Temporary Works refer to engineered structures, supports, or systems used during construction, maintenance, or repair activities to provide stability, safety, or access. Temporary Works are the parts of a construction project that are needed to enable the construction of the permanent works but do not remain as part of the final, finished structure. The key aspect is that they are temporary, but they require careful engineering design, planning, and execution to ensure the safety of workers and the integrity of the project. They are usually removed once their purpose is fulfilled.
Explanation of Temporary Works
The concept of “Temporary Works” is fundamental to construction safety and management. While they are not part of the final product, their failure can lead to some of the most catastrophic accidents in the construction industry, often resulting in multiple fatalities and significant project delays. Therefore, they must be adequately planned, designed, erected, inspected, and dismantled by competent persons, following recognized standards such as BS 5975 or relevant national codes.
Temporary works are crucial in construction and engineering projects to ensure safety, stability, and efficiency. They include supports, scaffolding, shoring, formwork, falsework, temporary road access, and earthworks that hold or shape a structure until permanent elements are in place. Proper design, installation, and monitoring are necessary to prevent accidents, collapses, or hazards.
Because of the risk involved, temporary works must be treated with the same level of engineering diligence as the permanent structure. This involves a formal process that includes:
- Design: Temporary works must be appropriately designed by a competent engineer to withstand all foreseeable loads, including environmental factors like wind and rain.
- Coordination and Management: A designated person, often called a Temporary Works Coordinator (TWC), is typically appointed on-site to be responsible for managing all temporary works procedures. They ensure that designs are followed, equipment is checked, and work is carried out safely.
- Communicating methods through method statements and briefings
- Erection and Inspection: The temporary works must be erected according to the design specifications. They are then inspected and formally signed off (or “permitted”) before being put into use.
- Loading: The structure must not be loaded beyond its design capacity.
- Dismantling: The removal of temporary works is also a high-risk activity that must be carefully planned and executed to prevent accidental collapses.
Common categories of temporary works include scaffolding, formwork, falsework, excavation support (shoring), propping, façade retention, and crane foundations.
Example of Temporary Works in Practice
Scenario: The construction of a multi-story reinforced concrete building.
To build the concrete floors and columns of this building, numerous temporary works are required:
- Excavation Support: Before the foundation is laid, a deep excavation is needed. To prevent the sides of the excavation from collapsing and endangering workers, a shoring system (using steel sheets and hydraulic props) is installed. This is a critical piece of temporary work.
- Formwork and Falsework: To create the second-floor concrete slab, a system must be built to hold the wet concrete in place until it cures and gains enough strength to support itself.
- Formwork: This is the “mold” that contains the wet concrete. It consists of plywood or steel panels that form the shape of the slab and beams.
- Falsework: This is the extensive support structure, typically made of steel or aluminum props and frames, that sits on the first floor and holds up the formwork and the immense weight of the wet concrete.
- Scaffolding: An access scaffold is erected around the perimeter of the building. This provides a safe working platform for bricklayers, window installers, and other trades to work on the building’s exterior. The scaffold is an engineered structure designed to carry the weight of workers, their tools, and materials.
- Crane Base: A large tower crane is needed to lift materials. The concrete foundation block and steel anchors that the crane sits on are temporary works. They are designed specifically to provide stability for the crane during operation and are removed once the building’s structure is complete
In this scenario, the Temporary Works Coordinator would be responsible for ensuring the designs for the shoring, falsework, and scaffolding were all approved, that they were inspected after erection, and that they were safely dismantled in the correct sequence as the permanent structure gained strength.
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