In his first monthly column for Scaffmag, Trevor Inns of Tube Industries examines the forces shaping scaffold tube costs and explains why his latest estimate of January’s CBAM impact is lower than he expected in October.
Coriant, the group behind Rainham, Zenith and SCA, has acquired Intech Environmental to expand its industrial cleaning, confined-space rescue and rope access capabilities.
At 21, John Trayfoot blacked out on a roof and fell 8 metres through a skylight into a Brighton timber yard. Now managing director of M R Scaffolding, he starts his company's safety sessions with that story, and with a question: why do experienced people who know the risks still cut corners?
In his first monthly column for Scaffmag, Trevor Inns of Tube Industries examines the forces shaping scaffold tube costs and explains why his latest estimate of January’s CBAM impact is lower than he expected in October.
Coriant, the group behind Rainham, Zenith and SCA, has acquired Intech Environmental to expand its industrial cleaning, confined-space rescue and rope access capabilities.
At 21, John Trayfoot blacked out on a roof and fell 8 metres through a skylight into a Brighton timber yard. Now managing director of M R Scaffolding, he starts his company's safety sessions with that story, and with a question: why do experienced people who know the risks still cut corners?
In his first monthly column for Scaffmag, Trevor Inns of Tube Industries examines the forces shaping scaffold tube costs and explains why his latest estimate of January’s CBAM impact is lower than he expected in October.
Coriant, the group behind Rainham, Zenith and SCA, has acquired Intech Environmental to expand its industrial cleaning, confined-space rescue and rope access capabilities.
At 21, John Trayfoot blacked out on a roof and fell 8 metres through a skylight into a Brighton timber yard. Now managing director of M R Scaffolding, he starts his company's safety sessions with that story, and with a question: why do experienced people who know the risks still cut corners?
In his first monthly column for Scaffmag, Trevor Inns of Tube Industries examines the forces shaping scaffold tube costs and explains why his latest estimate of January’s CBAM impact is lower than he expected in October.
Coriant, the group behind Rainham, Zenith and SCA, has acquired Intech Environmental to expand its industrial cleaning, confined-space rescue and rope access capabilities.
At 21, John Trayfoot blacked out on a roof and fell 8 metres through a skylight into a Brighton timber yard. Now managing director of M R Scaffolding, he starts his company's safety sessions with that story, and with a question: why do experienced people who know the risks still cut corners?
WorkSafe New Zealand is targeting falls from height during residential construction inspections running from October to December, as part of a wider programme of visits to high-risk workplaces.
The regulator announced the programme on 15 September, covering housebuilding sites alongside beef and lamb farms. Inspectors will assess how businesses manage critical risks and discuss improvements with workers and employers.
In a construction update on 2 October, WorkSafe said fall risks accounted for about 70% of prohibition notices and 45% of enforcement notices issued in the sector over the previous two years.
The visits will focus on education, but the regulator said inspectors would intervene where serious risks were not being controlled.
“Construction sites are dynamic environments, with multiple trades often working alongside each other,” said WorkSafe area manager Barney Hoskins.
WorkSafe said planning and communication between trades were needed to keep protective measures effective as projects progressed. Employers should identify hazards, assess risks and choose suitable equipment.
It also challenged the idea that short jobs need fewer precautions, saying fall-prevention measures must be considered even for tasks lasting only minutes.
The wider inspection programme is intended to improve understanding of health and safety responsibilities. Findings will also help WorkSafe understand current practices and shape its support for businesses.
WorkSafe has also revised its working-at-height guidance, adding material on risk management, safety decking and worker engagement. It said ladders were involved in about 40% of construction injuries caused by falls from height.
STAR Housing has opened procurement for a dedicated scaffolding lot estimated at £606,625, covering access for repairs and improvements to its Shropshire housing stock.
The opportunity forms part of the housing provider’s Major Works & Repairs Framework. The wider procurement has an estimated value of £31.48m including VAT across several trades and services.
Under Lot 7, scaffolding suppliers will provide temporary access for other contractors carrying out maintenance, repairs and improvement works.
The scope includes scaffold and associated access-system design, erection, inspection, maintenance and dismantling, with compliance with applicable health and safety legislation required throughout.
The buyer, Shropshire Towns and Rural Housing Limited, is seeking a panel of suppliers with the technical capability, financial standing and operational capacity to deliver the work.
The £606,625 figure is an estimated lot value, rather than an announced contract award or guaranteed spend.
Applications are handled through the eSourcing Data supplier portal. Contractors should check the procurement documents for participation requirements and the confirmed submission timetable.
