Putting Paperwork into Practice

- 07/11/2007

Contract Journal
David Blake

The latest figures from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) show that deaths in the UK construction industry have hit their highest rate since 2002, with 77 deaths in between the period 2006 –2007 alone. In a move to reduce accidents on site the Government has revised the Construction Design and Management (CDM) Regulations of 1994. David Blake, Chairman of commercial and contract management consultancy Blake Newport explains what impact the new regulations will have on day-to-day practice:

The new CDM regulations came into effect in April 2007 with the aim of integrating health and safety into the management of a construction project and once and for all putting construction’s reputation as a dangerous industry to rest. Their intention was to encourage effective planning and management throughout construction projects, helping the early identification of risks and focusing attention and effort on site specific health and safety risks, ensuring that Health and Safety is seen as an integral part of every process and not an optional extra.

The main changes, which have been incorporated into the revised regulations are:

1. Increased responsibility on clients to ensure that they take responsible steps to make sure that construction is undertaken without risks to the health and safety of anyone concerned.


2. The removal of the clients’ ability to transfer their criminal liabilities to an agent.
3. The client must appoint a competent CDM Co-ordinator (CDMC), which replaces the original ‘Planning Supervisor’.


4. Specific guidance to assess the competence of persons/organisations to be appointed to construction projects.

Do the regulations affect you?
Notably the new regulations have different rules for different projects. Projects are divided up into ‘notifiable’ and ‘non-notifiable’. Except for domestic work all CDMC’s must notify the HSE if the project is set to last more than 30 working days or involve more than 500 person days. Further to this if a principal contractor has not yet been identified the CDMC must update the notification as and when it changes.

Responsible Contractors
Whilst the onus is on the client to instil a duty of care, it is important for principal contractors to be aware of their clients’ responsibilities and the additional duties which fall upon them. For notifiable projects, part three of the regulations stipulates that principal contractors must plan, manage and monitor the construction phases in liaison with sub contractors. They must also prepare, develop and implement a written plan including site rules and distribute the relevant parts of the plan to each contractor.

Principal Contractors are also responsible for ensuring that their appointees are fully competent and that all workers have site inductions and the necessary training. Suitable and maintained facilities are also to be provided on site throughout the construction phases. In addition to this principal contractors have a responsibility to liase with the CDM co-ordinator - contractors should be aware that they should not progress beyond the initial design of a notifiable project without a ‘competent’ co-ordinator being identified,

Benefits to all
By following these regulations and investing time and thought into the construction process, projects will be safer and easier to maintain helping to reduce the overall cost of ownership for those involved. Contractors are also likely to find that delays are reduced; budgets and timings are easier to meet; communication with clients is improved and most importantly accidents on site are reduced.

New legislation and updates on regulations may sometimes seem unnecessary and time wasting but these changes have been made in order to reduce bureaucracy. The regulations focus solely on the planning and management of a construction project in terms of its complexity - lessening the risk to both clients and contractors.

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