General requirements — every scaffold, every time
Before any scaffold is used, the supporting surface needs to be capable of withstanding its weight, and the setup needs to account for any potential contact with overhead energized power lines. Workers erecting or using the scaffold need to be trained in its structural capability, and it needs to be installed exactly per manufacturer's instructions, with all cross braces actually in place.
Beyond setup, every scaffold needs: a safe way on and off (typically a ladder, not climbing the frame), the structural capacity to handle its actual expected load, guardrails and toe boards on any open side with a fall hazard, a platform at least 50 cm wide, platforms secured against separation from the supporting structure, and full planking or decking with no gaps wider than 25 cm.
What changes for wood-frame scaffolds
Lumber needs to be graded and marked to National Lumber Grades Authority standards — No. 2 grade or better — and needs to be free of cracks, splits, knots, and other damage. Any spliced vertical uprights need to follow the applicable splicing standard, not an improvised fix.
What changes for manufactured and rolling scaffolds
Manufactured scaffold systems need all braces, bearers, clamps, and connections properly and securely fastened — a system scaffold with hardware that isn't fully engaged loses much of its structural integrity even if it looks assembled. Rolling scaffolds specifically need their wheels and casters locked whenever a worker is on the platform, and need to actually be designed for movement with a worker aboard if that's how they're being used.
A scaffold taller than roughly three times its minimum base width needs to be guyed or otherwise secured to the building — a requirement that's easy to overlook once a scaffold is built in stages and grows taller than originally planned.
Documentation that holds up
A green-tag/red-tag system tells a worker whether a scaffold is currently safe to use, but it doesn't create a record an auditor or investigator can review later. A digital inspection — same checklist, same categories, completed from a phone at the scaffold itself — creates that record automatically, tied to the specific site, date, and inspector.