NASC president Sarah Klieve says CISRS served notice on CSCS to seek a resolution “from a stronger negotiation position”, as Build UK tells the scheme the card rules are not meant to keep scaffolders out of other sectors.
CISRS served notice to end its CSCS licence partly to give itself a stronger hand in talks over the industry card rules, according to a member of its board.
NASC president Sarah Klieve
In a statement to Scaffmag, Sarah Klieve, President of NASC and a member of the CISRS Board, said the board had faced a choice once it concluded the scheme could not fully comply with the rules.
“We could consult on the non-conformance and risk a 90-day termination or terminate with a long consultation period and seek a resolution from a stronger negotiation position,” she said. “I must stress that it has always been the board’s position to seek change of clause 4.”
Clause 4 of the Construction Leadership Council’s (CLC) Industry Card Schemes rules, issued in March 2024, states: “Cards will not be issued for non-construction related occupations or those visiting sites.”
Klieve said that wording “is incompatible with the issuing of cards for the non-construction work that makes up so much of the scaffolding and access industry.”
“Construction is only one of the sectors to which scaffolding and access are essential: the industry needs a certification scheme that is applicable to all the projects on which scaffolders work and all the places in which they work,” she said.
CISRS has given notice to end its licence to carry the CSCS logo on its cards. CSCS gives the end date as 31 May 2027. CISRS has said it would withdraw the notice if Clause 4 is reworded.
“There is no intention to prevent scaffolding occupations from working in sectors other than construction,” Brown wrote.
He added that he was “aware that the CLC has clarified the intent behind point 4 of the recommendation and, along with Unite the Union, has reaffirmed its commitment to the recommendation.”
Build UK says it will work with CSCS, the CLC and others to make sure cards carrying the CSCS logo remain available for scaffolding occupations. Brown offered to meet Dickin and the chair of CISRS and NASC “to discuss the options available to CISRS going forward.”
The CLC’s clarification has not been published.
Training centres dispute “termination risk”
The Scaffolding Training Alliance (STA), an informal association of principals from CISRS-accredited training centres, has challenged the reasons CISRS has given for leaving.
At the CISRS webinar on 22 September, CISRS said its legal advice had found a risk of the licence being ended with only 90 days’ notice.
In a “fact check” published on 28 September, the STA said: “There had been no threat of termination. The 90-day period is simply the standard notice period within the affiliate agreement.”
Klieve’s statement describes the 90-day risk as something that could follow if CISRS consulted on its non-conformance. It does not say CSCS had threatened to end the licence.
The STA also questioned how CISRS measured the scale of the problem. CISRS surveyed the 20 largest NASC members, which the STA calls around 2% of a membership of about 900.
“NASC has created a perceived problem that does not exist,” the STA said.
The STA is calling on CISRS to publish its legal advice or a summary of it, disclose its “Project Realign” strategy in full, re-run the webinar with every question visible, issue written guidance on site access and card validity, and consult formally with scaffolders, employers, contractors and training centres.
“No intention of diluting the CISRS standards”
Klieve said CISRS was “working with a range of stakeholders to try to find a solution to this issue that is acceptable to all parties”. She said it wanted to remove “the prospect of scaffolders having to carry multiple cards and companies having to put systems in place to recognise them.”
“There is absolutely no intention of diluting the CISRS standards or opening work in access and scaffolding to people without industry-recognised qualifications,” she said.
She described much of the reaction as “ill-founded speculation and rumour”, and said the board’s “only intention has been to protect the interests of all card-holding scaffolders and the scaffolding companies that employ them.”
The statement did not say whether CISRS has accepted Build UK’s offer of a meeting, whether the CLC’s clarification resolves its concerns, or whether it will publish its legal advice.
Why it matters
Build UK’s Training Standard says workers in construction occupations need a card carrying the CSCS logo, and that standard has not changed. Unless CISRS withdraws its notice, new and renewed CISRS cards issued after the licence ends will not carry the logo.
Build UK’s letter does not say whether its members would accept those cards. It does say the card rules are not meant to stop scaffolders working across sectors, which is the problem CISRS says it is trying to solve.
Existing CISRS cards with the CSCS logo remain valid until they expire.
CISRS and NASC will hold a second webinar on the subject at 10am on 8 October. Registration is open on the NASC website.
Night-time lane closures will allow crews to lower access platforms beneath the roadway as work progresses on the bridge’s final seismic retrofit phase.
Temporary access platforms will be lowered beneath San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge from Monday 5 October as contractors prepare for the next stage of seismic strengthening work.
The Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District announced overnight lane closures on 2 October to provide space for crews to lower the platforms and construction materials beneath the deck. Traffic will continue in both directions throughout the operations. District announcement
The access works support Phase 3B of the retrofit programme, covering the main suspension span, both towers, the side spans and the south tower pier.
Halmar International is delivering the first construction contract, focused on the towers and side spans. The District approved the US$863.9m award in October 2025, with the notice to proceed taking effect on 5 January 2026. District engineering report
Construction access planning formed part of Halmar’s earlier preconstruction role, alongside detailed scheduling and work with the District’s engineering team to finalise the construction documents. Halmar’s project details
The first week’s closures are scheduled between 9pm and 5am from Monday to Thursday nights. One southbound and two northbound lanes will remain open, with no closures scheduled for Friday 9 October.
Phase 3B is scheduled to run from 2026 to 2036 through two consecutive construction contracts. The wider works include strengthening tower bases and trusses, replacing expansion joints and installing energy dissipation devices.
The final phase is intended to keep the bridge operational after a major earthquake, supporting emergency response and access across the bay. Project overview
Construction companies using subcontractors to deliver work for clients can now face civil penalties for illegal working further down their supply chain.
The changes took effect across the UK on 1 October. They also bring worker’s contracts, individual subcontractors and certain online matching services into the right-to-work regime.
The Home Office’s updated guidance uses a housebuilding contractor as an example: a company contracted to build homes engages other businesses to carry out parts of the project.
In that arrangement, liability can extend beyond the employer directly engaging a worker. It does not automatically apply to every company in the chain, and the direct employer remains responsible for the original right-to-work check.
To protect themselves against extended liability, contractors must have a written statement in place before work starts, setting out the required terms for subcontractors.
These include checking workers’ eligibility, obtaining written consent before further subcontracting, passing equivalent obligations down the chain and allowing compliance audits. Contracts must also provide for action where illegal working is found and co-operation with Home Office investigations.
The revised code requires proportionate systems to confirm that the person doing the work is the person who was checked. Contractors can rely on another firm’s systems where they take reasonable steps to establish that those systems work.
Existing contracts
Arrangements made before 1 October are not brought into the extension simply because work continues. Renewals and variations must be considered according to whether they create a new contractual arrangement.
Standard agency arrangements, where an agency supplies workers into a hirer’s own operations, do not require routine duplication of the agency’s checks.
The Home Office says there is no general grace period for the new rules. Whether an arrangement is covered depends on how it works in practice, rather than the label given to a worker or subcontractor.
New figures from the Home Builders Federation (HBF), based on Glenigan data, show that 45,315 homes received planning permission during the second quarter of 2026, down 21% on the previous quarter.
Across the 12 months to June, permission was granted for 214,515 homes. That was 8% below the previous year and 36% below the peak recorded in 2017.
The decline was particularly sharp among larger developments, which are likely to generate more sustained access requirements once construction begins. Permissions for homes on sites containing more than 10 units fell 21% from the previous quarter to 39,689.
Just 1,234 projects containing three or more homes were approved during Q2, according to HBF, the lowest quarterly figure in its records.
A warning further down the pipeline
For scaffolding contractors, the figures matter because residential construction remains an important source of repeat work across the UK supply chain.
Planning permissions sit early in the development cycle. Sites already under construction will continue generating scaffolding requirements, while schemes with permission can take months or longer to reach the point where scaffolders arrive on site.
The latest figures therefore provide more of a warning about the future residential workload pipeline than a measure of current demand.
Government housing data shows an estimated 35,910 new-build homes started in England during Q2, up 6% on the previous quarter and 20% compared with the same period last year. Across the year to June, estimated starts were 15% higher year on year.
Those figures require some caution. Government statisticians said the increase in reported starts during recent quarters was partly due to a higher number being recorded through the Building Safety Regulator following changes to its reporting.
HBF argues that the current level of permissions is too low to support that ambition.
Its chief executive Neil Jefferson said the figures showed a housing pipeline being “squeezed to historically low levels”, with too few permissions coming forward to meet housing demand.
HBF has attributed the fall to weak buyer demand, mortgage affordability, rising construction costs and increasing taxes and policy costs. Those explanations reflect the housebuilding industry’s position.
There are reasons to expect conditions could improve. Glenigan’s latest construction forecast expects underlying private housing starts to rise 13% in 2027, followed by a further 5% increase in 2028, supported by lower interest rates and changes to planning rules.
For scaffold contractors, the next stage will be whether the sharp fall in permissions is temporary or begins feeding through into fewer sites reaching construction.
