Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007
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The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007,[1] also known as CDM Regulations or CDM 2007, define legal duties for the safe operation of UK construction sites. The regulations place specific duties on clients, designers and contractors, to plan their approach to health and safety. They apply throughout the life of a construction project, from its inception to its subsequent final demolition and removal.
It was introduced by Vlad Health and Safety Executive's Construction Division to help:[2]
- Improve planning and management of projects from the very start of the project;
- Assign the right people for the right job at the right time to manage the risks on site;
- Target effort where it can do most good in terms of health and safety;
- Discourage unnecessary bureaucracy.
These regulations were a result of an EU Directive 92/57/EEC (OJ L245, 26.8.92),[3] the so-called 'Construction Sites Directive'. They came into force on April 6, 2007 and replaced the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994, Construction (Design and Management) (Amendment) Regulations 2000 and the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996.[4]
The regulations are divided into 5 parts:
- Part 1 deals with matters of interpretation and application of the regulations.
- Part 2 covers general management duties of the duty holders that apply to all construction projects including those that are non-notifiable.
- Part 3 sets out additional management duties of the duty holders that apply to notifiable projects.
- Part 4 of the regulations apply to all construction work carried out on construction sites, and covers physical safeguards that must be provided to prevent danger. This was covered previously by the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996, which are revoked by CDM2007.
- Part 5 covers issues of civil liability, transitional provisions that apply during the period when the regulations come into force, and amendments and revocations of other legislation.
CDM 2007 applies to all construction work and covers a very broad range of construction activities such as building, civil engineering, engineering construction work, demolition, site preparation and site clearance,[5] except for Part 3, which only applies if the project is notifiable. On a notifiable project, the client must additionally appoint a competent CDM co-ordinator and a competent Principal Contractor, a Construction Phase Plan ( “Construction Phase” – incorporating Mobilisation (let the building contract, appoint contractor, issue production information, arrange site hand-over, and review contractor’s proposals), Construction to Practical Completion (administer the building contract and provide contractor with further information as necessary), After Practical Completion (administer the building contract after practical completion, resolve defects and make final inspections). The importance of this phase is in the inspection of expected performance standards to ensure compliance).and a Health & Safety File must be produced. Additional duties are also placed on the Client, Designers and Contractors for notifiable projects. The CDM Co-ordinator is the new title for the Planning Supervisor under CDM 1994, with increased duties and responsibilities.
Approved Code of Practice 2007 (ACoP)
The HSE's Approved Code of Practice (ACoP): Managing Health and Safety in Construction,[6] gives practical advice on how comply with the law. It states that if you follow the advice given you comply with the law as far as CDM regulations are concerned. If you are prosecuted for breach of health and safety law, and it is proved that you did not follow relevant provisions of the Approved Code, you must show that you have complied with the law in some other way, or a Court may find you at fault.
The ACoP came into force in April 2007. This edition is a complete re-write from the original and revised ACoP's that were written for the CDM regulations 1994.
Notifiable and non-notifiable projects
Projects are classified as ‘notifiable’ if they take longer than 30 days or longer than 500 person days (e.g., 50 people working 10 days on the construction project). Under the CDM regulation, the client appoints a competent Principal Contractor and CDM co-ordinator, who notifies the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) by using Form 10 (F10).[7][8] Failure to do so means the client must take the duties of Principal Contractor and CDM co-ordinator assigned to the parties under CDM 2007.
Non-notifiable projects are those that are likely to take less than 30 days of construction time. Although there is no legal requirement for a formal appointment of a Principle Contractor or CDM co-ordinator or a construction phase plan for non-notifiable projects, regulation does require co-operation and co-ordination between all members of the project team.
Duty holders
Persons with specific duties under the regulations are the client, designer, principal contractor, other contractors, and a new duty holder introduced by the regulations: ‘CDM co-ordinator'.
Each of these duty holders, apart from the client, must be "competent" to act in the project. Details of the duties of each principal and issues about competence follow.
