When Karl launched 360 Degrees Consultancy in 2020, he was drawing on more than three decades of experience in scaffolding management, temporary works, operational leadership and health and safety.
Having spent much of his career working directly within the scaffolding sector, he believed there was an opportunity for a consultancy built around practical industry knowledge rather than generic compliance advice.
“I was seeing businesses receiving health and safety advice from consultants who understood legislation but didn’t necessarily understand scaffolding, temporary works, access systems or the day-to-day challenges faced by contractors,” he says.
“I wanted to create a consultancy that combined specialist scaffolding expertise with practical, commercially minded advice.”
The timing was challenging. The business was launched during COVID when uncertainty was affecting construction activity across the country. However, Karl believes that the period allowed the company to establish strong foundations and build relationships that would support future growth.
From its beginnings as a sole consultancy operation, 360 Degrees Consultancy has expanded into a team of five, including three field-based consultants providing nationwide coverage.
Today, the company supports more than 120 retained clients and has worked with over 200 businesses since launching.
According to Karl, much of that growth has been driven by referrals and repeat business.
“One of the biggest milestones was securing our first retained consultancy clients and demonstrating that our specialist scaffolding-focused approach added real value,” he says.
“From there, word-of-mouth recommendations became a major driver of growth.”
The business has also received industry recognition along the way. In 2025, 360 Degrees Consultancy was named Consultancy of the Year by the North West Construction Health and Safety Group and was also recognised as runner-up in the NASC Service of the Year Awards.
“Today, the company supports more than 120 retained clients and has worked with over 200 businesses since launching.”
Specialist knowledge
The scaffolding and access sector has changed considerably during Karl’s career, particularly in the areas of compliance, competence and governance.
He believes contractors today face significantly greater scrutiny from clients, principal contractors and regulators than they did a decade ago.
“Businesses now need robust systems, documented competence, effective temporary works management and independent oversight,” he explains.
“Clients, principal contractors and regulators all expect much higher levels of evidence and assurance than they did ten or fifteen years ago.”
That shift has helped create opportunities for specialist consultancies with direct industry experience.
Unlike many health and safety providers that operate across multiple sectors, 360 Degrees Consultancy has focused on scaffolding and temporary works, offering services ranging from retained health and safety support and independent audits to scaffold inspections, anchor testing, temporary works consultancy and accreditation assistance.
Karl believes that specialist knowledge remains one of the company’s biggest strengths.
“Scaffolding is one of the most technically demanding and high-risk disciplines within construction,” he says.
“Understanding the legislation is important, but if you don’t understand scaffold design, erection methodologies, temporary works processes, inspections, tie testing and industry best practice, you’re only seeing part of the picture.”
He argues that contractors increasingly want support from people who understand the operational realities of scaffolding rather than those who simply interpret regulations.
“The best advice is always practical, proportionate and achievable. That can only come from people who genuinely understand the industry.”
“Scaffolding is one of the most technically demanding and high-risk disciplines within construction.”
Building a reputation
For Karl, the company’s growth has been as much about trust as it has been about technical expertise.
He describes the majority of clients as businesses seeking confidence that their systems, procedures and operations will withstand increasing scrutiny from clients and principal contractors.
“The majority of clients come to us because they want confidence,” he says.
“That may be confidence that their systems are compliant, confidence that their scaffolding operations are being managed correctly or confidence that they’re ready for audits, accreditation assessments or principal contractor scrutiny.”
He believes the consultancy’s ability to combine specialist scaffolding knowledge with a national service offering has helped it establish a strong reputation within the sector.
The business now provides support to companies ranging from smaller independent contractors to larger scaffolding organisations operating across multiple regions.
Looking ahead
While the business has grown significantly since its launch, Karl sees the next few years as an opportunity to further strengthen its position.
He believes 360 Degrees Consultancy has established itself as one of the UK’s leading specialist scaffolding consultancies and has ambitions to continue moving up the market.
“When we started, the goal was simply to build a business that delivered practical, specialist support to scaffolding contractors,” he says.
“Today, we’re supporting more than 120 retained clients across the UK and have worked with over 200 businesses since launch. In my view, we’ve earned a place among the leading specialist consultancies operating in the scaffolding sector.
“Our ambition now is to continue growing, strengthen our technical offering and establish ourselves among the top three specialist consultancies in the industry over the next few years.”
The company is currently expanding its temporary works offering while continuing to develop its technical consultancy services.
Despite those ambitions, Karl says the core objective remains unchanged.
“From day one, we’ve never set out to be the biggest consultancy in the sector. We’ve always wanted to be one of the most trusted.
“Our success has been built on honesty, practical advice and a genuine passion for improving standards within the scaffolding and temporary works industry.”
As compliance expectations continue to rise across the construction industry, specialist knowledge is becoming increasingly valuable. For 360 Degrees Consultancy, the challenge now is building on six years of growth while maintaining the hands-on approach that helped establish the business in the first place.
