee continues to examine the circumstances of the fire and its spread.
Yip’s account gives a rare view of the work that followed the emergency response, when fire-damaged temporary structures still had to be stabilised and dismantled safely.
The final celebrity line-up has been confirmed for the 2026 Scaffolding Excellence Awards, with comedian Dara Ó Briain set to lead this year’s ceremony.
Ó Briain will be joined by Countdown presenter Rachel Riley MBE, actress and presenter Kym Marsh and former England cricketer Phil Tufnell.
The line-up brings together well-known names from British television, comedy and sport for one of the scaffolding and access industry’s biggest awards nights.
Dara Ó Briain to host
Ó Briain is best known for hosting the BBC comedy panel show Mock the Week and has presented programmes including Robot Wars, Stargazing Live, Blockbusters and Dara Ó Briain’s Go 8 Bit.
He also has a long-running stand-up career. His previous tour, So… Where Were We?, played 173 venues across 20 countries and won Best Tour at the 2023 Chortle Awards.
His latest show, Re, has played across the UK, Ireland and Northern Europe, with further international dates scheduled during 2026.
He is also due to return to television with a new comedy entertainment series, Dara’s Dull Appreciation Society, announced in June.
Rachel Riley joins awards line-up
Rachel Riley MBE will also join the celebrations, bringing another familiar television face to this year’s awards.
Riley is best known as the numbers expert on Channel 4’s Countdown, a role she has held since 2009 after replacing long-serving presenter Carol Vorderman. She has since become a regular part of the programme and is also well known for her appearances on comedy spin-off 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown.
A mathematics graduate from the University of Oxford, Riley has built much of her broadcasting career around numbers, puzzles and popular science, appearing across a range of television programmes alongside her long-running Countdown role.
Away from television, she has become a prominent campaigner for Holocaust education and against antisemitism.
Riley was awarded an MBE for her work in this area and, in October 2025, received the Freedom of the City of London in recognition of her contribution to Holocaust education and antisemitism awareness.
Kym Marsh confirmed
Actress, singer and television presenter Kym Marsh will also attend the awards.
Marsh first became widely known as a member of pop group Hear’Say before moving into acting, including more than a decade playing Michelle Connor in Coronation Street. Her work on the soap earned her several awards, including Best Female Dramatic Performance at the British Soap Awards.
She has since appeared as Nicky Walters in BBC drama Waterloo Road and as a presenter on Morning Live, adding to a television career that has spanned entertainment, drama and daytime broadcasting.
Her stage career has also kept her busy during 2026. Marsh has been starring alongside Lisa Faulkner in the world premiere stage adaptation of psychological thriller Single White Female, which toured venues across the UK and Ireland during the first half of the year.
Phil Tufnell completes line-up
Former England cricketer Phil “Tuffers” Tufnell completes the guest line-up.
The former left-arm spinner took 121 Test wickets for England, including 11 wickets against Australia at The Oval in 1997.
Since retiring from professional cricket, Tufnell has built a broadcasting career through programmes including A Question of Sport and I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, alongside his work as a cricket commentator and pundit.
He remains part of the BBC’s cricket coverage in 2026, including analysis of The Hundred.
The Scaffolding Excellence Awards recognise companies, projects and people from across the scaffolding and access sector.
Organisers say demand for tickets and tables is high and are encouraging those planning to attend to book as soon as possible.
Arc Property Services Partnership is inviting scaffold contractors to bid for a new framework covering work across the property portfolio it manages on behalf of Nottinghamshire County Council.
The framework has an estimated total value of £1.7m excluding VAT, rising to £2.04m including VAT over its full term. A maximum of 2 suppliers will be appointed.
Arc Partnership is a joint venture between Nottinghamshire County Council and SCAPE. The framework will also be available to Via East Midlands, which provides highways and infrastructure services across Nottinghamshire.
The scope covers scaffold design and drawings, material supply, erection, inspection, alteration, maintenance, dismantling and removal from site.
Work could include access and structural scaffolds, birdcages, cantilever scaffolds, staircases, loading platforms, travelling platforms, propping and crash decks, along with associated measures such as edge protection.
