Author: John Feeley

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There were 20 members and guests present at the meeting. Robert Bradford advised that at this meeting we would be discussing the way forward for the Group.

Roy Jackson gave a brief description of the Group which was formed after a number of Scottish safety officers were called together by Mr Wade H.M. District Inspector of Factories “to discuss common problems, exchange ideas, information, techniques etc.. with the underlying motive being to help safety officers increase their knowledge and experience and thereby improve their own firms performance on site”.  Mr Sparkes writing on behalf of Mr Wade advised that the Factories Inspectorate would attend the meeting in an informal capacity and that the meetings should be informal. The first meeting was held on the 25th of April 1969 and was chaired by Mr Wade. It was agreed at this meeting that the meetings should not clash with the IISO meetings (IOSH). At a later date IOSH and the SCSG agreed dates for meetings with the SCSG, at a later date being allocated the second last Thursday of each month – a date that is still used.

The Group has always tried to hold events that meet the criteria listed above and have tried to help SME’s when requested after HSE interventions. Since those early days until last October there has generally been a presence from the HSE but in November we were advised that the HSE could no longer attend due to staff shortages and a change in focus.

The following points were discussed:-
• The non-attendance of the HSE as all felt that the benefits were two way. The Group gained an understanding of the workings of the HSE whilst the HSE received intelligence and gained an understanding of best practices in the industry.
• The time spent by members of the Group and from industry in general assisting with Working well Together initiatives such as SHADS where many make time from very busy schedules to assist the HSE reach the smaller end of the business. This includes time spent by procurement teams from companies who advertise the events.
• Time spent by the industry on committees such as Site Safe Scotland which the Group has actively participated in since its inception in the mid 1980’s.
• The launch of CDM 2015 jointly with CECA where we donated all of the profits to the lighthouse Club (the construction charity)
• Membership fees where it was explained that we do not charge membership fees because of the problems getting payment and the difficult gaining access to preferred supplier status do to pre-tender evaluations being applied. The way we gain finances to survive is to run an event every so often which members are encouraged to attend.
• The meeting format was discussed; a number of options were considered but we settled on the current format and content.
• The web-page which is only updated occasionally. A request for a web master was made and John Feeley of BAM Nuttall volunteered for uploading the minutes and calendar.
• Other electronic communications such as linked in, facebook etc. was discussed although there was no clear agreement.
• Involvement of members as it was felt that more assistance could be provided
• Data protection Act – where we advised that all correspondence is sent blind copy and we advised that speakers are not given contact information
• Graeme Johnstone of the Robertson Group, Ricky Guy of Farrans and Scott Harvey of MacKenzie Construction have volunteered to help with the Group’s organisation.

Actions from the discussion were:-
• Roy Jackson is to contact Sarah Shore to try to get her to attend a meeting and also to allow Inspectors to participate.
• Roy Jackson is to contact other Groups with a view to reducing meeting clashes.
• John Feeley to update the web pages.
• John Feeley to attempt to identify a way to place meeting dates in members calendars without compromising data security

Post meeting note
At the Site Safe Scotland meeting on the 13th of May the HSE announced that they would likely respond to a specific invitation in recognition that the Group has always represented a strong peer to peer support group with a wide circulation membership and links providing significantly better opportunity for messages to get to the sector of our industry that is the particular target for the HSE i.e. fewer than 15 employees

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There were 22 members and guests present at the meeting. Roddy McLean introduced Richard Cassidy and Paul Mullholland from BrandSafway / Lyndon SGB who gave a scaffolding awareness presentation.

