Consultancy and Expert Witness
Temporary Works:
Chronological References
About Peter Pallett
Peter was a consultant specialising in the specific areas of above ground temporary works covered by scaffolding, falsework,
hoardings and formwork. He retired from Training Work in 2016, and from Comsultancy work in March 2021.
He is a Chartered Engineer and was for many years on the Law Society directory of expert witnesses for his fields of specialisation.
He became a Certified Expert Witness in December 2010 having passed the Cardiff University Bond Solon training course under the Civil Procedures Part 35 rules. He has retired from Expert Witness work and his last case concluded in March 2021.
Peter is very happily married to Audrey, lives in Lichfield, and has a son Christopher (born 1974 and married to Emma). Peter has a Grandson, James, and a Grandaughter by marriage.
Peter's detailed CV is available on request, but a short resume follows:
Career to date
- 1991 - Present: Temporary works consultant and expert witness.
Self employed as a sole trader from February 1991 until forming his own company "Pallett TemporaryWorks Limited" in January 2003. He is now fully retired having stopped training in 2016 and ceased consultancy on temporary works in 2018. Peter ceased being an acreditted Expert Witness in 2021.
- 1973 - 1991: Rapid Metal Developments Ltd (international proprietary equipment supplier now called RMD-Kwikform Ltd.) specialising in scaffolding, formwork and falsework. Latterly for sixteen years their technical Manager, responsible for the implementation of computerised quotation systems, technical analysis suites and CAD into offices worldwide. Consulted on the temporary works of numerous major construction contracts in the Middle East, Pakistan, Africa, the West Indies, the Far East, China, and, of course, Europe.
- 1969 - 1973: A.E. Farr Limited (Contractor). M3 Motorway near London on structures as junior engineer, and then promoted to the major Sunbury Cross section as site agent on the RC bridges section involving extensive temporary works.
- 1966 - 1969: Ove Arup and Partners, London (Consultants) - RC design engineer on the Barbican Redevelopment Scheme in the City of London.
- 1963 - 1966: Graduated in July 1966 from Loughborough University with BSc in Civil Engineering - Second Class Honours - upper division.
Schooling
- Educated at Churcher's College, Petersfield and at King's College, Taunton, Somerset. GCE 'A' level six passes, GCE 'O' level ten passes.
Other Technical Interests
- BSI and CEN Standards: founder member of the BSI code drafting committee for falsework (BS 5975) in 1978 and remains active on BSI B514/26 committee on UK & European Temporary Works codes.
- ICE: Elected a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1993, and became a European Engineer (Eur. Ing.) in May 1990.
- Concrete Society. From 1985 to 2003 was chairman of the Society's Construction Group, and is also a past chairman of the West Midlands Regional Committee. Elected a Fellow of the Concrete Society in 1993.
- Formwork. From 1982 chaired the Concrete Society committee that prepared the best selling document “Formwork - a guide to good practice”, Ref: CS 030, first published in 1985, and he was also responsible for the second edition (1995), and the significantly updated colour third edition in April 2012. For this work, Peter was awarded the Society's Outstanding Services Award in 1987.
- Joint Technical Editor of both First and Second Editions of the ICE authoritative book Temporary Works: Principles of design and construction published in February 2012 and then updated in December 2018.
- Scaffolding. Co-author with Dr. Mike Godley on NASC Guide to good practice for scaffolding with tubes and fittings Ref TG20:08 written as replacement to BS 5973. Published by NASC in January 2009.
- Hoardings. Chaired and compiled the First document on site hoardings for the Temporary Works Forum as Hoardings - A guide to good practice Ref TWf2012:01 first published in October 2012.
- Peter also convened the working party on “Trough and Waffle Floors” published as Concrete Society TR42 in May 1992.
- He was the main author of the “Guide to Flat Slab Formwork and Falsework”, written for CONSTRUCT and published in May 2003.
- He was convenor of the joint Concrete Society/CIRIA working party on the document C558 “The use of permanent formwork in construction”.
- He was the main author of the HSE Research Project “Investigation into stability aspects of Falsework”, completed for The University of Birmingham in November 2001. This work won him the Institution of Civil Engineer's "Telford Premium" for the best paper in Civil Engineering in 2006.
