Designing Temporary Structures

By the end of this course, you will be able to:

• Explain the relationship between structural design, construction methods, and the safe performance of temporary structures.

• Apply load, stability, member design, and connection principles to scaffolding, formwork, shoring, falsework, and temporary support systems.

• Identify common causes of failure in temporary structures, including design errors, field changes, inadequate load paths, and insufficient lateral stability.

• Design and assess temporary structures using appropriate engineering judgment, project conditions, and applicable codes, standards, and regulations.

• Review, erect, and inspect scaffolding, formwork, shoring, and supporting structures to help manage safety, constructability, and performance risks on construction projects.

Description
Temporary structures such as scaffolding, formwork, shoring, falsework, and temporary supports are essential to construction, but they can also pose significant risks when not properly designed, erected, modified, or inspected. Professionals involved in temporary structures at any stage may be required to make decisions about these systems amid changing site conditions, compressed schedules, and competing project demands.

Failures in temporary structures can lead to serious injury, loss of life, property damage, schedule disruption, and professional liability. Sound engineering judgment is required to understand how loads are transferred, how stability is maintained, and how design decisions in the office connect to construction practices in the field. This course examines the design and construction principles that support safe and effective temporary works, with attention to common failure mechanisms and the implications of field modifications.

Through technical instruction, examples, and guided workshops, you will develop a structured understanding of the design, erection, and inspection of scaffolding, formwork, shoring, falsework, and temporary support systems. Relevant codes, standards, and regulations will be discussed, with the understanding that the most current applicable requirements must be followed on engineering projects.

Who Should Attend
This course is designed for:

• Structural engineers

• Construction engineers

• Municipal engineers

• Design engineers

• Engineers-in-training

• Project engineers

• Project coordinators

• Construction managers

• Consulting engineers

• Contractors

• Construction inspectors

• Technical professionals involved in the design, review, erection, or inspection of temporary works

Day 1

Course Introduction

• Welcome and introductions

• Learning outcomes

• Assessment method

Loads on Temporary Structures

• Service and factored loads

• Load factors and load combinations

• Dead loads

• Live loads

• Construction loads

• Environmental loads

• Beam analysis

• Load and moment transfer to columns

• Lateral stability

Introduction to Wood Member Design

• Flexural and shear design

• Axial concentric and eccentric load design

• Combined axial and flexural load design

• Connection design

Scaffolding and Shoring

• Types of scaffolding

• Scaffolding components

• Potential collapse mechanisms

• Scaffold design considerations

 Day II

Concrete Formwork Design

• Formwork Materials

• Types of Forms

• Bending, Shear and Deflection

• FormDesign Example

• Safety Issues

• Causes of Formwork Failure

• Estimating Concrete Formwork

Falsework Design

• Falsework Risk

• Falsework Accident

• Falsework Design Criteria

• Load Paths for Falsework Design

Support of Existing Structure

• Basic Building Materials

• Examples of Existing Structure Support

Workshop
Participants will work under the instructor's guidance to design formworks/supporting structures.

Questions & Answers

• Questions & Answers, Feedback on Achievement of Learning Outcomes

• Concluding Remarks & Final Adjournment