Concrete, formwork and falsework under Part 20: the drawings, the engineer and the pour
The forming foreman on an airport parking structure asks whether the slab shoring needs drawings. The superintendent finds an old certificate in the pour folder, but it names another area. The next pour has also moved after a weather delay.
G20.26 explains inspection and engineering certification for specified cast-in-place formwork, including associated falsework or reshoring. It also addresses changed conditions and certificate revalidation. Check its scope with the responsible engineer. Use the resulting requirements to build an area-specific pour record; this lesson does not reproduce the referenced engineering standard.
Check the requirement against the actual work
- Define what will carry the proposed load. Give the responsible engineer the current forming area, system and intended placement information. Ask which specified-formwork requirements apply and which plans or supplementary instructions are needed. Keep a separate question for reshoring or other temporary support. Do not decide that every support requires the same document, or that a short pour eliminates the need for the applicable review.
- Match the plans to the erected work. Record the current drawing revisions and the physical area they cover. Ask how changed components or site conditions have been addressed through the responsible design process. Resolve a missing detail with that process instead of sketching an unreviewed correction in the field. The purpose of the document check is to expose a mismatch, not to certify the engineering yourself.
- Book the inspection around the actual loading. Confirm with the responsible engineer what must be ready for inspection and how the resulting certificate identifies the reviewed area. Connect the inspection arrangement to the proposed pour rather than using a generic milestone. Keep access and document availability coordinated. This lesson does not select the inspector’s method, establish concrete strength or approve stripping and reshoring dates.
- Read a received certificate for coverage and conditions. Compare its area, plan references and stated conditions with the work being scheduled. Record any restriction or pending item. When circumstances change, send the actual information to the responsible engineer and retain the resulting decision. An earlier signature should not be silently transferred to another area or another condition.
- Keep pumping and follow-on activities visible. Coordinate the applicable pumping arrangements and the forming contractor’s instructions with the pour team through their separate responsible reviewers. Retain current information at the worksite and communicate accepted changes. Record subsequent work as a new decision when required. A completed pour-folder review does not authorize equipment setup, premature support removal or additional loading outside the reviewed arrangement.
Common mistakes
- Using a certificate for another forming area.
- Changing a drawing without the responsible design process.
- Treating a pour-folder tick as authority for stripping.
Checklist
Before closing the pour-document item
- Specific area and intended loading identified.
- Applicable current plans and revisions available.
- Inspection arranged with the responsible engineer.
- Certificate coverage and conditions checked.
- Changes and subsequent activities kept visible.
Check your understanding
A pour was delayed after inspection. Can the superintendent simply carry the certificate forward?
Show the answer
Report the actual delay and any changed conditions to the responsible engineer. Retain the received response with the affected pour record rather than deciding the engineering question from the office.
