CDM 2007 Regulations

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM 2007) identifies specific roles for each of the parties involved in a construction project and when CDM 2007 regulations apply. Key responsibilities and terms are as follows but must be read in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website.

The Client

A Client is an organisation or individual for whom a construction project is carried out.  The Client is responsible for appointing all parties involved in the project.  He has a duty to ensure that all those he appoints are competent and adequately resourced to carry out those roles.  The Client must also ensure that he appoints the duty holders early enough for them to carry out the work they have to do.  If a project becomes notifiable to the HSE, the Client MUST also appoint a CDM Co-ordinator.

The Client must also ensure that relevant information likely to be needed by designers, contractors or others to plan and manage their work is passed to them in order to comply with the regulations.

The CDM Co-ordinator

The CDM co-ordinator (CDMC) is the client’s key project advisor in respect of the management of construction health and safety risk matters.  The CDMC’s main role is to help Clients to carry out their duties; to co-ordinate health and safety aspects of the design work and to prepare the health and safety file.  He also assists the Client with assessing the competency of the other duty holders.

The CDMC is responsible for notifying the HSE of the project and ensuring that there is ongoing co-ordination between the Designers and Principal Contractor during the construction phase of the project.  The CDMC is also responsible for identifying and collecting relevant pre-construction information and passing it onto the Principal Contractor. A Highway Engineer with the relevant training can become a CDMC.

The Designer

According to the HSE a designer is “Anyone who specifies or alters a design, or who specifies the use of a particular method of work or material”. In most instances this will be the Highway Engineer appointed by the Client.

Under CDM 2007, a Designer has duties whether the project is notifiable or not.  The Designer must ensure that designs are carried out so that any foreseeable risks to the health and safety of those involved in the construction, use and maintenance of the project are avoided.

Whilst carrying out a design, the Designer must attempt to eliminate hazards which may give rise to risks; and reduce risks from any remaining hazards.  To do this, the Designer must carry out risk assessments on identified hazards and attempt to design out, or minimise, any risk involved.  Details of any residual risks must then be passed to the CDMC for inclusion in the pre-construction information.

Principal Contractor

The Principal Contractor’s main duties under CDM 2007 are:

• to ensure that they are competent to address the health and safety issues likely to be involved in the management of the construction phase
• to ensure that the construction phase is properly planned, monitored and resourced
• to ensure that all contractors working on the project are provided with the information they need to carry out their works safely and without risk to health.

The Principal Contractor must also prepare a suitable construction phase plan before construction works begin and provide the CDMC promptly with any information that would be relevant to the health and safety file.

Contractors

All Contractors have a part to play in ensuring that the site is a safe and healthy place to work.  Contractors on a construction project have a duty to ensure that they are competent and adequately resourced to carry out their work and they must plan, manage and monitor their own work to ensure their workers are safe from the start of their work on site to completion of the works.  Contractors must also co-operate with others and co-ordinate their works with others involved in the project.

When do the CDM Regulations Apply?

The CDM 2007 Regulations apply to all projects in relation to the Designer.  As soon as a project becomes notifiable to the HSE then all other regulations apply.

When is a Project Notifiable?

Except where the project is for a domestic client, projects are notifiable to the HSE when construction work is expected to:

• last more than 30 working days; or
• involve more than 500 person days, (e.g. 50 people working for over 10 days.)

It is the duty of the CDM Co-ordinator to notify the HSE under Regulation 21.

Pre-Construction Information

The Pre-Construction Information provides information for those bidding for or planning work, and for the development of the construction phase plan. The level of detail in the information should be proportionate to the risks involved in the project.  Clients must provide designers and contractors with project-specific health and safety information needed to identify hazards and risks associated with the design and construction work.  This information will also include any Health and Safety File that has already been produced on the construction site. If there are any gaps in this information the client should ensure that these are filled by commissioning surveys or by making other reasonable enquiries.

Construction Phase Plan

The appointed Principal Contractor has a duty to prepare a Construction Phase Plan to ensure that the construction phase is planned, managed and monitored in a way which enables the construction work to be started so far as is reasonably practicable without risk to health or safety.  Throughout the project the plan must be updated, reviewed and implemented to ensure the continual managing of the risks to health and safety.

Health and Safety File

The Health and Safety File should contain the information needed to allow future construction work, including cleaning, maintenance, alterations, refurbishment and demolition to be carried out safely.

The CDMC must prepare, review, amend or add to the file as the project progresses, and give it to the client at the end of the project. Clients, Designers, Principal Contractors and other Contractors must provide the CDMC promptly with any accurate information relevant to the health and safety file.

Clients must keep the file to assist with future construction and maintenance work of the development.