The procurement covers the East Midlands and South Yorkshire, with projects expected to be commissioned as and when required.
Individual jobs will be priced on a project-by-project basis, using rates submitted under the framework. Call-off work can be awarded through mini competitions and other methods set out within the tender documents.
Contractors looking to bid will need to meet a number of financial and competency requirements.
These include a minimum annual turnover of £150,000, Employers’ Liability and Public Liability insurance of £10m each and Professional Indemnity cover of £250,000.
The notice also requires appropriate CISRS cards, together with relevant SSSTS and NRSWA accreditation. Enhanced DBS checks are required for staff and subcontractors, while suppliers must commit to paying the Real Living Wage.
Bids will be assessed 70% on quality and 30% on price.
The framework is due to begin in March 2027 with an initial 2-year term and options for extension. Arc Partnership currently expects to award the framework in March 2027.
The procurement is a re-issue of an earlier competition which Arc said had been advertised only on Contracts Finder because of an administrative error. Contractors that previously submitted bids are able to tender again.
The deadline for tender submissions is 2pm on 15 September 2026, with enquiries due by 4pm on 8 September.
ScaffPlan has outlined plans for a major push into the North American scaffolding market after giving contractors their first public look at its wider software platform at the SAIA Convention in Nashville.
The Australian company has expanded well beyond the 3D scaffold design software on which it built its name, developing a single system intended to carry a scaffolding job from the first inquiry through estimating, design, site operations, commercial management and equipment control.
Our sister publication Scaffold & Access Magazine was given a private walkthrough of the platform ahead of its public presentation in Nashville.
At the centre of the system is ScaffPlan AI, which the company says can work across live project and business information to answer questions about costs, estimates, variations, labour and equipment.
During the demonstration, managing director Ben Beaumont showed how a contractor could ask which current jobs were at risk of losing money. The system identified a project running above budget, along with outstanding variations and the financial effect of those issues.
The idea is to give contractors access to information that can otherwise be spread across estimating software, spreadsheets, site records and accounting systems.
ScaffPlan was founded in 2019 by Australian scaffolder Simon Boyes, who spent more than 20 years in the industry before developing his own software.
Boyes initially spoke with around 200 scaffolders about the problems they had with existing design tools before testing an early version with 12 businesses. The commercial product followed in July 2022.
ScaffPlan now says its software has supported more than 117,000 scaffolding projects across 21 countries.
The company has since brought in Beaumont, a chartered civil engineer with more than 21 years’ experience in scaffolding and temporary works.
The ScaffPlan team in attendance at SAIA Convention in Nashville
Before joining ScaffPlan in 2023, Beaumont founded UK scaffolding design consultancy 48.3, which grew to a team of more than 50 temporary works engineers. He also served as a director of the Temporary Works Forum and co-authored industry guidance covering the management of scaffolding under BS 5975.
From estimating to site operations
The wider ScaffPlan system links several stages of a scaffolding contract.
A contractor can model a scaffold in 3D and use information from the model to produce quantities and equipment requirements. Those figures can then feed into estimates and customer proposals.
Once a contract moves on site, planned modules cover labour scheduling, RAMS, scaffold registers, inspections, handovers and permits.
Individual scaffolds can also carry QR codes giving site teams access to information including drawings, photographs, inspection records and 3D models.
The commercial side of the software is being developed to track costs against budgets, manage variations and monitor progress claims. A separate asset module will cover equipment registers, yard stock, deliveries, hire charges and equipment use.
ScaffPlan is releasing those parts of the system in stages.
Sales & Estimating and its Design products are already available. Field Ops is due to launch at the end of August, followed by Commercial in September.
The Assets module is planned for the fourth quarter of 2026.
Businesses will be able to take individual modules or use the wider platform.
AI built around company records
ScaffPlan AI sits across those modules and uses information held within the system. The company says the AI draws on scaffold industry knowledge built into the product, information supplied by each individual contractor and live data produced by jobs running through ScaffPlan.
That means a contractor could ask whether an estimate is consistent with similar previous projects or whether enough equipment is available in the yard for forthcoming work.
The system can also prepare documents such as work packs or variations for review. ScaffPlan says actions that alter company information require approval from an authorised user.
