Documents are AI-assisted drafts and must be checked and approved by a competent person before use. Not legal or professional advice. Read the disclaimer
Scaffold RAMS are often rejected because they read like a generic fall-from-height sheet and never mention ties, ground, or the pavement. The people who will stand under the scaffold, including the public, need a method that says how the structure is built, altered and handed over.
This sample separates erection, use and dismantle, and it points at CISRS competence and a TG20-compliant design or a bespoke design where the build is outside a standard configuration. It is a draft for the scaffold contractor's competent person, not a design certificate.
When to use it. Independent tied scaffolds, pavement gantries, temporary roofs, and mobile towers used as the working platform. Alterations by other trades are a stated prohibition, not an assumption.
The ground, the ties, and the loading the scaffold is designed for.
Who erects and alters it, and the inspection before use and after alteration or weather.
Exclusion zones for the public and for falls of tube and fittings.
How the scaffold is handed over, and that it is not altered by other trades.
Fall protection during erection, not only for the people who later work from it.
A rescue and weather stop if the tie pattern or the height changes.
Sample excerpt
From the scaffolding base inside RamsBox. It is not a RAMS for a real address until you add the site.
Collapse from poor ties, overload or weak ground. Who might be harmed: Operatives, other people on site, and anyone nearby
Build to the stated TG20 configuration or the bespoke design. Do not improvise ties or bay lengths.
Check ground bearing. Use sole boards. Do not set standards on manhole covers, soft verge or frozen ground that will thaw.
Confirm design or TG20 configuration, pavement permission, and service locations.
Brief the gang. Agree the exclusion zone and the public side.
Set out sole boards and standards. Check the ground.
Hazards and controls
Collapse from poor ties, overload or weak ground
Who might be harmed: Operatives, other people on site, and anyone nearby
Initial 10 (High) · residual 5 (Medium)
Build to the stated TG20 configuration or the bespoke design. Do not improvise ties or bay lengths.
Check ground bearing. Use sole boards. Do not set standards on manhole covers, soft verge or frozen ground that will thaw.
Post the loading limit. Do not use the scaffold as a materials yard.
Falls while erecting or dismantling
Who might be harmed: Operatives doing the task
Initial 15 (High) · residual 5 (Medium)
Use a collective method: advanced guardrail or a sequential build that keeps a protected platform, as the system requires.
Harnesses only where the method says they are the control, with anchors and a rescue plan that works at that height.
Falling tubes, boards and fittings
Who might be harmed: Members of the public next to the work; Other contractors and visitors on site
Initial 12 (High) · residual 4 (Low)
Exclusion zone or a pavement gantry with brickguards and fans where people pass underneath.
Pass materials up. Do not throw fittings. Keep a gin wheel or rope only as the method describes.
Scaffold left incomplete and then used
Who might be harmed: Operatives doing the task; Other contractors and visitors on site
Initial 15 (High) · residual 5 (Medium)
Incomplete scaffolds are signed 'scaffold incomplete' and access is physically stopped.
Handover is recorded before other trades are allowed on.
Unauthorised alteration
Who might be harmed: Operatives, other people on site, and anyone nearby
Initial 15 (High) · residual 5 (Medium)
Tell every user at induction that ties, boards and guardrails are not to be moved.
If a tie must move for the works, the scaffold contractor does it and inspects afterwards.
Wind, impact from vehicles, or undermining by excavation
Who might be harmed: Operatives, other people on site, and anyone nearby
Initial 10 (High) · residual 4 (Low)
Stop erection in winds that make handling tubes unsafe.
Protect standards near vehicle routes. Recheck if an excavation opens beside the scaffold.
Relevant legislation and guidance
Only the UK sources kept for this trade. This is not legal advice, and RamsBox is not affiliated with HSE.
Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Employers and the self-employed must protect workers and others so far as is reasonably practicable.
Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. The assessment must be suitable and sufficient, and the controls must be put in place.
Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 (as amended 2022). PPE is the last resort in the hierarchy of control. It must be suitable, maintained, and provided to limb (b) workers as well as employees after the 2022 amendment.
Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 2013. The responsible person reports specified injuries, diseases and dangerous occurrences. This RAMS does not decide whether a report is due.
Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Where this is construction work, the contractor plans, manages and monitors it. This RAMS does not replace a construction phase plan.
