The scaffold standard puts a competent person at the center of nearly everything, and the pre-shift inspection is the duty that recurs most often.
Inspection. Scaffolds and scaffold components must be inspected for visible defects by a competent person before each work shift and after any occurrence which could affect a scaffold's structural integrity (29 CFR 1926.451(f)(3)). A high-wind night, a delivery truck clipping a leg, or a change in the ground under the base plates each count as an occurrence. The standard defines a competent person as one capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards and with authorization to take prompt corrective measures (29 CFR 1926.450(b)).
Erection and alteration. Scaffolds may be erected, moved, dismantled, or altered only under the supervision and direction of a competent person qualified in that work, and only by experienced and trained employees selected by that person (29 CFR 1926.451(f)(7)).
Access and fall protection the inspection should confirm. When a platform is more than 2 feet above or below the point of access, a ladder, stair tower, ramp, or other listed means of access is required, and crossbraces are never a means of access (29 CFR 1926.451(e)(1)). Each employee on a scaffold more than 10 feet above a lower level must be protected from falling (29 CFR 1926.451(g)(1)).
Training. Each employee who performs work on a scaffold must be trained by a person qualified in the subject matter to recognize the hazards associated with the type of scaffold being used and the procedures to control them (29 CFR 1926.454(a)); employees who erect, dismantle, move, or inspect scaffolds get the additional training in 1926.454(b).
A tag on the scaffold is not required by the federal standard, but it is the simplest proof that the inspection happened. Inspectors ask who the competent person was, and when.