Top BS 5975 Compliant Temporary Works Firms in the UK: A 2024 Standard Checklist for Choosing a Consultancy

The 2024 Standard Split: What Changed and Why It Matters
The Core Checklist: What to Ask Before You Appoint
Specialist Remote-First Consultancy vs. Large Multidisciplinary Practice
How Temporary Works Consulting & Design Ltd Fits This Checklist
Frequently Asked Questions

Picking the wrong temporary works consultancy costs you more than money. It eats programme time, creates regulatory exposure, and puts your site team at risk. With the British Standard now split into two parts, what a genuinely compliant firm looks like has changed. This checklist is designed to help groundworks and civils contractors shortlist and vet a consultancy properly — before you appoint, not after.

The 2024 Standard Split: What Changed and Why It Matters

On 17 December 2024, BSI formally split BS 5975:2019 into two distinct standards:

BS 5975-1:2024 — management procedures for temporary works on construction sites
BS 5975-2:2024 — falsework design

The split matters when you are evaluating a firm because the two parts carry different obligations. Part 1 is about the management framework: roles, registers, permits, checking categories. Part 2 is about the engineering design itself. A consultancy that handles design but cannot support your management obligations under Part 1 is only half the solution.

Ask any candidate firm directly: do they work across both parts, or just one?

The Core Checklist: What to Ask Before You Appoint

1. Do They Support the Designated Individual and Temporary Works Coordinator Roles?

Under BS 5975-1:2024, your organisation needs a Designated Individual (DI) and, on most projects, a Temporary Works Coordinator (TWC). These are not optional. The DI holds overall responsibility for temporary works management across your business; the TWC manages it at project level.

A compliant consultancy should be able to help you set these roles up correctly, advise on competency requirements, and in some cases act as or support your TWC. If a firm cannot explain these roles clearly or has no service offering around them, that is a red flag worth taking seriously.

2. Can They Provide Procedures, Registers, and Permit Documentation?

BS 5975-1:2024 requires a documented management system — written procedures, a temporary works register, and a permit-to-load or permit-to-strike process for relevant structures. Many contractors have the site team in place but not the paperwork infrastructure to back it up.

Ask whether the consultancy produces or reviews these documents as part of their service. A firm that only delivers calculations and drawings but cannot help you build or audit your management documentation will leave real gaps in your compliance position.

3. Do They Coordinate Category 0 to Category 3 Checks?

The standard defines four checking categories — Cat 0 through Cat 3 — based on risk level, ranging from a simple self-check to an independent check by a separate organisation. Working out which category applies to a given structure, and then actually organising the right level of check, is a practical challenge on live projects.

A capable consultancy should advise on check category selection, carry out or coordinate the relevant checks, and document the outcome in a way that satisfies both your TWC and DI. Ask specifically how they handle Cat 3 independent checks and whether they have an established process for it.

4. Do They Offer Fixed-Price Quotes?

Cost certainty matters when you are running a tight programme. Open-ended hourly billing can spiral quickly when scope shifts or queries come back from the checking engineer. Ask whether the firm quotes fixed fees for defined scopes and whether they are upfront about what triggers a variation.

A firm that cannot give you a clear fee for a standard excavation support design or a working platform calculation is either poorly organised or planning to bill time without accountability.

5. Can They Deliver Remotely With a Fast Turnaround?

Site programmes do not wait for a consultant to travel, attend a meeting, and write up notes afterwards. Remote delivery, backed by clear communication and rapid output, is often more efficient than a traditional in-person model.

Ask what their typical turnaround is for a straightforward design. Ask how they receive site information — drawings, survey data, ground investigation reports — and how they communicate during the design process. A remote-first firm with a structured intake process can frequently outperform a larger practice on speed without any loss of quality.

6. Do They Offer Ongoing Retainer Support?

If you are running multiple projects at once, a one-off appointment model creates friction. Every new project means a new brief, a new fee negotiation, and a new relationship to manage from scratch.

