Abstract: Collapse of high falsework occurs frequently, and human errors are the main cause. Due to the low correction efficiency, falsework is usually in commission with errors. Bringing new ideas and technologies into the design of falsework is essential. ‘Error-tolerant design’, which has generated effective impacts in road engineering, was introduced into the design of falsework, and error-tolerant high falsework (ETHF) was developed. The occurrence pattern of human error was obtained in terms of in-situ investigation, and identification method of intractable errors was given. The performance functions and safety standards of the ETHF were described, and an optimization design method which considers intractable errors was proposed to eliminate the side effects of errors and satisfy the requirements of safety, serviceability and cost-efficiency. The case study showed that the reliability index of the optimized ETHF was 3.39 and the amount of steel of the optimized structure was reduced by 19.5%. The goal of "error-tolerant design" was attained.