The structures that hold everything up while the real structure is built
Temporary works — scaffolding, falsework, formwork, props, shoring and bracing — carry real loads during construction until the permanent structure can stand on its own. WorkSafe says temporary works feature highly in New Zealand's incident and injury notifications, and the 2017 Panmure Bridge scaffold collapse showed what poor coordination can do. The controls are engineered design, a clear coordination and permit system, and never altering temporary works informally.
Temporary works are the parts of a construction project needed to enable (or maintain) the permanent works — scaffolding, falsework, formwork, propping, shoring, bracing, excavation support, hoarding, gantries, and crane and hoist bases and ties. Falsework supports a permanent structure during erection until it is self-supporting; formwork is the mould that holds concrete until it cures.
During construction, the permanent structure does not yet have its designed strength, so the temporary works are doing real load-bearing work — and failure can be catastrophic.
On 21 February 2017, scaffolding being used for maintenance under Auckland's Panmure Bridge collapsed and six workers fell into the Tamaki River, escaping with minor injuries. WorkSafe found there appeared to be a lack of coordination and communication between the parties over the scaffolding design, and a failure to grasp the Act's notion of overlapping duties. WorkSafe says temporary works feature highly in incident and injury notifications across New Zealand.
Falsework and other temporary works should be designed by competent people who calculate the imposed loads, check stability and settlement, and document how the system is erected, maintained and dismantled. Design must allow for all reasonably foreseeable loads — the weight of formwork, reinforcement and wet concrete, the workers, tools and stockpiled materials, and environmental loads including wind and, in New Zealand, seismic actions during a pour. Foundations must fully support the loads. Standards such as AS/NZS 3610 (formwork) and AS/NZS 1576 (scaffolding) apply.
Manage temporary works through a clear system: a competent person coordinating the work, a register of temporary works, a design check proportionate to the risk, and written authorisation before loading (so nothing is loaded until it is built to design and inspected) and before striking or altering. The recurring killer is informal alteration — someone removes or repositions a prop or brace because it is in the way, not realising it is structural. See scaffolding and excavation & trenching.
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The parts of a construction project needed to enable the permanent works, such as scaffolding, falsework, formwork, propping, shoring, bracing and excavation support. They carry real loads until the permanent structure can stand on its own.
Falsework is the temporary structure that supports a permanent structure during erection until it is self-supporting. Formwork is the mould that holds and shapes concrete until it cures and can carry itself.
Because they do genuine load-bearing work during construction. They must be designed by a competent person for all foreseeable loads, including formwork, reinforcement, wet concrete, people, wind and, in New Zealand, seismic actions.
In February 2017, scaffolding under Auckland's Panmure Bridge collapsed and six workers fell into the Tamaki River with minor injuries. WorkSafe found a lack of coordination over the scaffolding design and a failure to grasp overlapping duties.
Informal alteration — someone removing or repositioning a prop, brace or tie because it is in the way, without realising it is structural. A permit-to-alter system tied to the design prevents this.
