BS 5975 Explained: The Ultimate Guide to Temporary Works Procedures on UK Sites (BS 5975-1:2024 Update)

Looking for a complete BS 5975 temporary works guide for UK construction sites? BS 5975 is the definitive British Standard Code of Practice governing the management procedures, design, checking, and on-site control of temporary works across the UK construction industry. Following a major British Standards Institution (BSI) revision on 31 December 2024, the former BS 5975:2019 standard was withdrawn and split into two distinct standards: BS 5975-1:2024 (covering procedural management controls for all temporary works) and BS 5975-2:2024 (covering the structural design and implementation of falsework).

Whether you are an aspiring Temporary Works Co-ordinator (TWC) preparing for your CITB Temporary Works Coordinator (TWC) course, a Site Manager overseeing complex excavations, or a Principal Contractor auditing your company’s safety management system, understanding how BS 5975 operates on live projects is critical to preventing catastrophic structural failures and HSE enforcement.

1. What is BS 5975 and Why Was It Split into Two Parts?

First published in 1982 in direct response to the 1975 Bragg Report (following the collapse of the Loddon Viaduct falsework in 1972), BS 5975 establishes the industry benchmark for managing temporary engineering solutions used to support or protect permanent works during construction, refurbishment, or demolition.

Historically, BS 5975 combined procedural site management rules and technical falsework design calculations inside a single document. However, on 31 December 2024, BSI withdrew BS 5975:2019 and restructured the code of practice into two standalone parts:

• BS 5975-1:2024 (Temporary works – Part 1: Management procedures for the control of temporary works – Code of practice): Replaces Sections 1 and 2 of the 2019 edition. It sets out the administrative, procedural, and competency controls required across all forms of temporary works, including earthworks, trench shoring, tower crane bases, facade retention, scaffolding, hoarding, and haul roads.
• BS 5975-2:2024 (Temporary works – Part 2: Falsework: Design and implementation – Code of practice): Replaces Section 3 of the 2019 edition. It provides structural engineers and temporary works designers with specific calculation methodologies for falsework, introducing Limit State Design (with partial load factors) alongside updated Permissible Stress Design rules, wind funnelling checks, vortex shedding susceptibility, and revised flat-slab back-propping calculations.

Why this matters for site teams: If you are managing site operations, compiling a Temporary Works Register, or issuing permits, BS 5975-1:2024 is your primary operational rulebook. Its clauses form the backbone of the official 2-day CITB Temporary Works Coordinator training programme.

2. Is BS 5975 Legally Binding in the UK? (CDM 2015 Interface)

Strictly speaking, a British Standard is a Code of Practice, not an Act of Parliament or a Statutory Instrument. However, treating BS 5975 as "optional guidance" is one of the most dangerous mistakes a contractor can make.

In the UK, temporary works are governed by statutory legislation, primarily:

• The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA): Requires employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety, and welfare of operatives and the public.
• The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015): Explicitly includes "temporary structures" within the legal definition of a structure, placing strict statutory duties on Clients, Principal Designers (PD), Principal Contractors (PC), Designers, and Contractors to plan, manage, monitor, and co-ordinate temporary works.

When the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigates a site incident or inspects high-risk construction activities, inspectors benchmark the contractor's management system directly against BS 5975-1:2024. If a Principal Contractor fails to appoint a competent Temporary Works Co-ordinator, neglects independent design checks, or loads falsework without a formal permit, the HSE uses non-compliance with BS 5975 as primary evidence that the contractor breached CDM 2015 and HASAWA 1974.

3. BS 5975:2019 vs. BS 5975-1:2024 & BS 5975-2:2024: Key Changes

If you completed your original TWC qualification under the 2019 standard, or if your company’s internal temporary works procedure has not been updated since December 2024, you must align your documentation with the latest revisions.

The table below summarises the critical shifts from BS 5975:2019 to BS 5975-1:2024 and BS 5975-2:2024:

Note: If your existing TWC certificate is approaching its 5-year expiry date, you can get fully up to speed on the 2024/2026 procedural changes by booking our 1-day CITB TWC Refresher course online before your current certificate lapses.

