AI tendering for scaffolders

Price a scaffold tender per m² of face, or per lift and bay, for erection, dismantling and a stated hire period, then add loading bays, adaptations and design as separate lines, with a weekly hire rate after the period ends. Check whether it fits a TG20 compliance sheet or needs a bespoke design. AI reads the programme; you own the price.

What makes scaffold tenders hard to price?

The scaffold is measurable; the time it stands up isn't in your control. A main contractor's enquiry gives elevations and a programme, and asks for a price that covers the scaffold "for the duration of the works". If the works slip, the scaffold stays up and you pay for the tube.

The problems on most scaffold tenders:

• Hire periods. Fixed-duration prices with no weekly rate after.
• Adaptations. Lifts moved, boards dropped, extra ties for other trades, often unpriced.
• Design. Loading bays, sheeting, cantilevers and heights that take a scaffold outside a standard configuration.
• Inspections. Who inspects and records every week.
• Access and alarms. Licences on the pavement, alarms, lighting and hoarding.
• Programme overruns. The roofer late, the windows late, the scaffold still up.

He was talking about small roofing jobs, but the sum is the same for a scaffold on hire. A fixed price that runs past its weeks loses money every week it stands.

How do you price a scaffold tender?

Measure the face area from the elevations, price erect, dismantle and a stated hire period per m², then add the extras. State the weekly rate after the period ends.

That's the whole case for a stated hire period. A five-week slip on a terrace refurbishment is ordinary, and it turns a fair job into a loss when the tender is priced "for the duration".

HSE says it's the scaffold user's or hirer's responsibility to make sure inspections happen. Say in your tender whether your weekly inspections and records are included, and for how long.

Is the scaffold TG20 compliant or does it need a design?

If it fits a standard configuration in NASC's TG20 guidance for tube and fitting, it can be built to a compliance sheet; if not, it needs a bespoke design by a competent person. HSE says any scaffold outside a recognised standard configuration must be designed by bespoke calculation, and system scaffolds follow the manufacturer's instructions.

NASC says compliance sheets can be used at the planning stage to decide which scaffolds can be built to a sheet and which need a bespoke design, and that people preparing sheets need suitable scaffolding knowledge and experience. Do that at tender stage: it's the cheapest moment to find out a design is needed.

What hire terms should a scaffold tender state?

The hire period, the weekly rate after it, what adaptations are included, and who inspects. Copy this and edit for each job.

Tender: project name, scaffolding package
Our price: £amount excluding VAT, dated date

1. Priced from elevations drawing numbers and programme reference: m² m² of face, number lifts.
2. Price includes erection, dismantling and number weeks' hire from the date of handover.
3. Hire after number weeks charged at £rate per m² per week, invoiced monthly, until we are instructed to strike.
4. Number adaptations included. Further adaptations at £rate each, or on day rates of £rate per scaffolder.
5. Built to TG20 compliance sheet reference. Or: bespoke design by [designer] included / by others.
6. Loading bays, sheeting, alarms, lighting and fans priced as listed. Others on request.
7. Weekly inspections and records included for the hire period / excluded, by the hirer.
8. Pavement licence and highway permits included / by others.
9. Ties into the building assumed acceptable on surfaces. Ties needing anchors or testing beyond number tests excluded.
10. Return visits to strike in sections at £rate per visit.
11. Price valid for number days.

For general wording rules, see tender qualifications and exclusions. Main contractors should read lines 2 and 3 first; put them first.

What can AI do on a scaffold tender, and what can't it?

AI is good at reading elevations, programmes and specs and drafting your terms; it can't judge ties, ground bearing or whether the roofer will turn up.

What it does well:

• Face areas from scaled elevations, by elevation and lift.
• Reading the programme for the hire period the main contractor expects, and for phasing that means extra visits.
• Spotting design triggers: loading bays, sheeting, cantilevers or heights in the spec.
• Drafting hire terms from your standard list.

What still needs you:

• TG20 or design. Producing or checking the compliance sheet needs competent scaffolding knowledge.
• Ties, ground and buildability on site.
• Overrun risk. How long the job is likely to run, from your knowledge of the contractor.
• Sign-off on the price and the terms.

Which scaffold tenders should you bid?

Ones that accept a stated hire period and a weekly rate after it. Use the 10-minute tender read for the programme and contract terms, and walk away from fixed "duration of the works" prices with no programme, or with adaptations "as required" and no rate.

Common questions