Companies with a high dependence on volume housebuilding could feel that change more sharply than businesses spread across commercial, infrastructure, industrial and refurbishment work.
W G Carter was sentenced on 24 September after Richard “Felix” Roper fell while working on 30 August 2022. He died the following day.
The Health and Safety Executive said the incident happened after flooring and supporting timbers had been removed, leaving an area where workers were exposed to a fall from height.
W G Carter pleaded guilty to an offence under work-at-height legislation. The company was fined £120,000 and ordered to pay £5,247 in costs.
The case is relevant to the access sector because it centres on how work is sequenced once a previously safe working surface has been opened up.
HSE said a safer method was later adopted which used suitable access equipment so joists could be installed from below. That removed the need for workers to stand on or cross the exposed floor area while the structure was incomplete.
HSE guidance says construction work at height must be properly planned, supervised and carried out using suitable equipment. Where work at height cannot be avoided, the regulator says measures should first prevent falls, including collective protection such as scaffolds, tower scaffolds or mobile elevating work platforms.
The guidance also says safe access should be considered as part of the work method rather than after work has started. Equipment needed for the job should be identified and available before the task begins.
Falls from height remain one of the main causes of death and serious injury in construction. HSE says work sequencing, access arrangements and the condition of the working surface should all form part of the risk assessment before work begins.
For access contractors, the case is another reminder that temporary access requirements can change as a structure is stripped back, altered or rebuilt. A safe platform at one stage of a job can become an open fall risk once flooring, supports or edge protection are removed.
A Queensland coroner has called for mandatory additional controls on freestanding tower scaffolds used in public places after finding that a widely used height-to-base “rule of thumb” was not enough to protect against strong winds.
Coroner Megan Fairweather made the recommendations following an inquest into the death of Andrew Stephen Jones, 37, who was struck by a tower scaffold while watching his son play football at Mitchelton Football Club in Brisbane on 25 July 2021.
The findings, delivered on 30 September, identify a broader industry issue around the way wind risk is assessed for low-level freestanding tower scaffolds and recommend changes to Queensland’s Scaffolding Code of Practice.
Scaffold was within accepted height-to-base guidance
The aluminium tower had been installed in April 2021 to provide a filming platform for Premier League matches. It stood in an open, publicly accessible area between two football pitches and was expected to remain in place for several months.
The structure measured about 3.1m overall, with the working platform just over 2.1m above ground. Its minimum base dimension was 1.28m and its height-to-base ratio was around 1.6:1.
The inquest heard that this was comfortably within the widely accepted industry guidance that a tower with a base greater than 1.2m could be considered stable where the working height did not exceed three times the minimum base dimension.
However, the coroner found that relying on that ratio alone did not provide an adequate assessment of wind risk.
Senior structural engineer Aaron Poole estimated that the tower’s critical wind range for toppling was between 47km/h and 54km/h. Evidence before the inquest placed likely gusts at the site on the day of the incident between 41km/h and 68km/h.
The current Australian guideline AS/NZS 4576:2020 advises that freestanding tower scaffolds should not be operated or left unattended where wind speeds may exceed 40km/h. Queensland’s Scaffolding Code, however, refers to “strong winds” without defining the term or giving installers a simple method for assessing when extra controls are required.
Simple controls could have prevented collapse
Mr Poole told the inquest that readily available measures including outriggers, tie-downs, tube-and-clip restraints and additional dead loads could substantially increase stability. His evidence was that appropriate controls could withstand wind loads above 70km/h and would very likely have prevented the incident.
The coroner said these measures were practical, accessible and affordable, and would remove the need for installers of lower tower scaffolds to carry out complex engineering calculations.
The findings also highlight a regulatory gap for lower towers. Because the scaffold’s working platform was below four metres, its erection did not require a High Risk Work Licence for scaffolding and routine inspections were not required under the relevant regulations. There was also no requirement for a formal handover certificate.
Fairweather found there had been no formal plan for ongoing monitoring or safety risk management after installation. She said the circumstances raised issues “much broader than the actions of any individual” and found that the accepted industry rule of thumb, when used in isolation, did not adequately assess strong-wind risk.
Four changes recommended
The coroner recommended that Queensland’s Office of Industrial Relations amend the Scaffolding Code of Practice to define “strong winds” and require freestanding tower scaffolds erected in public places to use additional controls appropriate to the circumstances.
She also recommended a comprehensive education campaign for manufacturers, suppliers, installers and hire companies, followed by a compliance campaign to ensure the changes are understood in practice.
A fourth recommendation calls for manufacturers and distributors to provide clearer instructions, guidance and warnings covering design choice, environmental conditions, location, public access, duration of use and suitable control measures.
