Health & Safety Guidance

Temporary works

Falsework, propping, excavation support and access structures hold loads the permanent structure is not yet carrying. They exist for weeks rather than decades — but they fail suddenly, and they fail while people are working underneath them.

BS 5975 framework
CDM 2015 duties
Coordinator & supervisor roles

Temporary works are engineered structures or supports used during construction to assist the permanent works, provide access, or protect people, plant or the structure itself. The word “temporary” describes how long they stand, not how carefully they need to be designed. The same engineering rigour applies as for permanent works, and in some respects more — a permanent structure is rarely loaded before it is complete, whereas temporary works are loaded from the moment they go in.

This guidance covers what counts as temporary works, where the duties come from, how the process is managed under BS 5975, and who holds which role.

There is no dedicated temporary works law — and that is the point of confusion. No regulation is titled “temporary works”, so it is easy to assume the area is governed by good practice alone. It is not. Temporary works are construction work, so the CDM 2015 duties to plan, manage and monitor apply in full, alongside the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act and, for access structures, the Work at Height Regulations.

What BS 5975-1 adds is the procedural framework the regulations do not supply: the register, the design brief, the design check regime and the appointment of a coordinator to run it. It is a code of practice rather than law, but it is the benchmark against which competence is judged, and most principal contractors require the coordinator appointment contractually.

What counts as temporary works?

More than most people expect. Scaffolding, falsework and formwork supports, shoring and excavation support, propping and needling, façade retention, working platforms, edge protection, hoarding, haul roads, crane and piling platforms, temporary bridges and dewatering systems all fall within scope. So does anything holding a load that will later be taken by the permanent structure, and anything whose failure would put people at risk.

A useful test: if it is not part of the finished building but something or someone depends on it standing up, treat it as temporary works until you have established otherwise.

Key hazards and risks

Structural failure

Inadequate design, loads that were never anticipated, or a standard solution applied outside the conditions it was written for. Collapse is usually sudden and gives no warning.

Unauthorised modification

A prop moved to get plant through, a brace removed to run services, a scaffold tie taken out for a delivery. Small changes made with good intentions are among the most common contributors to failure.

Overloading

Materials stacked on a working platform, plant tracking too close to an excavation, or a pour sequence that concentrates load where the design assumed it would be spread.

Ground and weather

Waterlogging, frost heave, settlement under baseplates, scour, and wind loading on sheeted scaffolds and hoardings. Conditions change after the design was signed off.

Premature striking

Removing support before the permanent structure can carry the load, or unloading in the wrong sequence. Removal is a design decision, not a clearing-up task.

Gaps in coordination

Nobody appointed, the appointment made too late, or the coordinator given the title without the authority to stop work. Process failures show up as structural ones.

Legal responsibilities and good practice

Duties come from general construction law rather than a temporary works regulation:

  • The primary duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
  • The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 — designers carry duties for temporary works they specify, principal contractors for coordinating them on site, and clients for allowing adequate time and resources for them to be designed and checked.
  • The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999, requiring suitable and sufficient risk assessment.
  • The Work at Height Regulations 2005, where the temporary works provide access or edge protection.
  • The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, for the equipment used to install and strike them.

BS 5975 provides the framework for managing all of this: the temporary works register, the design brief, the design check categories that set how independent the checker must be, and the coordinator and supervisor roles.

Check which edition you are working to. The single-document BS 5975:2019 was withdrawn in December 2024 and split into two parts: BS 5975-1:2024, management procedures for the control of temporary works, and BS 5975-2:2024, falsework design and implementation.

Everything on this page — register, design brief, check categories, coordinator and supervisor roles — sits in Part 1. Only those designing falsework need Part 2. Note that clause numbering changed between editions, so procedures and templates that cite clause numbers from the 2019 version need updating rather than simply re-badging.

Managing temporary works safely

Planning and design

  • Identify at the earliest stage where temporary works will be needed, what loads and conditions apply, and how they interact with other works and with the construction sequence.
  • Appoint a competent Temporary Works Coordinator with the authority to control design approval, permit to load and permit to strike.
  • Produce a design brief that states the loads, constraints and assumptions, so the designer is not inferring them.
  • Ensure calculations or approved standard solutions are checked at a level of independence proportionate to complexity and consequence — this is what the BS 5975 design check categories are for.
  • Keep a temporary works register listing every item, its category, its status and who is responsible for it.

Installation, use and supervision

  • Erect strictly in accordance with the design, under competent supervision.
  • Issue a formal permit to load only once the works have been checked against the design.
  • Treat any change — moved props, altered formwork, removed bracing, a tie taken out — as requiring authorisation and, where necessary, re-design. Site-made changes are a recurring cause of collapse.
  • Monitor ground and weather conditions that can affect stability after installation.

Inspection, maintenance and monitoring

  • Inspect before first use, after any significant event such as high winds or an impact, after any change in loading, and at intervals proportionate to the risk.
  • Record design, installation, changes, inspections and removal against the register entry.
  • Maintain the works in service: replace damaged components, secure loosened bracing, check baseplates and foundations for settlement.

Striking and removal

  • Plan removal and the unloading sequence as part of the design, not as an afterthought on the day.
  • Issue a formal permit to strike, confirming the permanent works can carry the load.
  • Carry out removal under supervision and in the designed sequence. Sudden or out-of-sequence removal transfers load in ways the structure may not tolerate.

