Nine o'clock at night, still on the phone
Tomorrow: two erects, a strike, three alterations and a chimney scaffold. The owner is at home going through the list. Gang one to the big erect. Gang two to the strike, then the alterations. The chimney job needs someone who has done that kind of scaffold before. One lad is off, so gang two is a man short.
Each gang lead gets a call or a text. Then a builder rings to say one alteration can wait, and half the calls are repeated.
Why it all ends up with one person
Allocating scaffold gangs depends on availability, experience, the card levels your business requires for the work, the transport plan and site readiness. Only the owner or contracts manager has all of that in their head, so they do it every night.
- Availability and absences are texted to one person.
- Card levels and experience are not recorded where the plan is made.
- The gang plan and the transport plan are separate.
- Site readiness is checked by phone.
- Changes are passed on one call at a time.
What it costs you
The owner's evenings, first. Then mistakes when something is missed: a gang sent without the card holder your business requires on that job, a gang waiting for a wagon that went somewhere else, or a gang at a site that is not ready. And when the one person who plans is off, planning stops.
Operatives notice as well. Gangs that find out where they are going late at night, or have their day changed twice before breakfast, are more likely to move to a firm that plans properly, and good scaffolders are not easy to replace.
It also limits growth. A business planned from one head can only take on as much as that head can hold.
The gang board we build
- Your operatives are listed with their gang, experience notes and the card and training records your business keeps, including expiry dates.
- Each job for the day, erect, strike, alteration or inspection visit, shows the requirements your business sets for it, the site readiness status and the linked wagon movement.
- The board is laid out by day and gang. Jobs are dragged onto gangs, and the board warns about missing requirements, double bookings or unready sites.
- Absences are reported by operatives on their phones and show immediately.
- The transport plan is shown alongside, so gangs and wagons are allocated together.
- Each gang lead receives the day's plan by text or phone page: sites, order, wagon, contacts and notes.
- Changes are sent to the affected gangs as they are made, and days worked are recorded for pay and job costing.
| Checked on the board | From |
|---|---|
| Who is available | Absence reports |
| Requirements your business sets | Card and training records |
| Site ready | Customer readiness confirmation |
| Wagon and load | Transport plan |
| Clashes | Double bookings and overlaps |
The requirements for each type of job are set by your business. The board checks the plan against them.
What evenings look like after
The plan is built during the working day, on one screen, and sent in one go. Problems are flagged before they reach the site. Someone other than the owner can plan. And changes reach the right gang lead without a chain of calls.
Is this how you plan gangs?
- The owner allocates gangs from home in the evening.
- Card levels are checked from memory.
- Gang and wagon plans are made separately.
- Changes mean ringing round again.