Early access to ScaffPlan AI is being opened to the first 250 businesses on its waiting list.
US expansion
The Nashville launch forms part of a wider move into North America.
ScaffPlan’s 2026 software includes imperial measurements and a frame-and-brace design module aimed at systems widely used by US contractors.
Its design software works within Tekla Structures, SketchUp and Revit.
Boyes is also due to relocate to the United States in October to lead the company’s expansion there.
Beaumont said: “It’s time to go and talk to the market properly.” ScaffPlan already had a small number of US customers ahead of the Nashville launch, according to the company.
The move into the US comes as ScaffPlan develops from a specialist scaffold design product into a much broader business system.
The next test will come as its Field Ops, Commercial and Assets modules reach contractors over the coming months and begin running alongside the design and estimating tools already in use.
A former Plymouth scaffolder who worked on Royal Navy ships at Devonport dockyard died from an asbestos-related cancer, an inquest has heard.
Denis Tapp worked at the dockyard between 1978 and 1984, erecting and dismantling scaffolding on warships including HMS Ark Royal and HMS Eagle.
He also worked around the dockyard’s blacksmith shop.
Plymouth Coroner’s Court heard the dockyard was a “very dusty place to work”, with asbestos dust released from lagging that had been removed from boiler pipes on ships and at land-based locations.
Mr Tapp later developed pleural mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer affecting the lining around the lungs and chest wall.
He died in March 2025 at the age of 72.
The inquest heard Mr Tapp had instructed solicitors to pursue a civil compensation claim in connection with his asbestos exposure. He died before signing the legal statement required for the claim.
The coroner recorded that his death was caused by industrial diseases.
Mr Tapp’s case is another reminder of the long-term consequences of asbestos exposure for workers who spent their careers in shipbuilding, construction and associated trades.
Mesothelioma can develop decades after exposure, meaning illnesses linked to work carried out many years ago continue to emerge.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with Mr Tapp’s family and loved ones at this difficult time.”
Blencowe Scaffolding, one of the South of England’s longest established scaffolding contractors, has filed a notice of appointment to appoint an administrator.
The development was first reported by Construction Enquirer, which said the filing had been identified through Red Flag Alert’s monitoring of High Court construction insolvency applications.
Importantly, the filing does not mean the company has formally entered administration. At the time of publication, Blencowe Scaffolding remained listed as an active company on the Companies House register, with no appointment of administrators appearing in the publicly available filing history.
Founded in 1964 by Pat Blencowe, the family-run business has spent more than 60 years building a reputation across the commercial, industrial, heritage and specialist access sectors. The company operates from its headquarters in Salisbury, alongside depots in Basingstoke and Eastleigh.
Over the decades, Blencowe has delivered scaffolding and access solutions for several landmark projects across southern England. Among its most notable contracts was work at Winchester Cathedral, where the company provided specialist access to support conservation and restoration work at one of Europe’s largest medieval cathedrals.
The contractor has also been involved in a wide range of complex projects requiring temporary roofing, containment systems and specialist access solutions.
The latest accounts, covering the year ending 30 June 2025, show the company employed 55 people and held plant and equipment assets worth £7.6 million.
A notice of appointment to appoint an administrator provides a period of legal protection while options such as restructuring, refinancing, a sale of the business or a formal administration process are explored.
The new tool allows users to ask questions in their own words and search across the knowledge held by NASC and CISRS, rather than working through individual guidance documents or website pages.
It covers areas including TG20, SG4, technical standards, health and safety, training, competence and CISRS requirements.
Crucially, the assistant draws exclusively from NASC and CISRS material, including guidance available only to members and approved CISRS Centres.
Answers also direct users back to the original source material, allowing them to check the guidance themselves.
The system has been introduced to make the organisations’ existing library easier to navigate, particularly when users know the information they need but are unsure which document contains it.
For smaller scaffolding contractors without their own technical department, that could make a noticeable difference when trying to find guidance quickly.
Mark Collinson, Head of Technical at NASC, said: “The guidance has always been there, but knowing exactly where to look for it has not always been straightforward, particularly for smaller businesses without a dedicated technical resource.
“This gives members a much quicker route to the right information, and it always points back to the source document so you can check it for yourself.