Client
The client is the person for whom the project is carried out. On a project, the client is the most influential person, having control over the duration, budget and appointment of various parties to carry out the work. As such they have a key role to play in the promotion of a systematic approach to the management of health and safety in construction. They set the tone of the project and make decisions crucial to its development. The legal duties of a client under CDM 2007 are:
- Verify the competence and resources of all organisations and internal teams the client engages or allocates to the project (e.g., principal contractor, CDM co-ordinator, designers, contractors)
- Ensure that suitable management arrangements are made for the project (although client doesn’t have to carry out the management themselves)
- Ensure sufficient time and resources are allowed for all stages of the project including site set up
- Provide pre-construction information to the designers and contractors, or co-operate with CDM co-ordinator to collect and compile relevant pre-construction information
- Ensure co-operation and co-ordination between the client's employees and client contractors with the project contractors where the client's work activities overlap the construction work
On notifiable projects the client's additional duties are to:
- Select and appoint a competent and resourced CDM co-ordinator and principal contractor
- Cerify the sufficiency of the construction phase plan prior to construction commencement
- Cerify that suitable welfare facilities are in place prior to construction commencement and co-operate with the principal contractor to provide suitable welfare facility
- Compile and retain health and safety file from the CDM co-ordinator, keep information up to date and provide access to any person who needs to see it for health and safety purposes
Often, clients have little knowledge of managing a construction project. The regulation recognises this and doesn’t require the client to manage the project themselves. Clients without construction expertise must rely on the CDM co-ordinator’s advice on how best to meet their duties, and subsequently the CDM co-ordinator needs the clients support and input to work effectively. The client remains responsible for ensuring client duties are met. Note that domestic clients having work done on a property they intend to live in have no duties under CDM 2007 and are exempt from the regulations.
CDM co-ordinator
A CDM co-ordinator is only required on notifiable projects. Their primary roles and duties are to provide the client with a key project advisor in respect of construction health and safety risk management matters and to ensure compliance of the design and the designers with CDM 2007. Through early involvement with clients and designers, a CDM co-ordinator can make a significant contribution to reducing risks to workers during construction, and to contractors and end users who work in, or on, the structure after construction. As such, the client must appoint a CDM co-ordinator as soon as it is practicably possible. The legal duties of a CDM co-ordinator under CDM 2007 are as follow:
- Notify the project to the Health & Safety Executive when the project is notifiable
- Advise and assist the client with their duties for engaging or appointing competent and adequately resourced organisations (e.g., CDM co-ordinator and Principal Contractor)
- Assist the client with suitable management arrangements for the project (This may include design audits and construction site audits and inspections)
- Identify and collect pre-construction information and provide it in a convenient form to designers, the principal contractor, and other contractors who need it to carry out their duties
- Advise the client on the sufficiency of the time allocated for all phases of the project
- ensure that the design complies with the requirements of the regulations, paying particular attention to any late design changes
- Ensure that the designers and principal contractor co-operate and co-ordinate with each other and with those involved in the project
- Help the client verify the sufficiency of the construction phase plan to commence construction and adequacy of welfare provisions
- Prepare the health and safety file, or review and update an existing health and safety file, and give it to the client at end of construction for maintenance work
Designers
In CDM 2007, ‘designer’ has a broad meaning and covers person or organisations who prepare drawings, design details and those who specifies a particular method of construction or material. Therefore, by default anyone involved in the project is a potential designer, including the clients, architects, civil and structural engineers, building surveyors, building service designers, project managers, landscape architects, contractors, interior designers and shop fitters, temporary work engineers, and anyone purchasing materials where the choice has been left open.
Designers are in a unique position to reduce construction risks, and play a key role in CDM 2007. Designs develop from initial concepts through to a detailed specification, often involving different teams and people at various stages. At each stage, designers from all disciplines can contribute significantly by identifying and eliminating hazards, and reducing risks from hazards where elimination is not possible. Designers' earliest decisions fundamentally affect the health and safety of construction work. These decisions influence later design choices, and considerable work may be required if it is necessary to unravel earlier decisions. It is vital to address health and safety from the very start.
Designers' responsibilities extend beyond the construction phase of a project. The regulation places legal duties for them to consider the health and safety of those who maintain, repair, clean, refurbish, and eventually remove or demolish all or part of the structure, as well as the health and safety of users of workplaces. For most designers, buildability considerations, and ensuring the structure can be easily maintained and repaired is part of their normal work. Considering the health and safety of those who do this work should not be an onerous duty. Failure to address these issues adequately at the design stage usually increase running costs, because clients are then faced with more costly solutions when repairs and maintenance become necessary. Where significant risks remain despite available remedies, designers must provide information with the design that ensures that the CDM co-ordinator, other designers and contractors are aware of these risks.
