CDM Regulations – One Year On

20/06/2016

In April last year, the Construction, Design and Management Regulations 2015 (CDM) were introduced.  Their aim was to improve health, safety and welfare on major construction projects and clarify the responsibilities of key stakeholders.

The regulations made many changes in relation to the management of projects by revising the roles and duties of the client, principal designer, principal contractor, designers and contractors. These changes have altered the pre-construction planning phase of projects, before site work commences.

An Overview of the CDM Regulations 2015

Although the previous CDM legislative framework was seen as generally fit for purpose, it required burdensome competency assessments and too much red-tape.  There was also found to be a lack of coordination at the pre-construction phase when anticipated hazards could be designed out of the construction, use and maintenance phases of the project life.

To address these concerns, the 2015 regulations:

• simplified the legislation and aimed it towards small to medium sized projects          

• hold Clients more accountable for decisions made, their strategies around health and safety matters and ensuring that the Principal Designer and Principle Contractor comply with their duties           

• removed the domestic client exception          

• replacing the role of CDM Co-ordinator with Principal Designer         

• required the Client to notify the HSE of the project in writing before the construction phase begins if the project duration is longer than 30 days and will involve more than 20 workers at one time or will last longer than 500 days

The role of the Principal Designer

The roles carried out by the Principal Designer include:

• helping the Client prepare the pre-construction information and ensure it is delivered promptly to the designers and Principal Contractor          

• leading all designers in carrying out their duties          

• plan, manage and monitor the pre-construction phase and coordinate health and safety matters during this time to ensure that so far as is reasonably practicable the project is without risk to employees and the public          

• managing and preventing risks throughout the design work          

• ensuring there is sufficient co-operation and co-ordination between duty holders          

• liaising with the Principal Contractor to share information relevant to the planning, management and monitoring of the construction phase and coordination of health and safety matters          

• preparing the health and safety file

The Principal Designer must join the project early enough to carry out his or her duty and they must have the skills, knowledge and expertise to perform the role competently.

Challenges which have emerged following the implementation of the CDM Regulations 2015

• There has been mixed reactions to the CDM Regulations 2015 since they came into force, but they have given large organisations the opportunity to renew their support and commitment to health and safety matters.

• The industry as a whole has taken many months to understand what is required under the CDM Regulations 2015 and to apply them to ongoing projects. There was an initial transitional period of six months; however, many projects that commenced under the CDM Regulations 2007 had not reached completion by the time the transitional period was over which resulted in extra administrative work for some companies.          

• There also seems to be confusion over who can be appointed as a Principal Designer and many Clients still require clarification that a lead designer and a Principal Designer are not the same thing.         

• The traditional Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) have been replaced with more targeted guidance documents divided up for each stakeholder. There is concern within the industry that duty holders will only be knowledgeable on the guide produced specifically for them and not the responsibilities of the project team as a whole.           

• Questions are also being asked as to what type of work requires construction phase plans.  As smaller projects already have to provide a risk assessment under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations, SMEs rightly worry that adding in a construction phase plan for every project will increase their expenses and administration time, for no clear benefits.

In Summary

Although the CDM Regulations 2015 place a sizable duty on the Client to be across the health and safety elements of the construction phase plan, for the objectives of the regulations to be reached, everyone in the industry must be confident about their new compliance duties going forward.  It is clear that further guidance and education within the industry is required over the coming year to ensure that this is achieved.