A retainer arrangement — a fixed weekly or monthly commitment from a consultancy — gives you predictable access to engineering support across your portfolio. Ask whether the firm offers this model, what it covers, and how it handles peaks in demand.

Specialist Remote-First Consultancy vs. Large Multidisciplinary Practice

When searching for BS 5975 compliant temporary works support, you will broadly encounter two types of firm.

Large multidisciplinary practices offer a wide range of engineering services under one roof, with temporary works sitting alongside dozens of other disciplines. The advantage is breadth. The disadvantages are often cost, turnaround time, and the risk that temporary works is not a priority service for the practice. You may be allocated a junior engineer with limited temporary works exposure, and getting a fast response can be difficult when the team is stretched across unrelated projects.

Specialist remote-first consultancies focus specifically on temporary works. Because it is their core offering, they tend to have tighter processes, faster turnaround, and more direct access to senior engineers. The trade-off is that they do not offer structural or geotechnical design for permanent works — but for contractors whose primary need is temporary works engineering support, that is rarely a disadvantage.

The right choice depends on your project mix. If your temporary works needs are frequent and varied, a specialist firm with a retainer model is usually the more efficient and cost-effective route.

How Temporary Works Consulting & Design Ltd Fits This Checklist

Temporary Works Consulting & Design Ltd is a specialist remote-first consultancy built around exactly the service model described above. The firm provides calculations, drawings, design risk assessments, RAMS and ITP reviews, and permit support for excavation support, propping, working platforms, hoardings, and other temporary structures.

The service covers both the design obligations under BS 5975-2:2024 and the management support needs that arise from BS 5975-1:2024. Delivery is remote, turnaround is fast, and the firm offers both bespoke project appointments and ongoing weekly support retainers for contractors who need consistent access across a portfolio of sites.

If you are working through this checklist and want a firm that ticks every point, it is worth reviewing what the consultancy offers at temporaryworksconsulting.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does BS 5975-1:2024 require from a temporary works consultancy?
BS 5975-1:2024 sets out the management procedures for temporary works, including the need for a Designated Individual, a Temporary Works Coordinator, a project register, written procedures, and a permit system for loading and striking. A consultancy supporting this standard should be able to help you set up and maintain these elements — not just deliver design calculations.

What is the difference between BS 5975-1:2024 and BS 5975-2:2024?
BS 5975-1:2024 covers management and procedural requirements for temporary works on construction sites. BS 5975-2:2024 covers the design of falsework specifically. Both parts came into effect on 17 December 2024 when BSI split the previous single standard, BS 5975:2019, into two separate documents.

How do I know if a temporary works firm is genuinely BS 5975 compliant?
Ask them directly whether they work to both BS 5975-1:2024 and BS 5975-2:2024. Ask whether they support DI and TWC role setup, produce or review management documentation, and coordinate the correct checking category for each design. A firm that can answer these questions clearly and specifically is demonstrating practical familiarity with the standard — not just awareness of it.

Is a remote temporary works consultancy as reliable as an on-site one?
For most temporary works design and management support, yes. Remote delivery works well when the consultancy has a clear intake process for receiving site information and a structured communication method. Many specialist remote-first firms offer faster turnaround than larger practices precisely because they have built their entire workflow around it.

What is a temporary works retainer and when does it make sense?
A retainer is an ongoing support arrangement where a contractor pays a fixed weekly or monthly fee for access to a consultancy's engineering services. It makes sense when you are running multiple concurrent projects and need reliable, fast access to temporary works support without negotiating a new appointment each time. It also simplifies budgeting and reduces the administrative overhead of managing multiple one-off commissions.

Choosing a temporary works consultancy is a procurement decision with real safety and compliance consequences. Use this checklist as your starting point, ask the questions directly, and compare the answers against what your projects actually need. The right firm will be able to answer every item without hesitation.