7.2 Scaffolding Standards, Competent Inspection & SANS 10085 (CR 16)
Key Takeaways
Construction Regulation 16(1) requires a competent person appointed in writing to supervise all scaffolding work and ensure erectors, team leaders and inspectors are competent; CR 16(2) requires compliance with the incorporated standard, SANS 10085.
SANS 10085-1 tube-and-fitting classes are Very light 80, Light 160 (including plastering), Medium 240 (brickwork and blockwork) and Heavy 320 kg/m².
Soleboards must be at least 225 mm wide and at least 32 mm thick (45 mm above 15 m), on well-compacted, level ground; bricks, drums and rubble are prohibited supports.
Where a person could fall more than 2 m, platforms need toeboards at least 150 mm high and a guardrail with its centre line 900–1 000 mm above the platform, with no more than 765 mm between them.
Scaffolds must be inspected by a competent person at least weekly and after inclement weather, mishaps, alterations and before dismantling, with results recorded in the inspection register.
7.2 Scaffolding Standards, Competent Inspection & SANS 10085 (CR 16)
1. Statutory Framework
Access scaffolding is everywhere on South African sites, and scaffold collapses and falls from platforms are among the most serious construction incidents. Three instruments govern it:
- Construction Regulation 16(1): the contractor must appoint a competent person in writing who ensures that all scaffolding work operations are carried out under their supervision, and that all scaffold erectors, team leaders and inspectors are competent to carry out their work.
- Construction Regulation 16(2): access scaffolding, when in use, must comply with the safety standards incorporated into the Regulations under Section 44 of the Act. The Department's 2017 guideline note states that scaffolds must comply with SANS 10085, and the note to CR 12 adds that the design of scaffolds refers to design in terms of SANS 10085. Scaffolds are also "temporary works" under CR 1.
- SANS 10085-1 (The design, erection, use and inspection of access scaffolding): the figures in this section come from the 2004 edition (edition 1.1). A second edition was published in 2024, so check which edition the client's specification requires.
2. Duty Classes and Safe Working Loads
SANS 10085-1 classifies scaffolds by the maximum safe working load on each platform. For tube-and-fitting scaffolding (Table 4):
| Class | Typical use | Max platform load (kg/m²) | Approx. kN/m² | Max standard spacing | Platform width (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Very light (VL) | Inspection, painting, stone cleaning | 80 | 0.8 | 3 m | 675–1 150 |
| Light (L) | Repointing, replacing windows, plastering, insulation | 160 | 1.6 | 2.5 m | 900–1 150 |
| Medium (M) – general purpose | New building, brickwork, blockwork | 240 | 2.4 | 2 m | 1 125–1 150 |
| Heavy (H) | Masonry, heavy cladding | 320 | 3.1 | 1.8 m | 1 125–1 380 |
The table limits how many platforms may be loaded at once (for example two medium platforms plus one very light). For system scaffolding (Table 5) the spacing for VL, L and M is 2.5 m, and heavy-duty system scaffolds must be referred to a person competent in scaffold design. Every access point should display the class and permitted load, and pallets of blocks should go on designed loading bays, not on access platforms.
3. Foundations: Soleboards and Base Jacks
SANS 10085-1 requires:
- Soleboards of suitable timber at least 225 mm wide, at least 32 mm thick for scaffolds up to 15 m high and at least 45 mm thick above 15 m (clause 5.4).
- Material under soleboards to be well compacted; on good hard soils the soleboard must be continuous under at least two standards; on soft soils double soleboards should be used. Soleboards must be level to within 1:50.
- The lowest ledgers or foot ties no more than 300 mm above the bottom of the standards.
- Unsuitable supports must never be used: drums, barrels, loose bricks and brick piers, rubble, boxes and crates, and three-legged timber trestles (clause 11.3.2).
Base jacks must not be extended beyond the manufacturer's limit: over-extension increases the effective buckling length of the standard and its eccentric loading.
4. Ties, Bracing and Stability
Sufficient bracing and ties must be provided to keep the scaffold stable in all conditions (clause 10.5). Ties are either fixed (positively attached, for example box ties around columns or designed anchors) or reveal ties that rely on friction (clause 10.10.3.2). Any tie that must be removed to allow work is replaced, under a competent person's supervision, before an adjacent tie is moved. Sheeting or netting greatly increases wind load, so sheeted scaffolds need more ties and should be designed by a competent scaffold designer. Tie patterns, spacings and anchor tests should follow the scaffold design and the standard's tables, not rules of thumb.
5. Working Platforms and Edge Protection (Clause 10.19)
Working platforms must:
- have the width given for their class (at least 450 mm for access-only platforms and hop-up brackets);
- be supported at spacings that suit the board thickness, with boards of similar thickness, minimal gaps between edges, and overhangs within the standard's minimum and maximum limits;
- be as close to the structure as practicable (no more than 300 mm where workers sit while working), with all boards tied down;
- where a person could fall more than 2 m, have on the outer edge and both ends toeboards at least 150 mm high (timber at least 25 mm thick) and a guardrail with its centre line 900–1 000 mm above the platform, with no more than 765 mm between guardrail and toeboard (cross-braces do not count as guardrails); and
- have brickguards or similar protection where materials are stacked above the toeboard, and vertical sheeting during demolition.
