How Construction Management Software Supports BS 5975 and CDM 2015 Compliance

Can Software Make You Compliant with BS 5975 or CDM 2015?

No, and any vendor that suggests otherwise deserves a follow-up question.

Compliance comes from competent people, sound procedures and decisions made by the right duty holders. Software cannot design a temporary works scheme, judge whether an excavation is safe or take on anyone's legal responsibilities.

What software can do is support the part of compliance that is most often done badly: the routine, repeated, record-heavy work of showing that checks were carried out, by whom, when, what was found and what happened next.

That is where many teams struggle in practice. A project can have sensible procedures and capable people and still be unable to produce the evidence quickly, because the records are on paper, in a phone gallery or spread across several systems.

This article explains where software helps, where it does not and what to look for.

What Are CDM 2015 and BS 5975?

The two documents are different in kind, and it helps to be clear about the difference.

CDM 2015

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 are legislation. They are the main UK regulations for managing health, safety and welfare on construction projects, including new build, refurbishment, demolition and maintenance work.

They set duties for a series of duty holders: clients, principal designers, designers, principal contractors, contractors and workers. One organisation can hold more than one role if it has the skills, knowledge and experience.

In outline, and in plain English:

• Clients arrange how the project is managed, appoint other duty holders, provide relevant information and make sure the principal designer and principal contractor carry out their duties.
• Principal designers, on projects with more than one contractor, plan, manage and coordinate health and safety during the pre-construction phase and work with the principal contractor during construction.
• Designers work to remove, reduce or control risks that arise from their designs and pass on information.
• Principal contractors plan, manage and coordinate health and safety during construction, prepare the construction phase plan and coordinate contractors, including site inductions and controlling access.
• Contractors plan, manage and monitor their own work so that it is carried out safely, and cooperate with others.
• Workers must be consulted on health and safety matters, look after their own safety and that of others and report hazards.

The regulations also contain specific requirements, such as the competent-person inspection of excavations at the start of each shift, with a written report.

BS 5975

BS 5975 is a British Standard, a code of practice for temporary works. It is guidance on good practice rather than legislation, although many clients, contractors and contracts require projects to follow it, and in practice it sets the benchmark for how temporary works are managed.

In February 2025, BSI announced that it had revised the standard and split it into two parts:

• BS 5975-1:2024: management procedures for the control of temporary works, covering the planning, design, specification, construction, use and removal of temporary works.
• BS 5975-2:2024: falsework, covering design and implementation.

Guidance on temporary works procedures commonly refers to roles and controls such as the temporary works coordinator (TWC), temporary works supervisors (TWS), a temporary works register, design checks proportionate to the risk, permits and inspections before and during use. The exact requirements depend on the edition of the standard and on your project's procedure, so read the standard itself.

How they relate

CDM 2015 sets the legal duty to manage risk. BS 5975 describes a widely accepted way to manage one specific category of risk, temporary works. Following the standard does not discharge your CDM duties on its own, and CDM does not require a particular standard, but the two are often discussed together because temporary works failures are a recognised source of serious harm on construction sites.

Where Does the Paperwork Burden Actually Fall?

Both documents lead to the same kind of work on site:

• Appointments and responsibilities must be clear and recorded.
• Plans and procedures must be written, current and accessible.
• Checks must be done at the right time by the right people.
• Findings must be recorded and acted on.
• Competence must be demonstrated, and certificates must stay current.
• Records must be retained and be possible to retrieve.

Those are all information tasks, and they are the ones software can help with.

How Software Can Support CDM 2015 Duties

The table maps common CDM-related tasks to what software can and cannot do. It is a general guide, not legal advice, and what applies to your project depends on your role and the type of work.

How Software Can Support BS 5975 Temporary Works Procedures

The elements below are commonly described in temporary works guidance. Confirm what applies to your project in the standard and your project's temporary works procedure.

A note on products: the market for temporary works software ranges from dedicated register and permit systems to general inspection and compliance apps. If your priority is a complete register and permit workflow, evaluate dedicated systems as well. If your priority is quick inspections and follow-up on site, an inspection platform may be a closer fit. Test any product against your own procedure.

