A carbon pad, a signature and a tray in the office
The scaffold is up and the gang lead fills in the handover certificate from the pad in the van: the address, what was erected, the duty, who received it. The top copy goes to whoever is on site. The carbon copy goes back to the yard, eventually, and into a tray. Someone in the office means to scan it.
Months later, a main contractor's site manager asks for the handover certificate for the scaffold on block C, and for each alteration since. The office finds some. Others are in a van, in a tray or nowhere.
Why handover paperwork goes missing
Handover certificates are completed at the end of the job, often in a hurry, on paper that has to physically travel back to the office. Nothing links them to the job record, and nobody checks that every scaffold and every alteration has one on file.
- Certificates are on carbon pads and travel back in vans.
- The customer's copy goes to whoever is standing nearby.
- Scanning and filing depend on someone having time.
- Alterations generate new certificates that are rarely filed with the original.
- Nobody can tell which jobs are missing a certificate.
What the missing paperwork costs
Main contractors and clients ask for these records, and failing to produce them makes you look disorganised to the customers who value organisation most. The office spends time searching and chasing gang leads. Payment can be held while paperwork is chased. And the certificate is often the record of when a scaffold was handed over, which is also when hire starts.
That last point matters more than it seems. A missing certificate is often a missing hire start date too.
The digital handover record we build
- The gang lead opens the handover form from the job on their phone. It follows your own certificate layout and wording, which your business sets.
- Details already known are filled in: customer, address, job reference, scaffold description from the quote.
- The gang lead completes the rest, takes photos of each elevation, and the person receiving the scaffold signs on the screen, with their name and company recorded.
- The certificate is produced as a PDF, filed against the job and the specific scaffold, and emailed to the customer's nominated contacts at once.
- Alterations produce their own certificate linked to the original, so the full history of each scaffold is in one place.
- The handover date starts the hire clock in your hire records.
- A list shows scaffolds erected or altered without a certificate on file, so gaps are caught the same day.
| Paper process | Digital record |
|---|---|
| Carbon pad in the van | Form on the gang lead's phone |
| Copy handed to whoever is on site | Emailed to named contacts |
| Scanned when someone has time | Filed against the job on completion |
| Alterations filed separately | Linked to the original scaffold |
| Gaps found when asked | Gaps listed the same day |
The content and wording of your certificate are your business's own. We put the record on a phone and file it.
Once handover is digital
Every scaffold has its handover on file, with photos and the name of who received it. Customers have their copy the moment the gang leaves. Main contractor requests are answered with a search. And hire starts from a recorded date rather than a guess.
Is your handover paperwork like this?
- Handover certificates are on carbon pads.
- You have been unable to find a certificate when asked.
- Alteration paperwork is not filed with the original.
- The office scans certificates in batches.
- You do not know which jobs are missing one.