Who Can Be a Scaffold Supervisor

In addition to ensuring the safety of scaffolds on site, adequate supervision can be a major contributing factor to the success and high-quality provision of scaffold services, as well as ensuring consistent outcomes for customers and end users.

Experienced and qualified scaffold supervisors are integral to the cohesion of construction projects, and can also play a role in providing support and motivation to scaffold workers who are undertaking work in demanding conditions.

Find out more below about the legal requirements for supervisors, and scaffold supervisor courses.

When are scaffolding supervisors needed?

According to HSE guidelines, Scaffolds must be designed, erected, altered and dismantled by a competent person – and any work carried out can only be completed under the direction of a competent supervisor. This is a legal requirement as set out in the Work at Height Regulations 2005.

This makes supervision important across all settings where scaffold workers may require guidance and support in order to complete tasks or meet project deadlines.

What is the role of a scaffold supervisor?

The role of a supervisor is to manage a team of scaffolders, while also carrying out inspections and ensuring smooth communication between teams, clients and customers who are on site. The goal of supervision is to improve the quality of practice and enable a collaborative environment for integrated working. As well as overseeing codes of practice and safety compliance, supervisors are there to support a learning culture, promoting professional development for workers.

Who can be a scaffolding supervisor?

When appointing a scaffold supervisor, the operative must be qualified and should hold an up-to-date scaffold supervisor card. This means they should have attended and completed a suitable training programme, such as the CISRS Scaffolding Supervisor Course.

Bear in mind that supervisory roles require excellent communication skills as they will be expected to liaise with clients and other parties, as well as a large team. Other prerequisites for a scaffold supervisor course include:

• CITB Health, Safety and Environment (HS&E) Supervisors card holders (or equivalent training) – this needs to have been passed within 23 months before the course start date
• A good understanding of spoken and written English

CISRS supervisor course

This 5-day course, available with Safety & Access, is aimed at scaffolding contractors and their first-line supervision. This includes contract supervisors and foremen, and on completion of the programme, they will receive a CISRS Scaffold Supervisor Card.

How long is the CISRS Scaffold Supervisor Card valid?

The CISRS Supervisor Card is valid for five years and at the end of that period, it will be renewed. Although supervisors won’t be required to take the same course again, they will need to attend a refresher course.

At Safety & Access, we also provide CISRS Supervisor Refresher Training, which is a 2-day programme aimed at anyone who has held the CISRS Supervisor Card previously. This course aims to review core management skills in scaffolding operations, covering everything from general responsibilities, regulations and scaffold inspections to NASC Guidance Notes, TG20 -Overview, Work at Height, RIDDOR, and BSEN 13374.

To find out more about our CISRS Scaffold Supervisor Course (available in our Nottingham London and Lincolnshire training centres, get in touch today. Call 0115 979 4523 or make an enquiry on our contact page.