An HSE inspector walks onto your site and asks for the scaffold inspection record. You cannot find it. Work at height stops, on the spot. This is what a construction site inspection report has to contain under UK law, and what it costs you when the paperwork is not there.
Guide · Construction
Site inspection reports under UK law.
What CDM 2015 and the Work at Height Regulations require for construction site inspection records, including scaffold inspections and what happens when you cannot produce them.
Free forever: 20 reports a month. No card, no trial clock.
The duty
CDM 2015 puts monitoring on the principal contractor
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 require the principal contractor to plan, manage, monitor and coordinate construction phase health and safety. The construction phase plan must include arrangements for ongoing monitoring of site conditions. Inspection records are the evidence that monitoring is happening, and they form part of the health and safety file handed to the client at project end.
Scaffolding
When a scaffold must be inspected
- 1
Before first use
A competent person inspects the scaffold before it is used as a place of work, under Regulation 12 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
- 2
After adverse events
Re-inspect after anything likely to affect stability: high winds, heavy snow load or vehicular impact.
- 3
Every seven days
At intervals not exceeding seven days while in use. Records are kept on site until dismantled, then by the employer for three months.
Schedule 7
What a scaffold report must contain
Schedule 7 sets the minimum content: name and address of the person for whom the inspection was carried out; location and description of the working platform; date and time; any matter that could give rise to a risk; action taken; further action considered necessary; and the name and position of the person making the report. A general site report adds welfare, housekeeping, access, edge protection, plant, electrical and fire.
When records slip
No record is treated as no inspection
If an HSE inspector asks and you cannot produce a current record, work at height stops. A Prohibition Notice can be served on the spot. Quickler runs structured walkround reports over WhatsApp, photos timestamped, dashboard updated live, no app install.
The short version
- CDM 2015 puts the duty to manage and monitor site safety on the principal contractor. Inspection records are the proof.
- Scaffold must be inspected before first use, after any event that affects stability, and at intervals not exceeding seven days.
- Schedule 7 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 sets the minimum content for a scaffold inspection record.
- No record is treated as no inspection. That means a Prohibition Notice, or worse after an incident.
- A general site safety inspection covers welfare, access, edge protection, plant, electrical and fire.
The duty
CDM 2015 hangs monitoring on the principal contractor
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 give the principal contractor a clear job: plan, manage, monitor and coordinate health and safety through the construction phase. That includes making sure inspections happen and the results are written down.
CDM 2015 does not set a frequency for every element. It tells the principal contractor to weigh the risk and decide. What it does demand, in plain terms, is that the construction phase plan carries arrangements for site rules, induction and ongoing monitoring of conditions. The inspection record is the evidence that monitoring is real.
The principal designer owns the pre-construction phase. Once a site goes live, the principal contractor carries the operational safety duty. Where one firm wears both hats, both duties bite.
For notifiable projects, those over 30 working days with more than 20 workers at once, or over 500 person-days, HSE must be notified before work starts. The records feed the health and safety file handed to the client at the end.
Scaffolding
When a scaffold has to be inspected
The Work at Height Regulations 2005 are specific about scaffolding used as a place of work. Regulation 12 requires an inspection before first use, after any event likely to have affected stability, such as high winds, heavy snow load or vehicular impact, and at intervals not exceeding seven days while the scaffold stays in use.
Every inspection is carried out by a competent person. The report is completed before the end of the working period in which the inspection happened. It stays on site until the scaffold comes down, then with the employer for a further three months.
Schedule 7
What a scaffold inspection record must contain
Schedule 7 of the Regulations fixes the minimum content of a scaffold inspection report. It is a short list, but every line is mandatory.
- Name and address of the person for whom the inspection was carried out
- Location and a description of the working platform inspected
- Date and time of the inspection
- Details of any matter identified that could give rise to a risk to health or safety
- Details of any action taken as a result
- Details of any further action considered necessary
- Name and position of the person making the report
The wider walkround
What a general site inspection report covers
Beyond the scaffold, a general construction site inspection report captures site-wide conditions. There is no single prescribed format, but most regimes share the same standard items.
- Welfare facilities: toilets, washing, drinking water, rest area
- Housekeeping: waste, clear access routes, materials storage
- Access and egress: site entrance, pedestrian and vehicle segregation
- Edge protection: barriers at openings, floor holes, roof edges
- Excavations: support, edge protection, access ladders, spoil placement
- Plant and equipment: condition, operator certification, exclusion zones
- Electrical: temporary supplies, cable management, RCDs in use
- Fire precautions: extinguishers, emergency routes, hot works controls
- PPE: availability and use of required kit
- Subcontractor activities: controls in place, segregation from other trades
A weekly inspection by the site manager or safety officer, backed by daily informal checks, is the standard on most medium-sized projects. The weekly one produces the formal written record.
Why records slip
The gap between the walkround and the write-up
The real problem is timing. An inspector with a clipboard produces notes that have to be typed up or copied into a form later. That gap is where detail leaks away.
Digital forms on tablets fix part of it, then add their own friction: battery, patchy site connectivity, a new interface to learn, a device to sync at end of day. Adoption stays uneven among supervisors and subcontract trades.
Quickler does it differently. The inspector runs the walkround through a WhatsApp chat, the app already on every phone on site. Photos are attached in-chat, timestamped automatically. Voice notes for narrative fields are transcribed. The office watches it land in real time, items flagged red, amber or green. No typing up afterwards. No missed syncs. See how to write a site inspection report or the construction daily report app.
When records slip
No record is treated as no inspection
An HSE inspector can ask to see scaffold inspection records at any time. If the last report is missing, out of date, or cannot be found, the answer is blunt: work at height stops.
A Prohibition Notice can be served on the spot. It halts the specific activity until a valid inspection has been carried out by a competent person. A day lost on a live project is rarely cheap.
After a serious incident, missing records are not an admin slip. They are evidence of a systematic safety management failure. Prosecution under the Work at Height Regulations 2005 or the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is on the table. In civil claims, the absence of records makes it harder to show reasonable precautions were taken. The remedy is simple: a current, complete record you can produce on demand. For specialist work, see structural engineer report software.
Questions, answered
How often must scaffolding be inspected under UK law?
Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, scaffolding used as a place of work must be inspected before first use, after any event likely to have affected its stability (such as high winds or an impact), and at intervals not exceeding seven days. Each inspection must be recorded and the report kept until the scaffold is dismantled.
Who can carry out a scaffold inspection?
It must be a competent person: someone with enough training, experience and knowledge to identify hazards and assess risks. No specific qualification is mandated, but they must be able to spot defects and understand the structural requirements of the scaffold type. Many firms use a CISRS-qualified inspector or a site manager with relevant training and experience.
What must a scaffold inspection report contain?
Schedule 7 of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 sets the minimum: the name and address of the person for whom the inspection was carried out; the location and description of the scaffold; the date and time of inspection; details of any matter that could give rise to a risk; details of any action taken; details of any further action considered necessary; and the name and position of the person making the report.
What happens if an inspector asks for records and you cannot produce them?
The absence of records is treated as evidence that inspections were not carried out. That can mean a Prohibition Notice stopping work, an Improvement Notice requiring a system to be put in place, or prosecution under the Work at Height Regulations. After a serious incident, missing records significantly worsen the employer's position in any investigation or civil claim.
Construction and site safety