4. The 4 Cs of BS 5975: The Foundation of Temporary Works Safety

Throughout the CITB syllabus and BS 5975-1:2024, procedural control is anchored around the 4 Cs: Communication, Co-operation, Co-ordination, and Competency. Whenever a temporary works failure occurs on a UK site, root-cause investigations almost always trace the collapse back to a breakdown in one or more of these four pillars.

• Communication: Design intent means nothing if it remains locked in a structural engineer’s PDF. BS 5975-1:2024 requires clear, documented transmission of information from the client and permanent works designer through the Temporary Works Design Brief, onto the Temporary Works Register, and down to the site operatives via pre-erection briefings and clear working drawings.
• Co-operation: Temporary works rarely exist in isolation. Subcontractors, scaffolders, groundworkers, concrete frame contractors, and permanent works engineers must actively share programme sequences, loading assumptions, and underground service locations rather than working in contractual silos.
• Co-ordination: Because multiple trades interact with temporary structures (for example, an M&E contractor cutting a trench adjacent to a mobile crane outrigger mat), a single person with site-wide authority, the Temporary Works Co-ordinator (TWC), must oversee the interface between all temporary and permanent works.
• Competency: Under BS 5975-1:2024, competency is not just holding a training certificate; it is the combination of formal training, relevant practical experience, and behavioural authority to halt unsafe work. Navigating BS 5975 compliance on active construction projects requires structured training; learn how to apply these statutory frameworks practically in our CITB Temporary Works Coordinator training course.

5. Key Roles Under BS 5975-1:2024: DI, TWC, TWS, and TWD

A frequent source of confusion on construction sites is how authority flows from boardroom level down to the workface. BS 5975-1:2024 defines four core dutyholders within an organisation's temporary works procedure:

1. The Designated Individual (DI)

Every contracting or consulting organisation involved with temporary works must appoint a Designated Individual (DI), typically a senior director or chief engineer. The DI does not manage daily site permits; instead, the DI is responsible for establishing, implementing, and auditing the company’s overarching Temporary Works Procedure, assessing staff competence, and formally appointing TWCs, TWSs, and Suppliers in writing.

2. The Temporary Works Co-ordinator (TWC)

Appointed in writing by the DI (or Principal Contractor's DI), the TWC is the central lynchpin on site. The TWC is not normally the designer of the temporary works; rather, the TWC is the procedural manager responsible for ensuring the company’s BS 5975 management system is followed at every stage.

• Maintains the live Temporary Works Register.
• Ensures an adequate Temporary Works Design Brief is produced.
• Assigns the appropriate Design Check Category (Cat 0–3) and verifies that design checks are completed.
• Issues formal Permits to Load (Proceed) and Permits to Strike (Dismantle) once inspections are signed off.

3. The Temporary Works Supervisor (TWS)

On larger or multi-disciplinary sites, one or more Temporary Works Supervisors (TWS) are appointed to assist the TWC. Reporting functionally to the TWC, the TWS serves as the "eyes and ears" on site, supervising the physical erection, use, maintenance, and dismantling of temporary works, and carrying out on-site inspections against the approved drawings. For site foremen and engineers stepping into this hands-on inspection role, we deliver the dedicated 1-day CITB Temporary Works Supervisor (TWS) course. (Not sure which qualification fits your job role? Read our upcoming breakdown on CITB TWCTC vs. TWSTC).

4. The Temporary Works Designer (TWD) & Design Checker (TWCk)

The TWD prepares the engineering calculations, drawings, and dismantling specifications based on the Design Brief, following the ERIC hierarchy of risk control (Eliminate, Reduce, Inform, Control). The Design Checker performs the independent verification required for the assigned check category.

6. Understanding BS 5975 Design Check Categories (Cat 0 to Cat 3)

One of the most heavily examined topics in the CITB Temporary Works Coordinator assessment, and one of the most critical decisions made on site, is classifying temporary works into the correct Design Check Category.

Under BS 5975-1:2024, every temporary works design must undergo an independent check before erection begins. The level of independence required depends on two factors:

1. The complexity or novelty of the design (Standard solution vs. bespoke complex engineering).
2. The consequence of failure (Low-risk minor works vs. high-risk potential for multiple fatalities or third-party collapse, such as working adjacent to Network Rail infrastructure or public highways).