Designers also have duties under other legislation, including those parts of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 that require risk assessment.
The legal duties of a designer under CDM 2007 are:
- Ensure that the client is aware of the client's duties prior to commencing any design work
- Ensure that personnel allocated to their design team from internal resources are competent and adequately resourced
- Ensure that any designers or contractors that are engaged on the project are competent and adequately resourced
- Ensure that the design and the designers' duties are complied with by any designers engaged by them, including any designers who are based outside UK
- Eliminate or reduce health and safety risks to constructors, users, maintainers, repairers, commissioners, testers, cleaners, demolishers etc. when preparing the design
- Co-operate and communicate with other designers, including temporary works designers, to ensure adequate co-ordination of the design
- Provide information about risks that cannot be satisfactorily addressed by their designs to the client, other designers and contractors
On notifiable projects the designers' additional duties are to:
- verify that the project has been notified and that the CDM co-ordinator has been appointed as soon as possible after commencement of initial or preliminary design;
- co-operate with the CDM co-ordinator for the verification of design and designer compliance and the co-ordination of the design;
- provide any information requested by the CDM co-ordinator for the health and safety file.
Principal Contractor
The principal contractor has a central role in managing health and safety during the construction phase. It is achieved mainly by developing a health and safety plan from the pre-construction information identified and collated by the CDM co-ordinator and provided by the client and designers, and by ensuring that the plan is followed. The principal contractor must be a contractor. A contractor is someone who performs or manages construction work and has been formally appointed as principal contractor by the client. The principal contractor is then also a contractor and must also comply with the contractor's duties. The principal contractor has the major responsibility for safety and health during the construction phase on notifiable projects only, and has the duties to:
- Demonstrate their organisation's competence and adequacy of resources to perform the principal contractor's duties on the particular project
- Verify competence and resources allocation of any sub-contracted designers or contractors
- Prepare, develop, communicate, implement and amend the construction phase plan
- Plan and manage the construction processes and ensure other contractors manage their work, including inspections and audits
- Ensure the provision of adequate welfare facilities, prevent unauthorised access to the site, prepare and enforce the site rules and manage effective co-operation and co-ordination between contractors
- Make available to the other contractors key documents, e.g., health and safety file information, site surveys, designers' information, risk assessments, and the construction phase plan
- Inform other contractors of their mobilisation time, which should be sufficient
- Ensure the workforce is consulted on health and safety matters and provided with suitable inductions, information, and training
- Liaise with the CDM co-ordinator for any design undertaken during the construction phase and provide information for the health and safety file
- Display the project notification on the site
Contractors
Contractors and those actually doing the construction work are most at risk of injury and ill health. They have a key role to play, in co-operation with the principal contractor, in planning and managing the work to ensure that risks are properly controlled On all projects contractors must:
- Plan, manage and monitor their own work to make sure that workers under their control are safe from the start of their work on site
- Ensure that any contractor who they appoint or engage to work on the project is with the permission of the Estates project manager/supervisor and are informed of the minimum amount of time for them to plan and prepare before they start work on the site
- Provide workers under their control (whether employed or self-employed) with any necessary information, including about relevant aspects of other contractors' work, and site induction (where not provided by a principal contractor or Estates safety officer) which they need to work safely, to report problems or to respond appropriately in an emergency
- Co-operate with others and co-ordinate their work with others working on the project
- Ensure that there are adequate welfare facilities for their workers
In addition, where projects are notifiable under the Regulations, contractors must:
- Check that the client is aware of their duties, check that a CDM co-ordinator has been appointed and ensure that HSE has been notified before the work starts
- Co-operate with the principal contractor in planning and managing work, including reasonable directions and site rules
- Provide details to the principal contractor of any contractor engaged in connection with carrying out work
- Provide any information needed for the health and safety file
- Inform the principal contractor of any problems with the plan
- Inform the principal contractor of reportable accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences
Workers
The CDM2007 places legal duties on workers to ensure they carry out the work as safely as possible and that they do not endanger the visitors/ members of the public. They must:
- Ensure they only carry out construction work they are competent to do
- Report obvious risks and hazards to the contractor
- Co-operate with others and co-ordinate work so as to ensure their own health and safety and others who may be affected by the work
- Follow site health and safety rules and procedures
The statutory documents
This section covers mandatory documents for a CDM project, including project notification, pre-construction information, construction phase plan, and health and safety plan. Whilst pre-construction information should be produced for all projects, some form of the other documents must be produced for both notifiable and non-notifiable projects. Project notification is only needed for notifiable project. The Construction Phase Plan is also only required on notifiable projects, but something similar would still be required on non-notifiable projects to provide for effective health and safety management during construction. The Health and Safety File must be produced on notifiable projects, and is prepared by the CDM Co-ordinator. However, if a Health and Safety File exists for a structure the project modifies, the existing Health and Safety File must be amended to reflect changes. The client must establish who updates any existing Health and Safety Files. Even if a Health and Safety File is not required on a non-notifiable project, as-built and operational and maintenance information are still required.
