Count scaffolding tubes in a bundle from a photo

Counting scaffold tubes going out on hire and coming back

Scaffold contractors and hire yards count tubes twice: when a load goes out on hire and when it comes back, because the invoice depends on the difference. Tubes travel in bundles or stand in stillages and racks, and their open ends give the clearest view. Photograph the ends square-on, with the camera at the height of the bundle center, and keep the whole bundle inside the frame.

An end view cannot tell a long tube from a short one. Sort or rack tubes by length first, then give each length its own photo and tally row so the hire sheet lines up. Galvanized ends flash a bright ring back at the camera in direct sun; overcast light or shade gives cleaner circles. Couplers, boards or fittings lying across the bundle can pick up stray dots, so look twice at anything that is not a tube end.

Bent or crushed tubes sit out of line with the rest and may be missed. Look along the outside of the bundle, add any the dots skipped by editing the count in the tally row, and label it with the date, site and length. If a return is disputed, the downloaded image shows which ends were marked. The same end-on method covers pipe bundles on a delivery truck, and timber scaffold boards in a banded pack can go through the plank counter.