What Evidence Does Good Software Actually Produce?

When someone asks for proof, such as a client, an auditor, an insurer or an investigator, they are usually asking some version of the same questions. Software can help you answer them.

Who did it? Records linked to named users and their roles.

When did they do it? Timestamps that show when the work was recorded, including work done offline.

Where? Project, area and item references, and geotags where appropriate.

What did they find? Structured entries, photographs, video and notes attached to the right record.

What happened next? Issues and actions with an owner, status and outcome.

Was it changed afterwards? An audit trail showing edits.

Can you show me? Search and reporting that retrieve records quickly.

None of this proves that the underlying decision was correct. It shows that a process existed and was followed, which is a necessary part of demonstrating that you have managed risk.

What Software Cannot Do

It is just as important to be clear about the limits.

• It cannot replace competence. A competent person must carry out inspections, design checks and appointments.
• It cannot make a poor process good. Digitising a confusing procedure produces a confusing digital procedure.
• It cannot discharge duties. Legal duties remain with the duty holders they apply to.
• It cannot decide what the standard requires. You need to read the standard and your procedure.
• It cannot guarantee that records are honest. A rushed or inaccurate entry is still inaccurate.
• It cannot work without people using it. Adoption matters more than features.
• It cannot give legal advice. If you need legal guidance on CDM duties, take it from a qualified professional.

How to Question a Vendor That Claims to "Ensure Compliance"

Phrases such as "ensures compliance", "BS 5975 compliant" or "audit-ready" are marketing claims. They are sometimes shorthand for something reasonable, such as "supports the records you need". It is worth finding out which.

Ask:

1. What exactly does the product do for this requirement? Ask for a live demonstration using your own scenario.
2. Which edition and part of the standard does it relate to? The standard was revised and split in 2024.
3. Who decided what the product needs to cover? Were competent temporary works or health and safety professionals involved?
4. What does the product not do? A credible vendor can say.
5. How does it handle changes to regulations or standards? How are updates communicated?
6. Can you adapt the forms and workflows to our procedure? A fixed workflow may not match yours.
7. How are records protected and retained? Ask about the audit trail, backup, export and retention.
8. Can we speak to a customer with similar work? A reference helps.

Red flags:

• Claims of guaranteed compliance or certification by software.
• Reluctance to explain limitations.
• Vague answers about audit trails or exports.
• No demonstration of your own scenario.

Three Example Workflows

These are illustrative examples of how software can support the process, not templates for compliance.

1. Start-of-shift excavation inspection

A competent person inspects an excavation at the start of each shift, and a written report records the particulars required. In a well-configured app, the inspector opens a scheduled inspection with the project and location filled in, completes the required fields, attaches photographs and submits. The date, time and name are recorded automatically. If the inspector is not satisfied, they can raise an issue immediately and notify the person responsible, and the record shows what was done before work continued. A manager can see at a glance whether the day's inspections have been completed.

2. A temporary works item from design to dismantling

A new item is added to the register with its details and category. The design and check records are attached or linked. Inspections before and during use are scheduled and recorded, and any defects become tracked actions. When the item is no longer needed, a check before dismantling is recorded. The whole history can be retrieved from one place.

3. Competence and certificates across a project team

Certificates for each person on site are recorded with expiry dates. The system flags those approaching expiry, and the relevant person is reminded in time to renew. When someone arrives on site, their current status is easy to check.

Compliance Software Evaluation Checklist

• [ ] We know which documents and duties apply to our role and project.
• [ ] We know which edition of BS 5975 our project specifies.
• [ ] We have identified the records that are hardest to produce today.
• [ ] The product can capture the particulars our inspection records need, and can make key fields mandatory.
• [ ] Records show who completed them and when, including work done offline.
• [ ] The product keeps an audit trail of changes.
• [ ] Findings can be assigned, tracked and closed with evidence.
• [ ] Certificates and expiry dates can be tracked with reminders.
• [ ] The product can handle our temporary works register, appointments, inspections and permits in the way our procedure requires, or we have another system for those.
• [ ] Access can be controlled by role, including for subcontractors.
• [ ] We have asked the vendor to demonstrate our scenarios and explain what the product does not do.
• [ ] We can export all records, including attachments, and we know how long they are retained.
• [ ] A competent person has reviewed how the product fits our procedure.

