Speakers
Steven Darley
Peter Cullen
Tony Lane
Technical excellence
We are delighted that the following award-winning projects will be showcased.25 Canada Square, Canary Wharf by GKR Scaffolding: Project of the Year 2024 – Major
Presented by: Tony Lane, Operations Director and Peter Cullen, Health and Safety Director, GKR Scaffolding
Manchester Town Hall by BrandSafway: Project of the Year 2023 – Large
Presented by: Steven Darley, Regional Manager, Brand Access Solutions
Tyne Bridge, Newcastle by ISS: Project of the Year 2025 – Major
Presented by: Christian Farquhar, Managing Director, ISS
Session overview: Some scaffolding projects demand more than experience — they demand ingenuity. This session puts three of the industry's award-winning projects under the spotlight, examining the engineering decisions, design innovations and problem-solving that earned them national recognition. Told by the people who delivered them, this is an honest, technical and inspiring account of what genuinely excellent scaffolding design looks like when the stakes are highest.
Why this session matters: Award-winning projects are not won by chance — they are won by teams who approach complex challenges with smarter thinking, tighter planning and a willingness to find solutions others would not consider. This session gives you direct access to that thinking. Whether you are on the tools, an engineer, a designer, or an estimator, the principles behind these projects are transferable. Leave with a clearer sense of what separates a good scaffold from an exceptional one — and how that distinction wins contracts.
Steve Darley is Regional Manager at Brand Access Solutions, based in Manchester with responsibility for the Northwest region. He has extensive experience in scaffolding and access, including regional and divisional leadership roles in the UK and overseas, with a focus on business excellence, safe delivery, customer relationships and sustainable growth.
Steve spent 17 years in the UAE supporting major construction and megaproject environments, developing strong experience in large-scale access delivery, stakeholder coordination, operational discipline and leading high-performance teams. In his current role, he works closely with operations, commercial and business development teams to strengthen project controls, drive consistency, support key customer relationships and improve the link between operational delivery, service quality, cost control and commercial outcomes.
Peter Cullen is the Health and Safety Director at GKR Scaffolding, where he has worked for the past 14 years, leading the company's health, safety and operational improvement strategy.
With extensive experience in the scaffolding and construction industries, Peter is committed to raising standards through collaboration, practical leadership and the sharing of best practice. He is an active member of the NASC Health and Safety Committee and works closely with the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) Health, Safety and Wellbeing Working Group, contributing to initiatives that help shape health and safety across the wider construction sector.
Throughout his career, Peter has championed a proactive approach to risk management, workforce engagement and continuous improvement, recognising that strong health and safety performance is fundamental to business success. Passionate about developing safer ways of working, he believes that meaningful industry collaboration is key to improving outcomes for everyone who works in construction.
Tony Lane is the Operations Director at GKR Scaffolding, bringing over 26 years of experience with the company and a wealth of knowledge in scaffolding operations,
project delivery and team leadership.
Throughout his career, Tony has played a key role in the successful delivery of complex scaffolding projects across a wide range of sectors, helping to establish GKR
Scaffolding's reputation for quality, safety and reliability.
During Tony’s employment as Operations Director he has successfully delivered major iconic projects which include Tottenham Hotspur football stadium, Velodrome
Olympics 2012, Battersea Power Station, The Shard and The Mary Rose to name a few.
His extensive operational experience has given him a practical understanding of the challenges faced by contractors and clients, enabling him to drive high standards of
performance while maintaining a strong focus on safety, efficiency and customer service.
Passionate about developing people and promoting best practice, Tony is committed to continuous improvement and ensuring that operational excellence remains at the heart of the business.
Christian Farquhar is Managing Director of Infrastructure Site Services Limited (ISS), based in Blyth, working alongside Chairman Mark Buglass to grow the business into the UK's leading scaffolding and access specialist in the infrastructure market. He joined ISS in 2023 as Operations Director before stepping up to MD in 2025. With over a decade of senior operations experience across the scaffolding sector — including roles at SGS Limited, KAEFER, and Wood Group — Christian has a strong track record in commercial growth and P&L management. He holds a BSc in Building Surveying from Northumbria University.