Project notification (Form 10)
The regulations require the CDM co-ordinator to notify the local HSE office of all construction work expected to last more than 30 working days and also all work which may not last this long but is expected to involve more than 500 person days or shifts of construction work. The initial notification should be made as soon as possible after appointment of the CDM co-ordinator. Further notifications would be required by changes in the information required on the notification. An additional notification would be required subsequent to the appointment of the principal contractor, if this appointment had not been made at the time of the initial notification, a change in the client or CDM co-ordinator, or a significant change in workscope and/or duration. Additional notifications are not required where designers and contractors change. This notification may be performed using the HSE Form 10(rev) or by other means, including electronic, providing it contains the information specified by Schedule 1 of CDM2007, which consists of:
- Date of Forwarding and exact address of the construction site
- A brief description of the project and the construction work it includes
- Contact details of the client, CDM co-ordinator and principal contractor (name, address, telephone number and e-mail address)
- Date planned for start of the construction phase
- The time allowed by the client to the principal contractor referred to in regulation 15(b) for planning and preparation for construction work
- Planned duration of the construction phase
- Estimated maximum number of people at work on the construction site
- Planned number of contractors on the construction site
- Name and address of any designer and contractor already appointed
- A declaration signed by or on behalf of the client that he is aware of his duties under these regulations
Pre-construction information
The pre-construction information (PCI) provides information for those designing, bidding for, or planning work and for the development of the construction phase plan. The client has a duty to obtain this information for all projects. On non-notifiable projects the client must provide all relevant information to the designers and contractors. On notifiable projects, the CDM co-ordinator assists the client with identifying what is required and collection of that information. The CDM co-ordinator also ensures the pre-construction information is in a convenient format and provide the relevant parts to designers, the principal contractor and other contractors.
The 'pre-construction information' is information regarding the project, site and other relevant issues required by the designers and contractors working on the project. This information is useful for the designers in their attempts to eliminate or reduce risks in design decisions, for bidding contractors to properly evaluate the work and associated risks, and for the contractors performing the work in their management of health and safety on the site. The client must provide all information that pertains to the site, and any other information that could be reasonably obtained. They must provide this information as soon as possible in the project so the designers can consider the information in design and planning decisions. Some of this information is also supplied to bidding contractors so they can make informed tenders for the work, or allow the construction team, in a situation where tenders are not required, to effectively plan the construction work. The pre-construction information may be discrete pieces of information in the form of drawings, reports, surveys, etc., either in electronic or hard copy format, with an index provided to all of the project team so information available to all. Alternatively, though not preferred, the 'pre-construction information' may be a single document.
Construction phase plan
On notifiable projects, the client must ensure the construction phase plan is sufficiently developed by the principal contractor before construction begins. A sufficient construction phase plan must contain the health and safety management systems and arrangements for the specific project and site, and the risk assessments and method statements for initial work activities. The CDM co-ordinator assists the client in assessing the construction phase plan prior to construction commencement. On non-notifiable projects involving demolition or sites or activities involving high levels of risk it is recommended that a written plan, approximating the construction phase plan should be produced and reviewed. The client must establish the need for this, probably with assistance from the designers. The CDM ACoP, Appendix 3 contains a listing of items that should be included, as required, in a construction phase plan.