HSE L153 Managing health and safety in construction. HSE guidance on CDM 2015. Use it to judge whether the plan is proportionate to the job.
Work at Height Regulations 2005. Avoid work at height where you can. Otherwise prevent a fall, and only then minimise the distance and the consequences.
HSE INDG401 Working at height: a brief guide. Short HSE guide to the Work at Height Regulations. It does not replace a site-specific method.
NASC TG20 Good practice guidance for tube and fitting scaffolding. Operational guide for standard tube-and-fitting scaffolds. A configuration outside TG20 needs a bespoke design.
NASC SG4 Preventing falls in scaffolding operations. NASC guidance on collective fall protection when erecting, altering and dismantling scaffolding.
Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. Work equipment must be suitable, maintained, and used by people who have been given the right information and training.
Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. Lifting equipment and lifting operations must be planned, supervised and carried out safely.
Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992. Avoid hazardous manual handling where reasonably practicable, assess what remains, and reduce the risk.
HSE HSG150 Health and safety in construction. General HSE construction guidance. It does not replace a trade-specific method for this job.
Sequence, tickets and PPE
Confirm design or TG20 configuration, pavement permission, and service locations. TG20 or the design, the pavement permission, and the service drawings are on site before the first tube goes up.
Brief the gang. Agree the exclusion zone and the public side. Agree the exclusion zone and which side the public uses. No one starts until that is set.
Set out sole boards and standards. Check the ground. Sole boards on checked ground. Do not build off soft, sloping or unassessed ground.
Erect lift by lift using the collective fall method for this system. Collective fall protection as this system requires. Do not climb an incomplete lift.
Install ties as the design specifies, as the scaffold rises, not at the end. Ties go in as the scaffold rises, to the design, not left until the end.
Fit guardrails, toe boards and brickguards. Stop access if a lift is incomplete. Guardrails, toe boards and brickguards on before the lift is used. Stop access if a lift is incomplete.
Inspect, tag, and hand over in writing before other trades use it. Inspect, tag, and hand over in writing before any other trade uses the scaffold.
Dismantle top down, with the exclusion zone back in place. Do not bomb tubes. Top down only. Exclusion zone back in place. Do not bomb tubes or boards.
CISRS scaffolder card at the grade the structure requires
A competent person to inspect and record the scaffold
PASMA only where the job is a prefabricated tower, not as a substitute for CISRS on tube and fitting
Supervisor able to stop the job if the build leaves the design
Safety helmet with chin strap while erecting
Safety boots
Gloves
Harness and lanyard only as specified in the method, inspected before use
Hi-vis where vehicles or the public are close
DRAFT - needs competent person review. A competent person still has to check the draft against the site.
Questions on scaffolding RAMS
Does this replace a TG20 compliance sheet or a design drawing?
No. The RAMS should say which one applies. A standard configuration can follow TG20. Anything else needs a design. This draft tells you to attach that reference before the job starts.
How often is a scaffold inspected?
The base method includes inspection before first use, after alteration, after events that could affect stability, and at least every seven days, with a visible tag. That follows the Work at Height Regulations schedule.
Can a labourer move a tie to get a window in?
No. The draft says only the scaffold contractor alters ties, boards or guardrails, then re-inspects. Other trades stop and call them.
Is a RAMS a legal requirement for scaffolding?
Scaffolding is construction work. CDM 2015 expects it to be planned, and the Work at Height Regulations 2005 expect falls to be prevented during erection as well as use. TG20 and the NASC guidance are the usual technical references. The RAMS is the job-specific plan, not a copy of the TG20 eGuide.
Who should write a scaffolding RAMS?
The scaffolder or supervisor who will run the erection. A designer’s TG20 compliance sheet does not describe this pavement, these ties or this loading. The competent person signing the RAMS should be able to reject a tie pattern that does not match the building.
What is the difference between a risk assessment and a method statement for a scaffold?
The assessment covers falls, collapse, falling materials and the public. The method is the sequence: inspect the ground, set the exclusion, erect in the designed order, tie as you go, inspect, then hand over. Alterations by other trades belong in both.
Is a scaffold inspection the same document as the RAMS?
No. The inspection record shows the scaffold was checked. The RAMS shows how it will be put up and used on this job. You need both.
AI-assisted draft. A competent person must review it and approve it for the site before use. RamsBox does not provide health and safety advice and is not affiliated with HSE.