Richard and Paul gave an introduction to scaffolding and the related legislation, mainly the Work at Height Regulations. The main responsibilities of the duty holders in these regs were identified with the focus being on planning the work, Paul suggested that early involvement with scaffolding contractors allows for better planning to meet this duty and also better results. Early involvement will also allow time for specific designs which can take 2 weeks (required if any more than a ‘basic’ scaffold) and application for any permits that may be required which can take 4 weeks. The planning should also include preparation of the area prior to the erection of scaffolding as a stable surface of sufficient strength for the scaffold structure is required, all scaffolding contractors should (and most will) refuse to start work without a suitable surface on which to construct the scaffolding. As well as the ground conditions a pre scaffold site inspection should, as a minimum, cover the nature of the supporting structure (stability, suitability for anchors and obstructions), access, space available (for erection of scaffolding and for storage) and potential for damage (wind funnelling, vehicle movement etc.)

Unless a scaffold is a basic configuration described in recognised guidance e.g. TG20, the scaffold should be designed by calculation, by a competent person, to ensure it will have adequate strength and stability. All scaffolding is to be erected, dismantled and altered in accordance with either SG4 or the manufacturers’ erection guide for system scaffolds. TG20-13 is the current revision of the guidance for tube and fitting scaffolding, TG20 is reviewed every 5 years and the next revision was due last year but has been delayed and should be released later this year.

When a scaffold is incomplete warning signs and a physical means of preventing access should be in place and alterations to scaffolding should only be by those competent to carry out the alterations.

The items to be considered when identifying the requirements of a scaffold were detailed, these are; what is needed, the purpose of the scaffold, tasks it is to be used for, sequencing (who needs to use it, when and their specific needs), access (stairs are always the preferred option) and platform heights (including the sequence of works, restrictions, use of hop-ups etc.). These are important to ensure that it is fit for purpose and the amount of alterations required are minimised.

The effects of wind on a scaffold should always be considered and the area of the country as well as the local topography of the area will determine the maximum height for each load class of scaffolding. Any requirements for cladding, sheeting or netting of scaffolding must have a specific design and therefore must be specified to the scaffolding contractor at an early stage as this will need to be included in the design.

Competencies for companies and individuals were discussed. The industry body is NASC and scaffolding contractors are audited before they are able to gain membership, therefore members are able to show that they meet the requirements. Non NASC registered companies can still use and follow NASC guidance and may be able to demonstrate their competency but this may require more scrutiny and therefore it would be beneficial to encourage scaffolding contractors to become NASC members if they are not already. Individual competencies are demonstrated through the CISRS card scheme, this is affiliated to and of a similar standard to the more general CSCS scheme. A variety of CISRS cards are available from scaffolding labourer and trainee through to advanced scaffolder and scaffolding supervisor. It was noted that the scaffolding supervisor card requires completion of training similar to the SSSTS qualification but specific to scaffolding and can be considered as an alternative to SSSTS when supervising scaffolding works, at the moment there are only around 1400 scaffold supervisor card holders in the UK partly due to it not being accepted by many as an alternative to SSSTS.

The importance of ties or alternative support such as raking shores or buttresses was highlighted. Unless otherwise specified in the design, ties should be positioned every other lift and every 2 bays and 1 in 20 (or a minimum of 3) should be pull tested by a competent person and noted on the handover cert. If attachment to the building or structure is not possible or impractical then buttresses or shores can be used but these can take up much more space and therefore limit access.

Access to scaffolding should be by stair towers wherever possible, if not possible then the following hierarchy should be followed; ladder access bays with single lift ladder, ladder access bays with multiple lift ladders, internal ladder access with a protected ladder trap and finally, external ladder access using a ladder gate. When ladders are used they should extend a maximum of 2 lifts without a break.

All public protection walkways, fans and netting need to be designed and must consider to work being carried out to allow the correct level of protection to be calculated in the design.

