A loaded wagon, a gang of three and a skip across the drive
The gang arrives at eight. The skip is where the scaffold needs to go. Or the builder has not finished the groundwork. Or the neighbour will not let you through their garden, and nobody asked them. The gang lead rings the office. The office rings the builder. The gang goes back to the yard, or waits until lunchtime.
The day is lost. Whether you charge for it depends on who is asking and how awkward it would be. Usually you do not.
Why wasted visits happen
Scaffold visits depend on things outside your control: other trades, neighbours, skips, council permits. Nobody checks them the day before, and the customer assumes it will be fine. When it is not, there is no record, so there is nothing to charge against.
- Customers are not asked to confirm the site is ready.
- Access over neighbouring land is assumed.
- Permits or licences are not checked before the wagon goes out.
- Abortive visits are not recorded with evidence.
- Your terms on abortive visits are not applied consistently.
What the wasted days cost
Labour, fuel and wagon time with nothing to show for it. The job it was planned for slips, and so does the next one. Gangs lose patience with the office. And without a record, you cannot charge for the visit, which means the customer has no reason to check next time either.
A wasted morning also knocks on. The gang that should have finished the erect by lunch is now working late or coming back tomorrow, which pushes the next customer back and puts the transport plan under pressure for the rest of the week.
The readiness checks we build
- A day or two before the visit, the customer gets a message asking them to confirm the site is ready, with a short checklist you write: access clear, skip positioned, neighbours informed, other trades finished.
- The customer confirms by link, or flags a problem, which alerts the office.
- The office sees each planned visit's readiness on the transport plan, along with any licence or permit status you track.
- Visits without confirmation are highlighted, and the office decides whether to go ahead, call or reschedule.
- If the gang arrives to a site that is not ready, the gang lead records an abortive visit on their phone: reason, time and photos.
- The office decides whether to charge under your terms. A charge can be added to the job's invoice with the evidence attached.
- Reports show abortive visits by customer and reason.
| Checked before the visit | Who confirms |
|---|---|
| Access clear | Customer |
| Skip and materials positioned | Customer |
| Neighbouring access agreed | Customer |
| Licence or permit in place | Your office |
| Other trades finished | Customer |
Whether to charge for an abortive visit is your decision under your terms. The record makes it possible.
After it is running
Fewer gangs arrive to sites that cannot be worked. Customers take readiness seriously when they are asked and when abortive visits are recorded. The ones that still happen are charged with evidence, or waived by choice. And patterns show which customers need a phone call rather than a message.
Does this happen to your gangs?
- Gangs regularly arrive at sites that are not ready.
- Customers are not asked to confirm readiness.
- Abortive visits are not charged.
- There is no record of why a visit failed.