Although HSE has determined the competencies of temporary works required for safe use of propping and retention systems, there are other standards to be aware of. The most important of these is BS 5975:2008 and its A1:2011 update. It provides practical guidelines, including details of relevant legislation, information about designs, and clear information about procedural controls.
On top of this the British Standards Institution (BSI) recently released a new code of practice regarding temporary works that focuses specifically on clients. BS 5975:2008+A1:2011 is widely used but the focus in on contractors. It does not give specific advice for clients. As a result lots of individual approaches have been developed, leading to complexity and a lot of confusion. This in turn can have an impact on compliance, approval and administrative costs.
The PAS 8811:2017 guide is titled Temporary works – Major infrastructure client procedures – Code of practice. It provides a common set of procedures that clients can use on projects, reducing the risk of them utilising their own and encountering difficulties. As a result conflicts and delays can be reduced, clarity improves, and unnecessary processes are removed.
A wide array of organisations contributed to the new document including renowned names like Balfour Beatty, the HSE, the Institute of Civil Engineers, and National Rail. As a result the new guidelines can be relied on and the procedures should be very useful for clients.
At Denon Construction we work hard to deliver the highest quality services we can, ensuring we adhere to the right competencies of temporary works at all times. As part of our service we try our best to help clients build their knowledge of why the supports are needed, how they are designed, and what the benefits are. We also offer advice about procedures. The new PAS 8811:2017 document will help to drive up standards even more.
If you have any questions for us please get in touch. You can also find out more about the standard on the BSI shop website.