Inspections of scaffolding must be carried out as detailed in Regulations 12 & 13 of the Work at Height Regulations, the first inspection before the scaffolding is put into use is covered by the handover certificate, as the site manager will now be responsible for the scaffolding from this point on they should take the opportunity to have a walk over with the scaffolder and ensure they are satisfied with what they are accepting. Regular inspections are then required at a frequency of no more than 7 days and following any exceptional circumstances that could affect its stability, these can be carried out by the scaffolding contractor who erected the scaffold but this will not normally be included in the contract and it is the responsibility of the site manager to ensure this is carried out. Non scaffolders can obtain a separate qualification for basic scaffold inspection but this will require evidence of experience to obtain the CISRS competency card. Competent scaffolders will have received the training and experience of inspection as part of their regular competency so will not require the separate scaffold inspection competency card. The scaffold inspection should be a written report covering the requirements of Schedule 7 of the Work at Height Regs and should be kept on site until the work is complete and then at an office of the Principal Contractor for a further 3 months.

Richard and Paul ask any members to contact them if would like any further information or advice.

Roddy thanked Richard and Paul before moving on to other business.

A new Principal Inspector is due to start with the HSE out of the Edinburgh office.

The Group is looking for assistance from any member who would like to devote some time to assisting the industry.

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There were 21 members and guests present at the meeting. Roddy McLean introduced John Bissett from the CITB who was giving an update on site Safety Plus and changes within the CITB.

John advised that he was looking for feedback on Site Safety Plus to take back to the CITB before the system has been finally agreed. As most people know the CITB is selling off most of its centres although the outcome of the sale isn’t yet known. The main centre of the CITB will be moving to an office complex in Peterborough and the centre at Inchinnan may not be the office in the future. The CITB will mainly focus on grants, funding and Site Safety Plus. The CITB is pulling out of the management of CSCS (they will still manage cards and provide information) which is being sold and CPCS which has been sold.

To date Site Safety Plus has delivered 72,100 safety awareness courses, 28,300 SMSTS courses, 16,000 SSSTS courses and 1100 Directors awareness courses as well as refresher courses e.g. 5,200 SSSTS refreshers. The numbers attending these courses is more or less static over each year. Site Safety Plus has been running for approximately 40 years after being introduced to raise safety awareness standards. It has grown over the years from the SMSTS to all of the other topics covered including all the one day and specialist courses requested by the industry. The number of courses will remain the same with the exception of the courses for shopfitters and interior workers. The standard required for trainers has been raised significantly to the extent that some sectors have difficulty finding trainers.

The consultation on the health and safety awareness course exams has now closed with the papers now including safety critical questions (always the first three questions). To gain a CSCS card the individual must complete a touchscreen test and the health and safety awareness course exam.

The SSSTS course and exams have been reviewed and there are four safety critical questions and instead of a case study there is now a small suite of drawings that can be used. These drawings are used to look at tasks and the project. On the second day there is a five minute presentation. The SSSTS course gives supervisors a basic knowledge which can be supplemented by attending the more detailed SMSTS course.

For providers there is easier access to materials through log in to the website; the site also gives news, updates and has a FAQ’s section to assist. There are new short video clips covering asbestos, work at height, CDM, manual handling, accident prevention, waste materials and confined spaces.

Site Safety Plus accounts managers are being appointed throughout the country.
Tutors must have qualifications and experience and there will be more quality assurance.
To aid development CITB requires more industry feedback.
There will be a greater focus to ensure that training is accessible to all.
Courses may have bolt-on’s for example to suit the demolition and building maintenance sectors.
All courses have a scheme of works.
All scaffolding courses will be delivered by CISRS accredited providers.

When asked about common problems John advised that many companies send attendee’s who are not ready for the course and do not meet the minimum requirements, often to fill a space that has been paid for. Many clients demand for example that all supervisors must attend the SMSTS course as they are unaware that more appropriate course (SSSTS) might be more appropriate for some staff. Although most tutors can cope with the problems they encounter.

More information on the scheme can be found on the CITB website.
If you are interested in improving Site Safety Plus and are interested in assisting please contact John.

Roddy thanked John before moving on to other business.

Site Safe Scotland is on the 21st of March which clashes with the next meeting. If you have any topics you would like raised please contact Robert Bradford.

The Group is looking for assistance from any member who would like to devote some time to assisting the industry.