What temporary works are, the BS 5975 management process, the roles and design check categories, and how to get qualified as a Temporary Works Coordinator or Supervisor.
Temporary works are some of the highest-risk activities in construction, and getting them wrong has caused some of the industry's most serious collapses. This guide explains what temporary works are, the BS 5975 management process that controls them, the roles and responsibilities involved, and how to get qualified to manage them.
Temporary works are the parts of a construction project that are needed to enable the permanent works to be built, and which are usually removed once they are no longer needed. They support, hold back or provide access to the permanent structure while it is under construction. In a few cases temporary works are left in place and become part of the finished job, such as a crane or piling platform later reused as a road foundation.
Temporary works fall into a few broad groups:
Falsework, one of the most common types, is any temporary structure used to support a permanent structure while it is not yet self-supporting, such as the support beneath wet concrete in a slab or bridge deck.
BS 5975 is the British Standard code of practice for temporary works procedures and the design of falsework. It does not just cover how to design temporary works; its most important part is the management process that makes sure every item is designed, checked, used and removed safely. BS 5975 is not a law in itself, but it is the recognised way of meeting the legal duties for temporary works under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Because temporary works are temporary, it is easy to treat them as less important than the permanent structure. The opposite is true. Temporary works carry real loads, often in less controlled conditions, and they fail quickly when they fail. Excavation collapses, falsework failures and scaffold collapses have caused fatalities and major incidents across the industry. A clear management process, with named people responsible at every stage, is what keeps these risks under control.
BS 5975 defines a set of roles so that responsibility for temporary works is never left vague. Each role has a clear job, from company level down to the individual item on site.
| Role | Level | Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Designated Individual (DI) | Organisation | Ensures the company has temporary works procedures in place and that competent people are available to carry out the roles. |
| Temporary Works Coordinator (TWC) | Project | Manages the whole temporary works process on a project: design briefs, design checks, the register and the permits to load and remove. |
| Temporary Works Supervisor (TWS) | Site | Supervises specific temporary works on the ground, making sure the agreed procedures are followed day to day. Supports the coordinator. |
| Temporary Works Designer (TWD) | Design | Produces the temporary works design from the design brief, based on accurate site information. |
| Temporary Works Design Checker (TWDC) | Design | Independently checks the design to confirm it is adequate and compliant before it is used. |
On a live site, the two roles most people meet are the Temporary Works Coordinator, who manages the whole process, and the Temporary Works Supervisor, who oversees specific works on the ground. The supervisor supports the coordinator, and a supervisor is often appointed on larger sites or where one coordinator is covering several sites at once.
The BS 5975 process follows the same logical path for every item of temporary works. The coordinator prepares a design brief, the designer produces a design from it, the design is independently checked, the works are built to the design and inspected, a permit is issued to load them, and finally a permit is issued to remove them. Two documents hold this together.
The design brief is a written statement of what the temporary works must do: the loads, the site conditions, the sequence and how long the works are needed for. The coordinator owns the brief and signs it off before any design work starts.
The temporary works register is a live document listing every item of temporary works on the project, with its designer, checker, check category and inspection and permit status. The rule of thumb is that if it is not on the register, it is not under control.
Not every temporary works design needs the same level of checking. BS 5975 sets out four check categories, and the right one is chosen according to the complexity and risk of the design. The higher the category, the more independent and detailed the check.
| Check category | Type of design | What the check involves |
|---|---|---|
| Category 0 | Standard or proprietary solutions | A check that the standard solution is right for the actual site conditions. |
| Category 1 | Simple, low-risk works | A simple independent check by a competent person. |
| Category 2 | More complex works | A detailed check by someone who was not involved in the design. |
| Category 3 | Highly complex or innovative works | Independent verification, usually by a separate organisation from the designer. |
Choosing and recording the correct check category is one of the coordinator's key jobs, because it decides who is competent to sign the design off.
The Temporary Works Coordinator course is built around four principles, often called the four Cs: communication, coordination, cooperation and competency. They sum up why the role exists. Temporary works usually involve several parties, the designer, the checker, the contractor doing the work and the people loading it, and the four Cs keep them working to the same plan.
The recognised training for temporary works sits within the CITB Site Safety Plus scheme. Anyone taking overall responsibility for managing temporary works should hold the 2-day Temporary Works Coordinator course, which is renewed every five years through the 1-day TWC Refresher. Those supervising specific temporary works on the ground take the 1-day Temporary Works Supervisor course. Many people in these roles also hold SMSTS or SSSTS from elsewhere in the scheme, and because temporary works often involve work at height, the Working at Height course is a useful companion.
Temporary works are the parts of a construction project that are needed to build the permanent works and are usually removed afterwards. Examples include excavation support, formwork, falsework, propping, shoring and scaffolding. They hold things up, hold things back or provide access while the permanent structure is built.
BS 5975 is the British Standard code of practice for temporary works procedures and the design of falsework. It sets out a recognised management process for controlling temporary works safely and defines the key roles, including the Temporary Works Coordinator and Temporary Works Supervisor.
The permanent works are the finished structure that stays in place: the building, bridge or road. Temporary works support that structure while it is being built and are normally removed once they are no longer needed. Occasionally temporary works are left in place and become part of the permanent works, such as a piling platform reused as a road foundation.
Responsibility is shared across several roles defined in BS 5975. The Designated Individual sets up the procedures at company level, the Temporary Works Coordinator manages the process on the project, the Temporary Works Supervisor oversees specific works on the ground, and the designer and design checker produce and verify the design.
A Temporary Works Coordinator, or TWC, has overall responsibility for managing the temporary works process on a project. The role is trained through the 2-day CITB Temporary Works Coordinator course.
A Temporary Works Supervisor, or TWS, oversees specific temporary works on the ground and supports the coordinator. The role is trained through the 1-day CITB Temporary Works Supervisor course.
Temporary works designs are checked at one of four categories, from Category 0 for standard solutions up to Category 3 for highly complex or innovative designs. The higher the category, the more independent and detailed the check has to be. The category is set by the complexity and risk of the design.
The temporary works register is a live document that lists every item of temporary works on a project, with its designer, checker, check category and inspection and permit status. The principle is simple: if it is not on the register, it is not under control.
A design brief is a written statement of what the temporary works must do: the loads, the site conditions, the sequence and how long it is needed. The Temporary Works Coordinator owns the brief and signs it off before any design work begins.
There is no single legal qualification, but employers and BS 5975 expect the people in these roles to be competent. The recognised training is the Temporary Works Coordinator course for the coordinator role and the Temporary Works Supervisor course for the supervisor role.
The four Cs are communication, coordination, cooperation and competency. They are the principles that underpin the Temporary Works Coordinator role and good temporary works management generally.
BS 5975 is not a law in itself, but it is the accepted way of managing temporary works to meet legal duties under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 and the Health and Safety at Work Act. Following it is how most contractors show they are controlling temporary works properly.