RAMS & CPP for Scaffolding
What compliance documents you need for scaffold erection, dismantling, and alteration — and how The Site Book handles it for you.
Written by Nicola Dobbie, Founder, The Site BookLast reviewed
TL;DR
- CPP: Required — CDM 2015 applies to every construction project.
- RAMS: Essential — clients and principal contractors will not allow scaffolding work without approved RAMS; statutory 7-day inspections apply.
- Key hazards: Falls during erection/dismantling, falling tubes and fittings onto pedestrians, and proximity to overhead power lines.
What compliance do you need?
Scaffolding is one of the highest-risk activities in construction. Falls from height remain the leading cause of fatal injuries on UK construction sites, and scaffold erection and dismantling are particularly dangerous phases. CDM 2015 and the Work at Height Regulations 2005 place strict duties on scaffolding contractors.
Do you need a CPP?
Yes. A Construction Phase Plan is required for scaffolding work. It should cover the erection sequence, how the scaffold will be designed and checked, inspection regimes, loading limitations, and emergency rescue procedures for anyone who falls or becomes trapped during erection.
Do you need RAMS?
Absolutely. RAMS are essential for all scaffolding work. They must cover the full erection and dismantling sequence, edge protection measures during the build, tie patterns, loading capacities, and procedures for working near overhead power lines or public areas.
Common hazards
- Falls from height during erection and dismantling
- Falling objects — tubes, fittings, boards, tools
- Scaffold collapse from improper design or overloading
- Manual handling of heavy scaffold tubes and boards
- Electrocution from overhead power lines
- Trapping and crushing injuries during assembly
- Adverse weather — wind, ice, rain affecting stability
- Public safety — pedestrians passing beneath scaffold
How The Site Book handles it
Describe your job — "independent scaffold, 4-lift, terraced house" — and The Site Book creates your RAMS and CPP automatically. It identifies scaffolding-specific hazards including falling objects, manual handling, overhead power lines, and public protection requirements.
Frequently asked questions
- Do scaffolders need RAMS?
- Yes. Scaffolding is high-risk work and RAMS are essential. They should cover the erection sequence, tie patterns, loading limitations, edge protection during erection, and the competence of the scaffolding team. Most clients and principal contractors will not allow scaffolding work without approved RAMS.
- How often must scaffolding be inspected?
- Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, scaffolding must be inspected before first use, at least every 7 days thereafter, and after any event that could affect its stability (e.g. high winds, alterations, impact). Inspections must be recorded and carried out by a competent person. NASC guidance recommends using a scaffold inspection checklist.
- What qualifications do scaffolders need?
- Scaffolders should hold a CISRS (Construction Industry Scaffolders Record Scheme) card appropriate to their role — Trainee, Scaffolder, or Advanced Scaffolder. Supervisors should hold the CISRS Supervisor card. A CSCS card with the scaffolding endorsement is also required for site access on most projects.
What's included at each tier
Starter
£0- Risk Assessments (RAMS)
- Construction Phase Plans (CPP)
- Site inductions
- Worker document signing (no per-signature charge)
Pro
£39/mo or £360/yr- Risk Assessments (RAMS)
- Construction Phase Plans (CPP)
- Site inductions
- COSHH assessments (standalone doc, SDS upload, site-specific register)
- Worker cert tracking and expiry alerts
- Right-to-work evidence records
- Subcontractor tracking
- Toolbox talks
- Worker document signing (no per-signature charge)
- Integrations (Drive, Xero, Zapier)
Business
£199/mo- Risk Assessments (RAMS)
- Construction Phase Plans (CPP)
- Site inductions
- COSHH assessments (standalone doc, SDS upload, site-specific register)
- Worker cert tracking and expiry alerts
- Right-to-work evidence records
- Subcontractor tracking
- Toolbox talks
- Worker document signing (no per-signature charge)
- Integrations (Drive, Xero, Zapier)
- Up to 10 internal team logins
- Site Supervisor: a field-only login for whoever runs the site
- Up to 50 active site portal users
- Site attendance check-in/check-out
- Multilingual worker inductions (9 languages)
- Optional 4-digit PIN for shared-link document sign-off
- Slack Site Ready readiness checks
Site Control
£675/site/mo- Risk Assessments (RAMS)
- Construction Phase Plans (CPP)
- Site inductions
- COSHH assessments (standalone doc, SDS upload, site-specific register)
- Worker cert tracking and expiry alerts
- Right-to-work evidence records
- Subcontractor tracking
- Toolbox talks
- Worker document signing (no per-signature charge)
- Integrations (Drive, Xero, Zapier)
- Up to 10 internal team logins
- Site Supervisor: a field-only login for whoever runs the site
- Up to 50 active site portal users
- Site attendance check-in/check-out
- Multilingual worker inductions (9 languages)
- Optional 4-digit PIN for shared-link document sign-off
- Slack Site Ready readiness checks
- Permanent entrance QR: guest sign-in and contractor self-join
- CSCS credential capture, review and expiry alerts
- Digital induction gating before check-in
- Live people-on-site, attendance and audit-grade exports
- Single sign-on (SSO) with Okta or Microsoft Entra
- Public REST API with scoped account keys
- Signed real-time webhooks into your own systems
Running live sites with subcontractors? Site Control is the per-site enterprise tier above Business — entrance QR sign-in, CSCS checks, induction gating, live attendance and audit-grade exports. From £675/site per month, plus £5,000 setup.
Where it helps and where it doesn't
Pros
- Erection, alteration, and dismantling sequences pre-filled per RAMS
- Handover certificate and scaffold tag log generated per inspection
- CISRS card expiry tracked with automatic renewal alerts
- Weekly inspection reminders baked into the site diary
Cons
- No NASC TG20 compliance calculator — design calcs still manual
- Scaffold inspection form is not CISRS-branded
- No integration with scaffold-hire ERP systems (Avontus, etc.)
Why The Site Book
- UK construction compliance tool that ships RAMS + CPP + COSHH + inductions (readable and acknowledgeable in 9 worker languages on Business, with the language audit-recorded) + worker sign-off, including optional 4-digit shared-link PIN evidence on Business, plus site attendance, portal users, site files, document reviews, subcontractor evidence and inspections/actions.
- Generate a site-specific RAMS first draft from a natural-language brief in under five minutes, ready for competent-person review - not a template library you hand-fill.
- Controlled document workflow without an enterprise contract: version history and a recorded issue confirmation before a document is shared with a client or downloaded in the app on every plan, re-sign on revision with superseded signatures preserved plus PCPP import, cert tracking and document checking from the £39/month Pro plan - and on Business, optional named-approver routing (a designated approver accepts or rejects each version, with recorded reasons, before it can be issued) plus client approve/reject/request-changes via share links.
- Transparent pricing: Starter £0, Pro £39/month or £360/year, Business £199/month with 10 management logins and 50 active site portal users. Worker document signing has no per-signature charge; project workers count as active portal users while assigned.
- Build RAMS for any trade - add your own work types and method statements alongside the built-in library, reusable across projects, including a ready-made Commercial Solar PV group. Save a finished job as a reusable project template, or clone it, so the next job of the same shape starts from your own setup.
- COSHH goes deep: a standalone COSHH assessment document, upload-a-Safety-Data-Sheet extraction, a site-specific substance register and an expert-reviewed library - plus per-worker RAMS sign-off and a one-click Audit Pack covering documents, sign-offs, worker evidence, attendance, incidents, COSHH, permits and up to the latest 500 live Site Diary entries.
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