Matthews & Roberts Appointed Temporary Works Consultant on £2bn Manufacturing Facility

Matthews & Roberts has been appointed Temporary Works Consultant on a £2bn manufacturing facility. The appointment covers the management and coordination of temporary works across the project in line with BS 5975, supporting the Principal Contractor from early works through to completion of the structure and building envelope.

A project of this size changes the nature of the temporary works problem. The engineering of any individual item is rarely the difficulty. The risk sits in the number of contractors, the volume of concurrent activity and the points where one party's temporary works depend on another's. Our approach is built around three things the scale of the scheme demands: critical interface management, a robust procedure and a structured engagement strategy.

Why scale changes temporary works risk

On a facility of this size temporary works are designed, installed and removed by many organisations at the same time. Piling rigs and crawler cranes need working platforms. Deep excavations sit close to foundations and live services. Steel frames need temporary stability until floors and bracing are complete. Slabs need falsework and backpropping while the frame above continues to rise.

Each of these items may be well designed on its own. Failures on large projects are more often caused by what happens between them. A platform is loaded by a heavier crane than the design allowed for. An excavation is opened next to a propped structure without its designer being consulted. Bracing is removed before the permanent works can take the load. Control of temporary works at this scale is a coordination task first and an engineering task second.

Critical interface management

Interface management is the core of the appointment. Every temporary works item on the register is reviewed for what it relies on and what relies on it. Where two packages meet, the interface is identified, recorded and allocated to a named owner before design starts.

In practice this means:

• Design briefs that include the loads and constraints imposed by adjacent works, not only the item being designed
• A single project register that shows the status of every item across every contractor
• Clear rules on who may load, alter or remove temporary works that affect another package
• Lookahead reviews so interfaces are resolved before they reach the programme, rather than on the day of the lift or the pour

The aim is simple. No temporary works should be loaded, modified or struck without every affected party knowing and agreeing.

A robust temporary works procedure

A project of this scale needs a procedure that works for every contractor on site, not only the Principal Contractor. The procedure sets out how temporary works are identified, briefed, designed, checked, installed, inspected, permitted and removed. It defines the roles required under BS 5975 and how they relate to each other:

• The Principal Contractor's Temporary Works Coordinator, with overall responsibility for temporary works on the project
• Contractor Temporary Works Coordinators managing their own packages within the project framework
• Temporary Works Supervisors controlling installation, use and dismantling at the workface
• Temporary works designers and independent design checkers appointed to the correct category

Each contractor's own procedure is reviewed against the project procedure at mobilisation. Gaps are closed before work starts, not after the first incident or audit finding.

A structured engagement strategy

Procedures only work when the people using them are engaged with them. With a large number of contractors mobilising in sequence, engagement cannot be left to chance. The strategy for this scheme covers:

• Onboarding for each contractor's Temporary Works Coordinator and Supervisors before they start on site
• A regular temporary works coordination meeting tied to the construction programme
• Interface workshops where packages meet, such as groundworks and piling, frame and slab, envelope and access
• Clear escalation routes when a design, check or permit is holding up the programme
• Routine audit of registers, permits and site installations with findings closed out and tracked

This keeps temporary works visible to the whole project team and stops the process becoming a paper exercise that site teams work around.

Every category of temporary works

The appointment covers the full range of temporary works on the project, including:

• Working platforms, piling mats and crane bases
• Excavation support, trench support and cofferdams
• Dewatering and ground stabilisation measures
• Falsework, formwork and backpropping
• Temporary stability of steel and concrete frames
• Propping and needling to existing structures
• Access and loading scaffolds, temporary roofs and edge protection
• Lifting arrangements and plant foundations
• Hoarding, gantries, temporary roads and site infrastructure

Each item is assigned a design check category under BS 5975. Category 0 covers standard solutions used within their limits. Category 1 covers simple designs. Category 2 requires a check by someone not involved in the design. Category 3 covers complex or novel temporary works and requires a check by a separate organisation. On a scheme of this scale all four categories will be in use at the same time, so getting the category right at briefing stage is essential to both safety and programme.

Supporting delivery at scale

Well managed temporary works protect programme as much as they protect people. Designs that arrive on time, checks that are completed before they are needed and permits that are issued without delay all keep the job moving. That is the standard this appointment is set up to deliver.

Matthews & Roberts provides temporary works coordination and consultancy for Principal Contractors and specialist contractors across the UK. For a detailed explanation of the standard behind this work, read our guide to BS 5975.