Subpart Q
Formwork must be designed, fabricated, erected, supported, braced, and maintained so it can safely carry all expected vertical and lateral loads without failure. Compliance with 1926.703(a)(1) is presumed when the formwork is built in conformance with the appendix to 1926.703.
You must keep drawings or plans, including revisions, for the jack layout, formwork (including shoring equipment), working decks, and scaffolds available at the jobsite. This is required by 1926.703(a)(2).
Shoring equipment must be inspected prior to erection to verify it meets the requirements in the formwork drawings. The inspection ensures the equipment is suitable for the loads it will carry per 1926.703(b)(1).
No; shoring equipment that is damaged so its strength is less than required by 1926.703(a)(1) must not be used for shoring, as stated in 1926.703(b)(2).
Erected shoring equipment must be inspected immediately prior to, during, and immediately after concrete placement. This continuous inspection requirement is in 1926.703(b)(3).
If erected shoring is found weakened so its strength is reduced below that required by 1926.703(a)(1), the employer must immediately reinforce it, as required by 1926.703(b)(4).
The sills for shoring must be sound, rigid, and able to carry the maximum intended load, and all base plates, shore heads, extension devices, and adjustment screws must be in firm contact and secured when necessary. These requirements come from 1926.703(b)(5) and 1926.703(b)(6).
Eccentric loads on shore heads and similar members are prohibited unless those members have been specifically designed for such loading per 1926.703(b)(7).
When single post shores are tiered, the shoring design must be prepared by a qualified designer, inspected by an engineer qualified in structural design, the shores must be vertically aligned and spliced to prevent misalignment, and adequately braced in two perpendicular directions at the splice level with each tier diagonally braced, as set out in 1926.703(b)(8).
No; adjustment of single post shores to raise formwork after concrete has been placed is prohibited by 1926.703(b)(9).
Reshoring must be erected, as the original forms and shores are removed, whenever the concrete being supported is required to carry loads in excess of its capacity, per 1926.703(b)(10).
The steel rods or pipes on which jacks climb or by which forms are lifted must be specifically designed for that purpose and adequately braced where they are not encased in concrete, as required by 1926.703(c)(1).
Yes; all vertical slip forms must have scaffolds or work platforms where employees are required to work or pass, according to 1926.703(c)(3).
Jacks and vertical supports must be positioned so loads do not exceed the jacks' rated capacity, and jacks or other lifting devices must have mechanical dogs or other automatic holding devices to support the slip forms if power or the lifting mechanism fails, as required by 1926.703(c)(4) and 1926.703(c)(5).
The form structure must be kept within all design tolerances for plumbness and the predetermined safe rate of lift must not be exceeded during the jacking operation, per 1926.703(c)(6) and 1926.703(c)(7).
Reinforcing steel for walls, piers, columns, and similar vertical structures must be adequately supported to prevent overturning or collapse, as required by 1926.703(d)(1).
Employers must take measures to prevent unrolled wire mesh from recoiling; acceptable measures include securing each end of the roll or turning over the roll, as stated in 1926.703(d)(2).
Forms and shores (except those used for slabs on grade and slip forms) may not be removed until the employer determines the concrete has sufficient strength to support its weight and superimposed loads, as required by 1926.703(e)(1).
An employer can rely on the removal conditions specified in the plans and specifications (if followed) or on proper testing of the concrete with an appropriate ASTM standard test method showing sufficient compressive strength; both options are allowed by 1926.703(e)(1)(i) and 1926.703(e)(1)(ii).
Reshoring must not be removed until the concrete being supported has attained adequate strength to support its own weight and all loads in place upon it, as required by 1926.703(e)(2).
The employer is responsible for assessing the workplace hazards and selecting appropriate PPE for cast-in-place concrete operations, and must document the assessment when PPE will be required. This duty aligns with the general PPE requirements referenced in construction practice and is explained in OSHA's PPE hazard assessment interpretation: PPE hazard assessment LOI (March 28, 2024) as well as the duty to design and maintain formwork under 1926.703(a).
Yes; where employees work or pass on vertical slip forms, those forms must have scaffolds or work platforms and applicable fall protection and scaffold requirements apply. See 1926.703(c)(3) and OSHA's scaffold/fall protection interpretation which explains how scaffold rules apply to suspended or temporary conveyances and platforms: Scaffold and fall protection LOI (Dec. 5, 2023).