“It is not a replacement for reading the guidance properly, but it makes finding the right part of it far easier.”
The distinction is an important one. The assistant is designed as a way into NASC and CISRS guidance rather than an alternative to the documents themselves.
It also avoids one of the more obvious problems with general-purpose AI tools by restricting its information source to material produced by NASC and CISRS.
The assistant is available now to NASC members and CISRS Centres.
Users can access it through the round icon in the bottom-right corner of either organisation’s website. The icon is red on the NASC website and orange on the CISRS website.
Alan Osborn has been made an honorary member of the Access Association of Canada (AAC), recognising his growing work to put mental health higher on the agenda across the international scaffolding and access industry.
The honour was announced in Nashville during the SAIA Annual Convention, where Osborn was invited to speak about mental health in construction and the practical steps companies can take to support the people working for them.
Loud, funny and instantly recognisable in his Dr. Scaffold hoodie, Osborn spent 30 years building scaffolds before moving into business ownership, consultancy and standards work. In recent years, he has become one of the trade’s most recognisable voices on mental health.
His Check Your Mate campaign encourages workers and managers to look out for colleagues, recognise changes in behaviour and have the confidence to start a conversation when something doesn’t seem right.
“Being made an honorary member of the AAC is a real privilege, but for me it’s about what we do next as an industry,” Osborn said.
“Recognition is welcome; action is vital. If Check Your Mate helps even one person feel able to speak up or one colleague spot the signs early, then it’s doing its job. The AAC is going to change the access industry in Canada.”
Speaking in Nashville, Osborn drew on something scaffolders already understand well: looking after the person working alongside you.
“In scaffolding and access, we’re brilliant at looking after each other when it comes to physical safety. We see a loose fitting or a risky set-up and we step in immediately. Mental health needs the same instinctive response,” he said.
“If something doesn’t look or feel right with a mate, that’s your cue to check in, not look away.”
Osborn spoke about the pressures that come with working in the trade, including long hours, travel, demanding programmes and high-risk sites. He also addressed the stigma that can still make people reluctant to admit when they are struggling.
It is a subject shaped by his own experience. Osborn has previously spoken openly about his personal struggles and about losing five people he describes as brothers from the scaffolding trade.
“The pressures on our workforce aren’t going away: tight programmes, long travel, demanding sites. What can change is how prepared we are to support people through those pressures,” he said.
“Check Your Mate is simply about giving everyone permission and confidence to start that conversation.”
Taking the message further
Osborn’s work has also received backing from Brandon Martin, President and Owner of InSite Software, who has been supporting his work and exploring how technology already used by scaffolding and access businesses could carry wellbeing prompts, training material and easier routes to support.
“Dr Osborn’s work aligns perfectly with where we believe the industry is heading,” Martin said. “Data, planning and software can help to design safer projects, but at the heart of every system are people. Supporting their mental health is not an add-on, it’s a core part of safety.”
InSite is looking at how wellbeing could be worked into the systems site teams already use during the working day.
“At InSite, we’re looking at how we can weave wellbeing into the everyday workflows our customers already use,” Martin said.
“If we can make it natural for site teams to receive prompts, access guidance, or flag concerns through the tools they’re in all day, then checking your mate becomes part of the process, not an extra task.”
Martin said the response in Nashville showed mental health was gaining a stronger place in conversations about safety across the wider access industry.
“When you have organisations like the AAC honouring Alan’s contribution, it sends a clear message: this isn’t a side issue. Mental health belongs in the same conversation as fall prevention, load management and design.”
For Osborn, much of the answer still comes back to people looking out for each other.
“I’ve seen first-hand that a five-minute chat on site can be more powerful than any poster or policy,” he said.
“When a supervisor or a colleague makes it clear that it’s okay to talk, the culture shifts. That’s the future of safety: PPE for the mind as well as the body.”
Martin believes technology can help make those conversations easier to start.
“I’m proud that InSite can play a small part in amplifying Check Your Mate,” he said. “Technology should serve people, not the other way round. If our software helps one supervisor start a conversation they might otherwise have avoided, that’s a win for us and, more importantly, for the person on the receiving end.”
