A good scaffolding company is not only about their strong commitment to your goals. Nor is it about their readiness to undertake the most complex projects or promises to ensure its safe environment. First of all, it is about the company certification. Only this enables a company to fulfill their commitment, duties, and promises.
Read further to know what certificates a scaffolding company must have to provide specific services.
For supporting scaffolding activities and simple structures
Scaffold operations split into two types of activities. The first is direct construction activities. Here, we can distinguish installation of simple and more complicated staging structures. The second is a large number of supporting activities. This enables a crew to organize a scaffolding pipeline in a smooth and efficient manner. In this section, we discuss simple installation and supporting activities.
So, to be allowed to perform one of these tasks, a site operative must have the relevant CISRS certificate:
• Base card for dealing with the simplest prefabricated scaffold structures. Typically, these structures are not higher than six metres and have no proximity to the general public.
• Scaffolding Labourer card, which allows only activities that don’t involve scaffold construction directly. These activities may include loading and unloading equipment, obtaining work permits, etc.
Thus, for example, a Base card is enough for residential scaffolding projects related to small two-storey houses. By the way, at Q Scaffolding, we provide residential scaffolding rental in London as well as run complex commercial projects. For each of them, we have appropriate qualifications and certificates.
For more complicated scaffolding
Here, we are speaking about more complicated structures such as basic, system, and complex scaffolds. And, of course, site operatives that directly construct, alter, or dismantle such structures or lead a scaffold gang must be qualified scaffolders. To clarify, depending on the structure you need, the scaffolders engaged in the aforementioned activities must have one of the following CISRS certificates:
• Scaffolder (Tube & Fitting) card, which allows dealing only with basic staging structures constructed with tubes and fittings
• Scaffolder (System) card, for the projects that involves using the system specified in the card
• Advanced Scaffolder card, which allows performing all the mentioned activities plus those that are related to complex structures
Note, only advanced scaffolders can carry out a project without limitations in design complexity and scaffold type. Thus, tube and fitting scaffolders have no right to construct system structures. And vice versa.
For scaffold inspections
Obtaining the aforementioned certificates doesn’t mean a company is competent for scaffold inspections. That is to say, to provide such services, the scaffolder must have a relevant CISRS card. To be more specific, they should have one of the following CISRS cards:
• Basic Scaffold Inspection card, which allows them to inspect basic scaffold structures
• Advanced Scaffold Inspection card to inspect both basic and more complex scaffolding structures
To conclude, it is important to mention all the certificates must be current. In other words, if a card expires, a person is not allowed to provide related services any more.
