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Don't scrimp on safety warns Scafftag

“When it comes to the crunch, don’t cut back on safety,” cautions Jonathan Edwin, business manager for on-site safety specialist, Scafftag.

Scafftag says that ignoring these warnings will lead to additional costs for construction industry members through increased accidents, downtime, fines and compensation payouts. It will also make it harder to bid for lucrative public projects.

"The last thing you want during already financially tough times is to incur unpredictable costs due to accidents or equipment failure. Firms need to maintain their existing safety and maintenance systems and even up their game to win some of the upcoming public sector projects."

The firm warns that the risks of fines and other punitive measures is becoming more pronounced as legislative and regulatory bodies seek to address the industry’s safety record.

Scafftag’s warning comes after an influencing group of MPs – the Business and Enterprise Committee – called for more HSE site inspections and “radical steps to improve the sector’s health and safety record”.

Coupled with this, the national trade association for scaffolding and access – NASC – has expelled two of its members for failing to meet its standards and has instructed all of its membership to compete biennial audits to ensure continued compliance.
“The construction industry is feeling the effects of a double whammy in terms of price pressure on raw materials prices and a reduced order book. At times such as this, with the recent spate of redundancies, it’s tempting to clamp down certain on operational costs, but many do so at the expense of their long term business performance.”

However, Scafftag says that health and safety is one area where it’s impossible to overinvest. The firm says that by focusing on business performance, rather than cost reduction, contractors will be in better shape to pick up more work, especially in the public sector.

Edwin says: “A common trend arising from an economic downturn is the way in which governments try to buoy the wider economy by boosting investment in the public sector. Large public projects like the Olympics are standard bearers for showcasing industry expertise with only the highest quality, reputable and innovative contractors, sub-contractors and suppliers brought on board.

“Those businesses which are quickest to adapt and demonstrate best practice are ideally positioned to pick up their fair share of successful tenders. As part of that, we have been working closely with many firms to help them meet the Olympic Delivery Authority’s health and safety prequalifying criteria.”

Scafftag says that with the right approach to managing, monitoring and maintaining onsite equipment, contractors can reduce downtime and make cost savings, while meeting the future needs of the industry. 

It’s a message reinforced by the Business and Enterprise Committee of MPs which has called on the Government to ensure that bidders for public sector contracts are stringently assessed on health and safety. They urge Ministers to “enforce a change of approach in public sector construction procurement, and to drive a culture of change across the sector.”

No substitute for familiarity

Scafftag says that a good record is built from a strong health and safety culture, which is bred from a mixture of robust systems, ongoing monitoring and consistency.

Nowhere is this better exemplified than through the approach of scaffolding safety. Clients including Balfour Beatty, Laing O’Rourke and Carillion, specify the use of its Scafftag system, which is derived from a design originated 25 years ago.

Edwin says: “The beauty of our original Scafftag system is its simplicity and durability. The name Scafftag has virtually become synonymous with the concept of scaffold tagging and is accepted in more than 30 countries covering 16 different languages. Employees on site know the system and have become almost as used to it as driving and obeying traffic lights. Sometimes there’s no substitute for familiarity.

“Our products have survived on structures in the hostile desert conditions of Saudi Arabia to the extremes of the North Sea, so it’s easy to see why they continue to lead in popularity and use on site, despite the launch of various imitation systems into the market that can pose a hazard.”

Scafftag says that its two-part holder and insert system provides a clear inspection trail, which ensures integrity and control of all work that is carried out.

The holder displays a prohibition status until the scaffolding has passed inspection and, once this is completed, the insert records the inspection history and guidance on usage. If the scaffolding should not be used for any reason, the insert can be removed easily to instantly display the prohibition symbol on the holder.

Edwin says: “Other single component systems can pose a hazard to users as they don’t change with conditions and therefore can provide a misleading or out of date status. Others simply use inferior materials which result in a short life cycle and again can pose hazards when vital warnings are missing.

Safeguarding reputations

Scafftag says its scaffold tag is purpose designed for scaffolding, with appropriate weight-class specifications and the option of colour-coded inserts. Contractors are able incorporate their own customised designs including specific checks and branding, in consultation with Scafftag experts.

Supporting this, Scafftag is also the only company which is able to link its tags to an electronic monitoring system (Safetrak); saving firms valuable inspection and reporting time, both on and off-site. There is a specifically developed module for scaffolding amongst the wide range of applications the system covers.

This and a range of other systems are backed up by Scafftag Equip – a systematic process involving a Scafftag Equip expert who works with firms to review and develop the right combination of health and safety systems in order to keep businesses in line with latest legal requirements.

Edwin concludes: “It’s clear the building and construction industry is facing severe economic and legislative uncertainty, but some of the risks can be mitigated by investing in those things which protect your organisation’s reputation and key assets. After all, they are often the hardest things to replace.”

Free scaffolding guidance pack

A free Scafftag Equip scaffolding inspection guide poster, fact sheet, pocket memo and set of monitoring system guides is available at www.scafftag.com/scaffolding.
As the same time as requesting the Equip pack, users can also arrange a free one-to-one assessment carried out by a dedicated Scafftag expert who will advise on safety regulations and good practices and identify ways to improve business performance.