Here is the definitive reference table for BS 5975 Design Check Categories 0 to 3:

Crucial Site Rule on Category Creep: A Temporary Works Co-ordinator must never downgrade a Category 2 or Category 3 check simply to save programme time or engineering consultancy fees. Under BS 5975-1:2024, the rationale for selecting the check category must be recorded clearly on the Temporary Works Register.

7. The 8-Step BS 5975 Temporary Works Lifecycle on Site

How do all these clauses come together on a live project? Whether you are building a residential block in London or managing civil infrastructure in Kent, BS 5975-1:2024 mandates a structured, 8-step hold-point workflow:

1. Appointment of Dutyholders: The Principal Contractor's DI formally appoints the Project TWC (and TWS where required) in writing, confirming their competence and authority.
2. Compilation of the Temporary Works Register: During pre-construction planning, the TWC identifies all foreseeable temporary works items and logs them on the master Temporary Works Register, assigning risk levels, design categories, and target hold-point dates.
3. Preparation of the Design Brief: The TWC compiles a comprehensive Design Brief for the Temporary Works Designer. This must include permanent works drawings, geotechnical/SI reports, groundwater data, environmental risks (flooding/wind), loading sequences, and adjacent underground services.
4. Design & Independent Design Check: The designer produces the drawings, calculations, and method statement, and an independent checker completes the Category 0, 1, 2, or 3 check. Both issue signed Design and Design Check Certificates to the TWC.
5. Pre-Erection Inspection & Briefing: Before installation starts on site, the TWC/TWS verifies that permanent works interfaces and ground conditions match the design assumptions, and briefs the installation gang so the design intent is understood.
6. Erection & On-Site Inspection: The temporary works are erected strictly in accordance with the certified drawings. If site conditions force a change (for example, hitting an uncharted service duct), work must stop, any field modification must be referred back to the designer for re-approval.
7. Issue of the Permit to Load (Permit to Proceed): Once erection is complete, the TWC (or delegated TWS) inspects the structure against the approved drawings and signs a formal Permit to Load (e.g., authorising a concrete pour onto falsework or allowing a crane onto a working platform).
8. Issue of the Permit to Strike (Permit to Dismantle): Once the permanent structure is self-supporting (verified by concrete cube test results or permanent fixings), the TWC issues a formal Permit to Strike, ensuring back-propping and dismantling sequences are followed safely.

8. Frequently Asked Questions About BS 5975

What is the difference between BS 5975:2019 and BS 5975-1:2024?

BS 5975:2019 was officially withdrawn on 31 December 2024 and replaced by two separate standards: BS 5975-1:2024 (which covers management procedures for the control of all temporary works) and BS 5975-2:2024 (which covers the technical design and implementation of falsework, including new Limit State Design provisions).

Does holding a CITB TWC certificate automatically make me a Temporary Works Coordinator?

No. Passing the CITB Temporary Works Coordinator (TWCTC) course provides nationally recognised proof that you understand BS 5975 procedures. However, under BS 5975-1:2024, you only become a site's Temporary Works Co-ordinator when your organisation's Designated Individual (DI) assesses your practical experience as suitable for the project's complexity and formally appoints you in writing.

Are standard scaffolds and shallow trenches covered by BS 5975?

Yes. Even if a scaffold complies with a TG20 compliance sheet or an excavation uses a proprietary trench box, it still falls under BS 5975-1:2024 as a Category 0 temporary works item. It must be recorded on the Temporary Works Register, checked for site suitability, and inspected before use.

How often do Temporary Works Coordinators need to renew their CITB qualification?

The official CITB Site Safety Plus TWC certificate is valid for 5 years. To stay compliant with BS 5975-1:2024 without retaking the full two-day course, delegates must complete the 1-day CITB TWC Refresher course before their current certificate expires.

External Authority References & Further Reading

• British Standards Institution (BSI) – BS 5975-1:2024 Official Standard Overview
• Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – Temporary Works in Construction Guidance
• Temporary Works Forum (TWf) – Industry Best Practice & Operational Guidance
• UK Legislation – The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015)