CDM 2015 Regulations for Construction Firms

Understanding the CDM 2015 regulationsThe implications for you and your construction business

What are CDM Regulations 2015?

• CDM stands for Construction Design and Management

• CDM Regulations 2015 covers managing the health, safety and welfare of construction projects

• It replaces the previous CDM Regulations 2007

Why have they been introduced now?

• The new regulations bring domestic and commercial health and safety standards inline

• The client/homeowner is no longer exempt in domestic projects and obligations are transferred the to the contractor

How does this affect my construction business?

• For those in the commercial construction industry, little has changed except for the replacement of the CDM co-ordinator with the principal designer

• Depending on your role, you’ll have different responsibilities and be expected to keep certain records

• The biggest change to many companies will be the requirement to create Construction Phase Plans (CPPs) for every project - no matter how small to job is

What is a Construction Phase Plan (CPP)?

• The CPP is a document which:

• sets out the arrangements for securing health and safety for the period during which construction work in a project is carried out

• includes site rules and any specific measures put in place to where work involves a high degree of risk

• Put simply, risk assessments and method statements can be adapted into Construction Phase Plans with some additional information added to the document

You don’t need to create a Construction Phase Plan if…

• The only time where you won’t need to create a Construction Phase Plan yourself is when your working under a principal contractor as a sub-contractor

Understanding your role

The 4 roles in CDM

• Know your role to understand your responsibilities

• Are you:

• The principal designer?

• The principal contractor?

• A sub-contractor?

• The sole contractor?

Principal designer Typically the architect or person responsible for pre-

construction work, and replaces the CDM co-ordinator role

Principal designer

• The principal designer must be appointed in writing by the client to carry out their duties

• The principal designer will create the pre-Construction Phase Plan that will be developed into the health and safety plan

Principal contractor By law, if there is more than one contractor on site, the client will need to appoint a principal contractor

Principal contractor

• If you or your company is appointed principal contractor, you will be responsible for managing the health and safety of all workers on site.

• You will be expected to create a health and safety file for the project

• The health and safety file is handed over to the client at project completion

• You will also need to notify HSE with an F10 form if the project fits the criteria

The health and safety file

The health and safety file includes:

• The Construction Phase Plan

• Risk assessments of all contractors

• Equipment instructions for anything you or other contractors install

• As built drawings

• Site induction forms

• Site visit sheets

Notify HSE with an F10 form

You will need to notify HSE with an F10 form of any construction work if:

• Your project lasts longer than 30 working days and have more than 20 workers working at the same time at any point on the project or

• Exceeding 500 person days

Include F10 notification document in the H&S file, along with any updated H&S file information introduced during the pre-construction and construction stage

Sub-contractor When there is more than one contractor on-site and

you’re working under the principal contractor

Sub-contractor responsibilities

• Your daily routine will stay the same, but you’ll be asked to provide more info like risk assessments and equipment instructions

• You will also be expected to coordinate activities with others in the project team and comply with directions given by the principal designer or principal contractor

• The principal contractor will then add these to their health and safety file

Sole contractor If you’re the only contractor on the job - you’ll

experience the biggest change to daily routine

Sole contractor responsibilities

• By law, you need to create a Construction Phase Plan for every job - no matter the size of the project

• Spend some time considering the risks on-site in proportion to the job at hand

• HSE want to see “some” H&S consideration, as opposed to none as you might have experienced in the past

A good starting point for a Construction Phase Plan is an exceptional risk assessment

and method statement.

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Resources

• HANDS HQ

• HSE guidance on CDM 2015 regulations: http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l153.htm

• HSE F10 form: https://www.hse.gov.uk/forms/notification/f10.htm