6. Access Ladders (Clause 10.7)
A ladder used with scaffolding must be firmly supported and secured against slipping or overturning, extend at least 900 mm above the landing it serves, never be extended by tying ladders together, be no longer than 9 m as a single ladder, and be fitted inside the scaffold framework. Vertical ladders without a cage need rest platforms at intervals not exceeding 8 m. Workers must never climb the outside of the scaffold.
7. Inspection, Tagging and the Register (Clause 12)
- Scaffolding materials must be inspected by a competent person before erection (12.1).
- The scaffold must be inspected by a competent person at least once a week (12.2), and immediately after inclement weather, after any mishap causing jarring, tilting or overloading, after alterations, and before dismantling (12.5).
- Results go into a scaffold inspection register (12.6; Annex C shows the minimum content), and defective equipment is marked and quarantined (12.7).
- Sites add a handover certificate before first use and a tag system at every access point (green or "safe for use" with the class and inspection date; red or "do not use" during erection, alteration or after damage). Tags are site practice; the register is the record the standard requires.
8. Use of the Scaffold
SANS 10085-1 also requires that no person is permitted on scaffolding during hazardous weather (11.5.3), public access is prevented (11.5.4), debris and unneeded materials are removed at least daily (11.4.5), and scaffolders wear harnesses or restraint belts as the hazard assessment requires during erection and dismantling (11.5.1).
9. The CHSM's Scaffold Checklist
| Check | Standard |
|---|---|
| Written CR 16(1) appointment; competent erectors, team leaders, inspectors | CR 16(1) |
| Class and load signage match the work (e.g. plastering = Light, brickwork = Medium) | SANS 10085-1 Tables 4–5 |
| Soleboards ≥225 mm wide, 32/45 mm thick, on compacted level ground; no bricks or drums | Clauses 5.4, 11.3.2 |
| Ties and bracing per design; replaced before adjacent ties are moved | Clauses 10.5, 10.10.3 |
| Platforms fully boarded and tied down; toeboards ≥150 mm; guardrails 900–1 000 mm; gap ≤765 mm | Clause 10.19 |
| Ladders inside the frame, extending ≥900 mm, single ladder ≤9 m | Clause 10.7 |
| Register entries at least weekly and after weather, mishaps and alterations | Clause 12 |
Over a stormy weekend in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth), coastal wind gusts reach 68 km/h accompanied by heavy torrential rain. On Monday morning at 07:00, masonry bricklayers arrive at the site and prepare to climb a 6-storey access scaffold to resume external bricklaying. The site supervisor points to the green Scafftag on the ladder, which was signed and dated on the preceding Friday as part of the normal 7-day inspection cycle, and instructs the artisans to climb. Under Construction Regulation 16 and SANS 10085, how must the CHS Manager handle this situation?
Stop access, tag the scaffold red, and require the scaffold inspector to re-inspect and record before a green tag is issued.
Instruct the workers to wear full-body harnesses while climbing the scaffold, which waives the requirement for a physical scaffolding re-inspection.
Permit only the bricklayer foreman to climb the scaffold to test if the platform feels stable under body weight before allowing the rest of the crew to enter.
Allow the bricklayers to proceed immediately because a signed green Scafftag remains legally valid for exactly 7 calendar days regardless of atmospheric weather conditions.
During a routine compliance audit of a 5-storey modular access scaffold on a commercial building site in Durban, a SACPCMP Construction Health and Safety Manager inspects the main plastering platform. The auditor notes that the subcontractor has laid timber scaffold planks with gaps of 45 mm between adjacent boards, and the vertical edge kickboards measure 75 mm in height. When questioned, the contractor explains that the gaps allow excess wet plaster to fall through and the 75 mm boards were cut from scrap purlins to save costs. What specific statutory non-conformances must the CHS Manager cite under SANS 10085-1 and CR 16?
It fails SANS 10085-1: toe-boards must be at least 150 mm high and boards laid with minimal gaps and tied down.
The platform is fully compliant because plastering scaffolds are classed as Light duty, and toe-boards and gap limits do not apply to Light duty scaffolds.
The platform is acceptable provided all plasterers wear steel-toed gumboots and hard hats.
The gaps are compliant provided they are less than 50 mm, but the toe-boards must be painted bright yellow.
A bricklaying subcontractor is erecting an external heavy-duty masonry access scaffold (3.0 kN/m² SWL) 12 meters high on an unpaved industrial site in Polokwane. Due to uneven natural ground, the scaffold erectors place steel base plates directly onto uncompacted topsoil and adjust the screw base jacks to an extension of 480 mm to achieve level ledgers. No timber sole boards are installed. What catastrophic structural hazards does this configuration introduce under SANS 10085-1?
The only non-conformance is that base jacks must be greased with heavy engine oil to facilitate easy turning during dismantling.
The configuration is completely acceptable under SANS 10085-1 provided the bricklayers do not stack more than 5,000 bricks on the top deck at one time.
No soleboards concentrates load on soft topsoil, and over-extended 480 mm base jacks raise buckling risk; both risk collapse.
The configuration is compliant because screw jacks are engineered from high-tensile steel capable of safe extension up to 1,000 mm regardless of subgrade soil conditions.
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