The Coroners Court records the case as requiring a Queensland Government response. Under the state’s process for coronial recommendations, the government aims to publish its response within six months.
Previous prosecution
Mobile Scaffolds Queensland Pty Ltd, which supplied and installed the tower, was fined A$400,000 in August 2024 after being convicted of failing to comply with its health and safety duty. The company was in liquidation and the case was heard in its absence.
The coronial findings note that installer Christopher Sweedman was separately charged, but that charge was dismissed in November 2024 after the Work Health and Safety Prosecutor offered no evidence.
Fairweather found Mr Sweedman had acted in good faith within the limits of his training, experience and accepted industry practice. She also accepted expert evidence that he could not reasonably have been expected to understand and apply the engineering calculations contained in the relevant Australian standards.
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland issued a safety alert following the 2021 incident, warning that tower scaffolds must account for environmental loads, site location, prolonged installation and the safety of people nearby.
The Queensland Scaffolding Code of Practice 2021 currently requires environmental factors to be considered and calls for alternative height-to-base ratios or extra support where a tower is likely to be exposed to strong winds.
A Guardian column has brought wider attention to recruitment pressures already affecting scaffolding contractors.
Broadcaster Adrian Chiles has put scaffolding recruitment in the national spotlight with a Guardian column published on 1 October.
His comments follow NASC’s warning earlier this year that the scaffolding and access sector could have around 40,000 roles to fill when recruitment demand, retirements and staff turnover are taken into account.
The figure is an estimate extrapolated across the wider industry. The trade body’s survey put existing vacancies among its full member companies at around 1,760 when the findings were published in March.
Contractors feel the pressure
NASC’s Skills Gap Report 2026 found that 56% of responding firms had at least one vacancy. Some 83% expected to recruit during the year, with scaffolders accounting for the largest share of anticipated demand.
Unfilled jobs were already affecting business. Almost half of respondents, 47%, reported a reduced ability to take on new contracts, while 46% said existing staff faced increased workloads.
Retirement adds further pressure. The report estimated that around 1,459 directly employed workers across full NASC members could leave through retirement by 2029.
Writing in the report, NASC group chief executive Clive Dickin said: “Our report finds structural challenges, including recruitment difficulties, uneven regional pressures”.
Training takes time
NASC has called for continued investment in apprenticeships and CISRS training. It has also argued for short-term migration policy support to help experienced overseas scaffolders meet demand while new entrants complete their training.
The research was based on 151 responses collected from full NASC member organisations in December 2025. Its membership-wide totals are estimates, and the survey did not directly cover non-member businesses.
For contractors, the immediate issue is capacity. The report connects recruitment difficulties with fewer opportunities to accept work and greater pressure on the people already on site.
PERI UK has appointed Craig McDonnell as engineering director, with responsibility for its nationwide engineering teams and the design of scaffolding, formwork and temporary works solutions.
McDonnell brings more than 25 years’ engineering experience to the role. Based at the company’s Rugby headquarters, he will provide technical leadership for teams supporting construction and infrastructure projects across the UK.
He previously progressed to senior engineering manager at J. Murphy & Sons, where he led the contractor’s temporary works design team. His work included early utility diversions for HS2’s Curzon Street station in Birmingham and the Transpennine Route Upgrade between York and Leeds.
McDonnell said his experience on the contractor side had shaped his approach to working with temporary works suppliers, particularly the need to involve engineering teams before work reaches site.
“The earlier we get involved in the design process, the greater the opportunity to add value,” he said.
“If a client comes to us twelve weeks before they get to site, my team can help them understand what equipment is needed, where and how it will be used and how it can be installed safely and efficiently.”
He said earlier involvement gives engineers more scope to assess installation methods and consider alternative designs while contractors still have flexibility in their plans. He also acknowledged that contractors often face urgent requirements and short lead times.
“Having worked as a client of temporary works suppliers, I’ve seen first-hand what contractors need from engineering partners,” he said. “Ultimately, it’s about providing practical solutions that help clients deliver projects safely, efficiently and on programme.”
McDonnell studied mechanical engineering at Liverpool John Moores University before working in the design and manufacture of rail braking systems.
He later moved into civil and structural engineering at Mabey Support Systems, working on propping, support and bridging. His subsequent experience included movable passenger access structures for cruise ships and ferries, followed by underground supports and foundation work at Morgan Sindall.
At PERI UK, his priorities include improving the efficiency of engineering operations and strengthening customer relationships.
“What attracted me to PERI is that engineering is front and centre of everything they do,” he said.
