Construction Design and Management Regulations

The CDM Regulations have made a marked improvement on the health and safety of the construction industry over the last 20 years as injury rates have continued to fall. The construction industry accounts for 5% of employees in Britain but remains high risk as it accounted for 31% of fatal injuries to employees and 10% of reported specified/major injuries according to the (Health and Safety Statistics 2013 /14). It is clear that more must be done to manage and eliminate the risks in order to protect the wellbeing and lives of people working in or impacted by the construction industry.

CDM2007 brought further changes to the construction industry after the original 1994 CDM Regulations. These were replaced on 6th April 2015, with changes driven by the EU to bring the UK’s health and safety management in line with the EU Directive 92/57/EEC. These new CDM Regulations, now include “Temporary & mobile Construction Sites”.

Capita PROjEN are very well placed, as a Design and Project Management Company, to support clients migrating from CDM2007 to the new CDM Regulations 2015. The removal of a CDM Coordinator in CDM2015 is a key change that increases the responsibility for the Client and the Principal Designer, (a new duty holder under the 2015 Regulations).

Capita PROjEN are able to act as or support Principal Designers with assistance and guidance in complying with the new CDM Regulations and many other relevant regulations that support the safety of construction sites. Capita PROjEN have always adopted CDM as best practice and strive to influence safer working in other industries. We are devoted to promoting, enhancing and managing health and safety in the construction industry, and the protection of the Environment, resulting in being RoSPA Award Winners since 2001.

The phasing out of the CDM Coordinator and the introduction of the new Principal Designer role will no doubt prove to be a challenge to many, but we are here to help.

The following duty holder roles are summarised from the CONIAC (Construction Industry Advisory Committee) guidance which is freely available to download.

  • Clients – CDM2015 defines a Client as anyone for whom a construction project is carried out. Unlike CDM2007, the new regulations apply to both commercial and domestic Clients. A commercial Client is an organisation, or individual, for whom a construction project is carried out in connection with a business, whether the business operates for profit or not. Examples of commercial Clients are landlords, retailers and schools.

Domestic Clients include those having work carried out which is not connected with running a Business. This usually means having work carried out on a property where you or a family member lives.

  • Principal Designer – New role to CDM2015. The Principal Designer must be a designer on the project and should be in a position to control the design and planning stage.

The Principal Designer will usually be an organisation or, on smaller projects, an individual with:

  • a technical knowledge of the construction industry, relevant to the project
  • an understanding of how health and safety is managed through the design process
  • the skills to be able to oversee health and safety during the pre-construction phase of the project and the ongoing design.

The Principal Designer must have good relationships with both the Client and Principal Contractor and it is also essential for them to establish good relationships with other designers working on the project. For the majority of projects, this is the usual arrangement. The Client is not required to appoint a Principal Designer, or Principal Contractor, if there is only one contractor engaged on the project.

  • Designer – A designer is any organisation, or individual, that prepares or modifies a design for any part of a construction project, including the design of temporary works, or who arranges or instructs someone else to do it.

The Designer will usually be an architect, chartered surveyor, consulting engineer, engineer, interior designer, temporary work technician, specifier, Principal Contractor or specialist contractor.

Be aware that even if you do not normally identify yourself as a Designer, you could be carrying out design work. An example of this would be a person or organisation deciding what size joists to use, or selecting a type of window for a particular roof system. The manufacturers that supply a standardised product for use in the construction project are not designers. However, you are taking on the Designer role if you are the organisation, or person who selects the product. You must therefore take account of any Health and Safety issues arising from the installation and use of that product.

Where a bespoke (purpose-built) product is required, then the person who prepares the product specification or drawings is taking on the designer role and so is the manufacturer who develops the specification into a detailed design.

  • Principal Contractor – The Principal Contractor is the contractor in overall charge of the construction phase. There should only be one Principal Contractor for a project at any one time and they are usually appointed by the Client. The term project in this guide is used to describe any construction, building, infrastructure repair or maintenance work, whether on a transient or fixed site.

The Principal Contractor must be fully capable of carrying out the role and have the right skills, knowledge, training and experience. This will depend upon the nature of the work and the range and nature of health and safety risks involved.

The Principal Contractor is usually a construction contractor and as such will also have those duties.

– A contractor may be a company, an individual, a sole trader, or a self-employed worker who manages, controls or performs construction work in connection with a business.

Anyone who directly engages construction workers, or manages construction work, is a Contractor. This includes companies that do construction work on their own premises using their own workforce.

Contractors duties will apply whether their workers are employees, self-employed or agency workers.

  • Worker – A Worker is anyone who performs work during the construction, maintenance, alteration, or demolition of a structure or building. Workers include, but are not limited to, plumbers, electricians, scaffolders, painters, decorators, steel erectors, and anyone with a supervisor role, such as a foreman or chargehand.

Capita PROjEN have played an active part in the consultation process for the 2015 CDM Regulations. This means that our advice on documentation and procedural issues is comprehensive and well developed.

CDM Compliance and General Health & Safety Training

Capita PROjEN CDM compliance audits provide an objective third party view of a Client’s company’s H&S strengths and weaknesses. The audit has a two stage approach: Stage 1 – Information gathering; followed by Stage 2 – A detailed audit report. The Capita PROjEN team can assist with any changes that are recommended, and any associated implementation measures. As well as compliance with the CDM regulations, there is also a need to develop a safety driven business culture. Capita PROjEN can support training and learning programmes through a number of different techniques such as;

  • CDM mentoring for construction staff and those who have a vested interest in the success of the project
  • Advice and assistance with contractor appraisal, for example the requirements of PAS91
  • Advice and support on the Design Risk Management Process
  • Assist the Client, and where applicable the Principal Designer, with their duty to provide relevant information at the earliest opportunity. (This is known as Pre-Construction Information).
  • The development of the Health and Safety File
  • CDM Regulation Awareness Training

Health, Safety and Environmental Compliance

Protection of both Workers and the Environment is vital to all businesses and none more so than our own. Capita PROjEN are proud of the fact that to date we have won 16 RoSPA Gold Awards and 2 ROSPA Orders of Distinction for our excellent Health and Safety performance and our ability to manage projects. We offer advice to other businesses in the following areas:

  • The suitability of the Construction Phase Plan
  • Welfare Arrangements
  • Construction Site Safety Auditing
  • The effectiveness of the Safe System of Work such as the Risk Assessments, Method Statements, COSHH Assessment, Lifting Studies, (Are they suitable for the planned work and is the risk being managed effectively)?
  • Assistance with the management of Waste (industry best practice, previously known as Site Waste Management Plans)

If you would like to know more on any areas associated with the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations then please call us on 01928 752500 and ask for the Health and Safety Department.

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