How KaelSite Supports These Workflows

KaelSite is a mobile-first construction compliance platform for UK teams, designed with obligations such as CDM 2015 and BS 5975 in mind. It supports the record-keeping side of the work described above:

• Regular inspections that work offline-first, with photo, video, voice and geotag capture, so checks can be recorded where and when they happen.
• Form Studio, for building inspection forms that match your own procedures.
• An Issue System for near-misses, non-conformances, defects and observations, so findings can be followed through.
• Certificates and expiry alerts, to keep competence records current.
• A report editor, to turn recorded information into structured reports.

KaelSite is not a substitute for competent people, design checks or legal advice, and it does not by itself make a project compliant. It is a tool for capturing and organising the evidence of work that people carry out. If your priority is a full temporary works register and permit workflow, check whether it fits your procedure, and consider evaluating dedicated systems alongside it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does construction management software make a project CDM 2015 compliant?

No. CDM 2015 places legal duties on clients, designers, principal designers, principal contractors, contractors and workers. Software can help with records, inspections, actions and document control that support those duties, but it does not discharge them.

Is software required for BS 5975 compliance?

No. BS 5975 is a code of practice for temporary works procedures and does not require software. Many teams use paper or spreadsheets. Software can make some tasks easier, such as maintaining registers, recording inspections and tracking actions, but the procedures and the people carrying them out are what matter.

Which edition of BS 5975 applies?

BSI announced revised versions in 2025, publishing BS 5975-1:2024 on management procedures and BS 5975-2:2024 on falsework. Which edition applies to your project depends on your contract and your project's temporary works procedure, so check what your project specifies.

Can an app issue temporary works permits?

Some systems claim to support permits. Whether a digital permit works on your project depends on your procedure, who is authorised to sign and what evidence is required. Check how the product records the check, the signature and the time.

What records does CDM 2015 require for excavations?

CDM 2015 requires a competent person to inspect excavations at the start of each shift and after events that could affect stability. It also requires a written report with particular details, to be given to the person who commissioned the inspection within 24 hours, and to be kept. Check the current regulations and HSE guidance for the full requirements.

Is a digital record as good as a paper one?

A digital record can be as good or better, provided it contains the required details, can be retrieved when needed and is kept for the right period. Check what your client, contract and procedure expect.

How do I know if a vendor's compliance claims are reliable?

Ask for specifics: what the product does for each requirement, what it does not do, and a live demonstration of your own scenarios. Be cautious of claims of guaranteed compliance.

Can AI or software replace a temporary works coordinator?

No. Appointments such as the TWC require competent people with defined responsibilities. Software can support their work but cannot take it over.

Final Thoughts

Software is not a route to compliance. It is a way of making the work of compliance easier to do consistently and easier to prove.

If your team already knows what its duties are and who is responsible for them, software can help record inspections, track actions, keep certificates current and retrieve evidence quickly. If those basics are unclear, software will not fix them.

Start by deciding what your records need to show. Then choose a tool that makes those records easier to create, find and rely on, and keep the people responsible firmly in charge.

This article is intended as general information for orientation and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Software can support site processes but does not replace competent people, project procedures or the duties set out in CDM 2015, BS 5975 and other applicable regulations and standards. Take advice from a suitably qualified professional about your own obligations.

Sources

• BSI, New standards for temporary works published by BSI (press release, February 2025), for BS 5975-1:2024 and BS 5975-2:2024: bsigroup.com
• CITB, CDM Regulations 2015, for the duty holders and their main duties: citb.co.uk
• The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, regulation 12 (construction phase plan) and Part 4 (excavation inspections and reports, as-made text): legislation.gov.uk and Part 4
• HSE, Excavations, for start-of-shift inspection and record contents: hse.gov.uk
• HSE operational guidance and HBF Temporary Works Guidance (January 2025), for the commonly described temporary works roles, register, permits and inspections: hse.gov.uk and hbf.co.uk