Fitters on site, no scaffold
The team arrives for a three-storey townhouse. The second floor windows need a scaffold. The survey said scaffold probably needed. The office booked the scaffolder a week ago for the original fit date, which moved when the frames were delayed. Nobody told the scaffolder. The fitters do the ground floor and go home.
On another job the scaffold went up on time but stayed up an extra fortnight because the fit slipped, and the hire charge came out of the job margin.
Why access is always a late problem
Access decisions are made at survey, recorded as a note, and forgotten until the fit is booked. Scaffold suppliers need notice, some sites need a licence to put scaffold on the pavement, and neighbours sometimes need to agree to access. None of that is linked to the fitting diary.
- Surveyors record access loosely, such as probably scaffold.
- The scaffold booking is made separately from the fit booking.
- When the fit moves, the scaffold booking is not moved.
- Pavement licences and neighbour permissions are handled late.
- Hire periods are not tracked against the job.
What access equipment is safe and suitable for each job is for your surveyors and your access supplier to decide. The system records their decision and plans around it.
What late access costs
A fitting team that cannot reach the upper floors loses part of a day. Scaffold standing longer than planned costs hire. A missed licence can stop the scaffold going up at all. Customers with scaffold on their house for weeks lose patience quickly.
Access planning tied to the job
- At survey, the surveyor records the access decision per opening or elevation, chosen from your options, such as ladder, tower, scaffold or specialist access, with photos of the elevation.
- The job carries an access requirement that is quoted and planned, not a note.
- When the fit is booked, the access request goes to your scaffolder or hire company with the dates, address and photos.
- If the fit date moves, the access supplier is told and the job shows whether they confirmed the new date.
- Jobs needing a pavement licence or neighbour access are flagged early, with a task to arrange it.
- Hire start and end dates are recorded, and hire costs flow into the job's costs.
| Step | Loose approach | With access planning |
|---|---|---|
| Survey | Probably scaffold | Access decision per elevation, with photos |
| Booking | Separate phone call | Request sent from the fit booking |
| Fit moves | Scaffold not moved | Supplier told, confirmation tracked |
| Licence | Remembered late | Flagged at survey |
| Hire period | Unknown | Recorded and costed |
What changes on upper floor jobs
Scaffold is there when the fitters arrive and comes down soon after they finish. Licences and neighbour permissions are handled while there is time. Hire costs are known per job. And customers get a clear explanation of when the scaffold will go up and come down.
Job costing also improves, because the access cost of each job is recorded rather than lost in a monthly scaffold invoice.
Recognise any of these?
- Fitters have arrived before the scaffold.
- Scaffold has stayed up longer than planned because a fit moved.
- Access notes on surveys are vague.
- Pavement licences have been left too late.