How to Use This Resource: Temporary Works Register & Design Check Record (BS 5975 / CDM 2015)

Purpose and outcome

This resource helps you control every temporary works item on the job (propping, formwork/falsework, edge protection, excavation support, working platforms, etc.) from identification through to authorised use and authorised striking.

It is set up to match the practical intent of BS 5975-style temporary works control (clear roles, categories, design/check, hold points and permits) and to create clear CDM 2015 evidence that temporary works were planned, designed/checked, installed, inspected, and removed in a controlled way.

Good completion looks like:

• Every temporary works item is listed on the Temporary Works Register with an owner (TWC/TWS), category and current status.
• No item is installed until the design and check are complete (“No design, no install”).
• Hold points are enforced: Permit/Authorisation to Load/Use and Permit/Authorisation to Dismantle/Strike are recorded where used.
• Inspection dates (post-install, routine, event) are recorded and easy to audit.

Who uses it (clear roles)

Practical point: Small jobs still need role clarity. Even if one person wears two hats, the responsibilities must be explicit and recorded.

When to use it (project workflow triggers)

• Job start / mobilisation: create the register, name TWC/TWS, set Rev 0, add known temporary works from drawings/methods/programme.
• Before ordering / delivery: add each new item and agree who designs and who checks it (don’t wait until it’s on the lorry).
• Before installation: confirm design/check complete and latest revision is issued to site (hold point).
• Before loading/using: post-install inspection recorded and permit/authorisation to load/use issued (hold point).
• During use: routine inspections at the set frequency, plus event inspections after rain/wind (where relevant), impact, modification, or load/sequence change.
• Before striking: confirm permanent works can support itself and permit/authorisation to strike is issued (hold point).

Before you start (what you need ready)

For the Register

• Project details and a simple register revision approach (Rev 0, Rev 1, etc.).
• Initial list of temporary works items (site walk-round + drawings + subcontractor proposals).
• Named TWC and TWS.

For each item’s Design Check Record

• Design brief: location, purpose, loads, limits, constraints, sequence and hold points.
• Design pack: drawings/sketches (with revision), calculations, manufacturer/supplier data, assumptions and limits.
• Interfaces: adjacent structures, services, excavations, public protection, crane/plant loads if relevant.
• Category/check route: the temporary works category used on your job and whether an independent check is required.

How to complete it (step-by-step)

1) Build and maintain the Temporary Works Register (job-wide)

1. Enter job details, TWC/TWS, start date, and current revision.
2. Add each temporary works item with a unique ref (TW-01, TW-02, etc.) and a clear “what & where”.
3. Record category (Cat 0/1/2/3 or your system) and who is responsible for design and check.
4. Record drawing/calc references (including revision) and keep the item status current (planned → designed → checked → installed → in use → struck/closed out).

2) Complete the Design Check Record (one per item)

1. Write/confirm the design brief (loads, limits, sequence, ground/base assumptions, exclusion zones).
2. Record the design author, date and revision, and the drawing/calc references.
3. Capture assumptions/limits and interfaces (this is where failures usually start).
4. Record inspection requirements (who/when/frequency and event triggers).
5. Record the check outcome: Accepted, Accepted with comments, or Reject.
6. Close out checker comments (attach marked-up drawings) before installation/use.
7. Get the sign-offs recorded (TWC acceptance and Checker completion).

3) Control installation and use (with hold points)

1. Pre-start check: latest revision on site, right kit, bases/ground OK, team briefed.
2. Install to drawing: if it can’t be built as drawn, stop and escalate (treat changes as a design change).
3. Post-install inspection: confirm it matches the design (spacing, bracing, fixings, stability, access).
4. Permit/Authorisation to Load/Use: issue only after post-install inspection and any hold points are met.
5. Routine + event inspections: record dates, findings, and actions. If anything changes, consider re-design/re-check.
6. Permit/Authorisation to Strike: only when the permanent works can support itself and the strike method/sequence is briefed.
7. Close out: record struck/closed out on the register and file the final evidence.

Review and approval (what “good” looks like before sign-off)

TWC checks before accepting for use

• The design matches the brief and the real site conditions (especially ground/bearing, access, and interfaces).
• Correct drawing revision is issued to site and older revisions are controlled.
• Hold points are clear and will be enforced (no “informal go-ahead”).

Checker checks before completing the design check

• Loads, stability, bases/foundations, fixings, bracing/ties and sequence are addressed.
• Buildability is realistic for the site team and method.
• Inspection requirements and limits are stated clearly enough to brief the team.

Escalation points (stop and get support)

• Ground conditions differ from assumptions (soft spots, water, made ground, undermining).
• The team proposes “small tweaks” (moving props, removing ties, changing spacing).
• Loads/sequence change (bigger pours, earlier loading, added storage, different plant).
• Damage, movement, missing components, or a near miss.

Keeping it up to date (how often to review/update)

• Live on site: update the register as soon as an item is added, revised, installed, authorised for use, inspected, or struck.
• Weekly minimum: TWC reviews the full register (what’s coming up, what’s awaiting design/check, what’s ready for permits, what can be struck).
• After events/changes: update immediately and trigger re-check if required by the change or category.

Recordkeeping (storage, version control, retention)

Store it so you can prove control

• Keep the live register in the project H&S folder (digital) and a printed copy on site if useful.
• File evidence by temporary works reference number (TW-01 pack, TW-02 pack, etc.).

What to file with it (audit-ready)

• Design brief, design drawings/calcs (with revision), and design check record.
• Marked-up drawings/comments and close-out of actions.
• Pre-start, post-install, routine and event inspections.
• Permits/authorisations to load/use and to strike (if used on your job).
• Photos where they help show compliance or key details.

Retention

Keep with your project records as evidence under CDM 2015 and to satisfy client/Principal Contractor requirements. Use your company retention rule (and keep longer if specified by the client or the risk profile).

Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)

• Mistake: Not treating “simple” items as temporary works (a few props, a short trench support, a loading platform).
  Avoid: If it supports, holds back, stabilises, or prevents a fall—put it on the register and control it.
• Mistake: No clear category/check route, so the checking level is guessed.
  Avoid: Record the category (or “N/A”) and agree the check approach up front.
• Mistake: Wrong drawing revision on site.
  Avoid: TWC controls issue; pre-start check includes “latest revision present”.
• Mistake: Permit/authorisation is assumed rather than recorded.
  Avoid: Use the Inspection & Permit record section to evidence the hold point decisions.
• Mistake: Changes made without re-check (“we just added one more prop”).
  Avoid: Treat changes as a design change; record event inspection and re-design/re-check where needed.
• Mistake: Striking early to return kit.
  Avoid: Permit/authorisation to strike only when permanent works are confirmed able to carry loads.

Worked scenario (quick, realistic)

Scenario: Extension with a knock-through and a boundary excavation.

1. The supervisor identifies and registers:
   • TW-01: Propping to existing masonry during knock-through.
   • TW-02: Excavation support to footing trench at boundary.
2. The TWC agrees design briefs (loads/limits/sequence and inspection triggers) and records who designs and checks, including category/check route.
3. Designer issues drawings and calcs; checker completes the design check record (accepted/accepted with comments/reject) and actions are closed out.
4. TWS completes pre-start and post-install inspections; TWC issues permit/authorisation to load/use before work continues under/around the temporary works.
5. After heavy rain, an event inspection is recorded for TW-02. If conditions differ from assumptions, work stops and the design/check is revisited.
6. When permanent works are complete (e.g., lintel installed and secured; concrete achieved required strength), TWC issues permit/authorisation to strike, the works are struck safely, and the register is closed out.