Handover when a temporary works coordinator changes

Temporary works often remain in use longer than one coordinator's assignment. Props, excavation support, scaffolds and crane platforms may have live restrictions, staged loading or inspections due. When the person coordinating them changes, the incoming coordinator needs more than a list of schemes. They need to understand the design basis, current physical condition, permissions, interfaces and unfinished actions before taking responsibility for the next decision.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) temporary-works guidance says temporary works must be planned and managed and that appointing a temporary works coordinator (TWC) is an effective arrangement. HSE also notes there is no single statutory management method or universal legal requirement to use that job title. This page covers continuity when an appointed coordinator changes, separate from a generic explanation of temporary works or a specific prop incident.

Confirm the actual appointment and authority

Record the outgoing and incoming person's names, appointment scope, effective date and the organisation's temporary-works procedure. Check that the incoming person has suitable skills, knowledge, experience and authority to act, including stopping work when necessary. The HSE guidance describes the TWC as a formal appointment with adequate authority. Do not assume a diary invitation or project title transfers the role.

If there is a gap between appointments, identify who controls live decisions and what activities are restricted. An administrator can maintain a register but cannot provide technical approval beyond their competence. The project's dutyholders and competent specialists remain responsible for their respective work.

Reconcile the live temporary-works register

For each scheme, identify its location, purpose, designer, design revision, check status, current stage, inspection status, permitted loading and planned removal. Match register entries to the physical site. A scheme marked “installed” may still await a permit to load or have a defect after recent work. A closed register entry may still have a physical support in place. Walk high-risk items with the outgoing coordinator where possible.

Prioritise schemes whose failure could cause collapse, affect the public or interfere with other work. The HSE temporary-works FAQ stresses that temporary works deserve the same care as permanent works and that coordination includes design, installation, checking, use and removal. The handover must cover the whole life cycle, not only design documents.

Transfer design and check evidence

Gather design briefs, calculations, drawings, independent checks where needed, manufacturer instructions and approvals. Confirm which revision is operative. Note assumptions such as ground bearing, load sequence or support from adjacent permanent works. If the site has deviated from a drawing, identify the change and the competent designer's response. Do not treat an unanswered technical query as an acceptable variation.

Keep each scheme's design evidence connected to its inspection and use record. An incoming coordinator should be able to find why a permit was granted and what conditions apply. Where a specialist supplier controls design, record the contact and route for changes rather than relying on the outgoing coordinator's memory.

Identify inspections, permits and restrictions

List inspections due, defects, permits to load or strike, monitoring readings and any temporary restrictions. State who may authorise the next stage under the project's procedure. A permit to load for one configuration does not automatically cover a changed load or alteration. The receiving coordinator should check the actual site condition before a new decision, not sign a form simply because the prior version was approved.

If work is paused, make the physical restriction visible to supervisors and crews. The handover should say which areas are safe to access and which are not. A spreadsheet alone cannot prevent a subcontractor from loading a platform that is awaiting inspection.

Review interfaces and upcoming change

Check construction sequence, nearby excavation, deliveries, lifting operations and other trades that could affect temporary works. A new contractor may plan to stockpile materials on a working platform or remove a support to gain access. Agree who will brief affected teams and how proposed changes are routed back to the temporary-works system. This is a coordination task as well as a record transfer.

The HSE CDM principal-contractor guidance describes planning, managing and coordinating the construction phase. The TWC process should connect to that project-level coordination; it does not replace the principal contractor's duties.

Example: excavation support during a personnel change

An outgoing coordinator leaves while a deep excavation remains supported. The incoming coordinator receives the design and check, installation record, last inspection, ground-monitoring results and a restriction on plant close to the edge. During a site walk, they find a subcontractor has proposed a new delivery route near the support. They keep the restriction in place, seek competent design review and brief the subcontractor before any route change. The handover records the unresolved question and who can authorise the next stage.

The critical information was not just the drawing; it was the current condition, restriction and proposed interface change.

Record acceptance and first verification

The outgoing person should identify open actions and outstanding decisions. The incoming person should acknowledge what was received, list missing evidence and verify priority schemes on site. Keep both signatures or attributable acknowledgements without implying that a signature validates technical design. At the next review, check whether missing items were closed and whether upcoming inspections occurred. Preserve the handover pack for later audit and for the next coordinator change.

For a current-product discussion, see Complys RAMS and verify how present documents and owner records can support this transfer. This guide does not claim Complys designs temporary works, checks calculations, issues permits to load or authorises removal.