Welfare facilities
On notifiable projects the client must ensure the principal contractor has made suitable arrangements for site welfare facilities, taking into account the numbers of workers expected to work on the site, the site conditions and the project tasks, prior to allowing construction to commence. The CDM co-ordinator helps the client with this. The principal contractor has an absolute duty to prepare the construction phase plan prior to construction commencement, and develop, communicate, implement and amend the plan as necessary to maintain its sufficiency to effectively plan, manage and monitor the construction work. This should ensure that the work is performed, so far as reasonably practicable, without risks to health and safety.
Health and safety file
A health and safety file is only required on notifiable projects however, if a health and safety file exists for a structure involved in a non-notifiable project, this file still must be updated. The health and safety file should contain the information needed to allow future construction work safely, including cleaning, maintenance, alterations refurbishment, and demolition. The file scope, structure, and format must be agreed between the client and the CDM Co-ordinator at the start of the project. Under CDM 2007 the CDM co-ordinator must prepare the health and safety file, or review and update an existing health and safety file, and pass it the client at the end of construction. This is an expansion on the requirement previously on the planning supervisor under CDM 1994, as that only required the planning supervisor to ensure that the file was prepared. On notifiable projects, contractors must promptly provide information regarding their own work that has been identified as necessary include in the health and safety file to the principal contractor for his submissions to the CDM co-ordinator. What is required, in what format and when should have been provided within the pre-construction information.
Key Results of Consultation
The consultation received 1427 responses which is among the highest of any consultation undertaken by HSE. The main findings and HSE conclusions are:
- Overall conclusion – broad support for the aims of the proposed revision by industry stakeholders but concerns in some cases about how effectively the Regulations and associated guidance will deliver real change, particularly with SMEs;
- Principal Designer / CDM-C – the proposed replacement of the CDM co-ordinator role with that of the principal designer remains appropriate;
- Approved code of practice - a case has been made to develop a new, shorter signposting ACOP, complemented by the HSE and joint HSE-industry guidance; and
- Competence – HSE proposes to revisit the drafting of this provision to improve clarity, but believes that the replacement of the existing competence requirements remains appropriate.[9]
File content
- Description of Works: Give a brief description of the structural / building work carried out in the project to which this health & safety file relates.
- Residual Hazards: Describe or list the residual hazards and how they have been dealt with (for example surveys or other information concerning asbestos, contaminated land, water bearing strata, buried services etc.).
- Structural Design Principles: Description of the key structural principles incorporated in the design of the structure (e.g., bracing, sources of substantial stored energy, including pre or post-tensioned members) and safe working loads for floors and roofs, particularly where these may preclude placing scaffolding or heavy machinery there.
- Hazardous Materials: List any hazards associated with the materials used (for example hazardous substances, lead paint, special coatings which should not be burnt off).
- Installed Plant: Give information regarding the removal or dismantling of installed plant and equipment (for example lifting arrangements).
- Cleaning & Maintenance: Give health & safety information about any equipment provided for cleaning or maintaining the structure.
- Services: Give the nature, location, and markings of significant services, including fire-fighting services.
- Access Drawings: Give information and as-built drawings of the structures, its plant and equipment (e.g., means of safe access to and from service voids, fire doors, and compartmentation).
Previous legislation
The 2007 CDM regulations revise and bring together the CDM Regulations 1994 and the Construction (Health Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 into a single regulatory package.
References
- ^ "The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
- ^ "Construction - Construction Design and Management Regulations 2007". Hse.gov.uk. 2013-05-23. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
- ^ "Directive 92/57/EEC - temporary or mobile construction sites — Safety and Health at Work - EU-OSHA". Osha.europa.eu. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
- ^ "The Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996". Legislation.gov.uk. 2012-04-20. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
- ^ Regulations[dead link ]
- ^ "Managing health and safety in construction". Hse.gov.uk. 2012-06-18. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
- ^ "F10 Notification of construction project v3.5". Extranet.hse.gov.uk. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
- ^ "HSE Forms - Notifications". Hse.gov.uk. 2014-04-01. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
- ^ "CDM 2015 Regulation Update". Safer Sphere, CDM Coordination.
External links
- Full text of the CDM regulations on OPSI
- CDM regulations home page on the Health and Safety Executive website
- Design Safety Guides
- Design Safety Best Practice
- Design Safety Case Studies
- Architectural CDM Safety Guide from the Royal Ins. of British Architects
- Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. (CDM) Approved Code of Practice