Roles and responsibilities

Client / employer

Ensures arrangements exist to manage temporary works, and that competent people, systems and procedures are in place. Allowing adequate time and resource for design and checking is a CDM client duty.

Temporary Works Coordinator

Administers and controls temporary works across their whole life: register, design brief, checking, permit to load, inspection and permit to strike. Needs the authority to stop work, not just the title.

Temporary Works Supervisor

Supervises on site under the coordinator, checking that works are erected, loaded and struck as designed, and escalating anything that departs from it.

Designer

Prepares the design or specifies a standard solution, states the assumptions and constraints, and ensures it is checked and suitable for the intended use and conditions.

Contractor

Builds, uses and maintains the temporary works in accordance with the design and instructions, and does not vary them without going back through the process.

Designated Individual

The senior person within the organisation who judges whether someone is competent to act as coordinator or supervisor, and makes the appointment. Attending a course does not make anyone a coordinator — the Designated Individual decides that, on training, education and experience together.

Everyone on site

Not a formal role, but the people who move a prop or overload a platform are rarely the coordinator. Awareness across the workforce is what stops informal changes happening in the first place.

Practical checklist

  • Has a risk assessment been completed for the temporary works task?
  • Has a competent coordinator been appointed, with responsibilities and authority clearly defined?
  • Does a temporary works register exist, and is every item on it?
  • Is there a design brief stating loads, constraints and assumptions?
  • Is the design or standard solution available, checked at the right category, and approved?
  • Is installation supervised and in accordance with the design?
  • Has a permit to load been issued before the works were loaded?
  • Are inspection and maintenance regimes in place and recorded?
  • Are changes authorised, re-checked and documented?
  • Is ground and weather monitoring in place?
  • Is the removal sequence designed, and will a permit to strike be issued?

Relevant training courses

Four courses carry “temporary works” in the title and they are not interchangeable. Pick by the role you hold.

CITB Site Safety Plus

Temporary Works Coordinator

2 days — certificate valid 5 years

The qualification for those appointed as coordinator, covering the role, BS 5975, statutory duties and managing the process end to end.

CITB Site Safety Plus

Coordinator Refresher

1 day — renewal only

For existing certificate holders renewing before the five years expire. There is no grace period — let it lapse and the full two-day course has to be taken again. Not a route in for anyone who has never held the full certificate.

CITB Site Safety Plus

Temporary Works Supervisor

1 day — certificate valid 5 years

For those supervising temporary works on site under a coordinator — checking that what is built matches what was designed.

IIRSM approved

Temporary Works Coordinator e-learning

2 hours — awareness level

Awareness of BS 5975 and the CDM 2015 duties, online with same-day certification. For designers, managers and site staff who need to understand the process without holding the appointment.

The e-learning course is not the Site Safety Plus qualification and does not produce a CITB certificate. Where a client or principal contractor specifies TWCTC, only the two-day course meets it.

Worth being clear on what any of these certificates prove: attendance and a pass demonstrate knowledge, not competence. Competence comes from education, training and experience together, and is judged by the Designated Individual who makes the appointment. See also CDM training, CITB courses and the high risk work training hub.

Frequently asked questions

Is appointing a Temporary Works Coordinator a legal requirement?

Not by name. No regulation requires a temporary works coordinator, but CDM 2015 requires construction work to be planned, managed and monitored, and temporary works are construction work. BS 5975 sets out the appointment as the recognised way of discharging those duties, and most principal contractors and many clients require it contractually. In practice it functions as a requirement even though it is not written into law.

Does scaffolding count as temporary works?

Yes. Scaffolding is temporary works and should appear on the register like anything else, even where it is a standard configuration erected by a specialist under its own inspection regime. Where a scaffold is non-standard, heavily loaded, sheeted, or supporting anything other than people and light materials, it needs design and checking in the same way as falsework.

What is a design check category?

BS 5975 grades temporary works by complexity and consequence, and sets how independent the design checker must be at each grade. Simple standard solutions can be checked by someone within the same team; the most complex and highest-consequence designs require a check by an independent organisation with no involvement in the original design. Assigning the category is one of the coordinator’s early decisions, and getting it too low is a common failing.

Can a prop be moved to get plant through?

Not without going back through the process. Moving, removing or repositioning any element changes the load path the design assumed, and the person moving it is rarely in a position to know whether it matters. Any variation needs authorisation from the coordinator and, where the design is affected, re-design and re-checking. Informal site changes are one of the most consistent contributors to temporary works failures.

When can temporary works be struck?

Only when the permanent works can carry the load, in the sequence the design specifies, and under a permit issued by the coordinator. For concrete this depends on strength gain rather than elapsed time, so it should be confirmed by test results rather than by the programme. Striking early or out of sequence transfers load in ways the partially complete structure may not be able to take.

Which temporary works course does my team need?

The person appointed as coordinator needs the two-day CITB course, renewed by the one-day refresher before the five years expire. Anyone supervising the works on site needs the one-day supervisor course. Designers, project managers and client-side staff who interact with the process but hold no appointment are well served by the two-hour e-learning, which is also a sensible primer before the two-day course. Awareness across the wider site workforce is what prevents the informal changes described above.

Related guidance

CDM Regulations
Risk assessment
Working at height
Asbestos
Construction safety courses
High risk work training
Construction NVQ
Civils & utilities training
All health & safety guidance

This page is general guidance and does not replace CDM 2015, BS 5975-1:2024 and BS 5975-2:2024, or the design and checking process for your own temporary works.