CDM Regulations
Back in 2015 the Government made changes to the already existing CDM regulations 2007, the Government wanted the Principal Designer to be a central figure within the process and appointed early to have control over the whole design process.
By appointing the Principal Designer early on they would have the ability to implement health and safety safeguards and effect change, whereas the CDM Co-ordinator tended to be appointed late and had been restricted to the periphery, on the fringes of a construction project’s design team
The CDM 2015 has been ‘simplified’ to allow for the capacity of clients, contractors and consultants to comply with the Regulations would not be measured by reference to specific assessments but, instead, the onus would be placed on each organisation to ensure that it has the skills, knowledge, experience and organisational capability to fulfil its obligations.
The main responsibilities for the different people involved are set out below:
Commercial Client
· Under the CDM 2015, the Client is responsible for notifying the HSE. The Client can ask another party to carry out notification on its behalf, but this will not stop the Client being responsible by law (and the F10 notification form does not presently allow any party other than the Client to be named as the notifier);
· The Client must appoint a Principal Contractor in writing before any construction work begins. If the Client fails to do so, the Client will take on the Principal Contractor's roles, responsibilities and threats of sanctions;
· The appointment of a Principal Designer should be one of the first appointments a Client makes. Whilst the CDM 2015 require that the appointment be made before construction work begins, the HSE advise that the Principal Designer should be appointed "as early as possible in the design process, if practicable at the concept stage". If the Client fails to appoint a Principal Designer, the Client will take on the Principal Designer's roles, responsibilities and threats of sanctions;
· Under the CDM 2015, the onus is on the Client to be much more hands-on and proactive in managing (and providing health and safety information to) the consultants and contractors. For example, the Client is required to "ensure" that the Principal Contractor produces the construction phase plan and to "ensure" that the Principal Designer produces the health and safety file (and both documents must be produced before a spade is in the ground);
· The definition of 'Client' is wide ("any person for whom a project is carried out") and there can be more than one Client on a project. Unless a Client wants to take on the statutory responsibilities and risks that come with the position, the 'Clients' must agree in writing that one of them will take on the role (the others will still need to cooperate and provide information, but the onerous duties will fall upon the elected Client);
Principal Contractor
· The Principal Contractor must produce the construction phase plan before any construction work begins and before the site is assembled. The construction phase plan must set out health and safety rules, contain specific measures in respect of any risks falling within Schedule 3 of the Regulations, and be revised throughout the project;
· If the Principal Designer's appointment concludes before the end of a project ('project' usually being defined as ending on practical completion), the Principal Contractor must take on the health and safety file, keep it up-to-date, and pass it to the Client at the end of the project. In such instances the Principal Contractor should consider whether completing the health and safety file constitutes a change under the building contract entitling it to time and/or money;
· In a design and build scenario where the Principal Contractor is the main contractor, if the building contract appoints the Principal Contractor as the Principal Designer it is commonplace for the consultant previously appointed as Principal Designer to be novated from the Employer to the Principal Contractor. However, the Principal Contractor must be aware that such a novation is almost irrelevant in the eyes of the CDM 2015; it would be the Principal Contractor that becomes the Principal Designer and has the responsibilities – and penalties for non-compliance – that entail. A dual Principal Contractor / Principal Designer therefore needs to ensure that it manages any sub-contracted services effectively, and that – where possible – it is involved in the negotiation of the Principal Designer's pre-novation appointment in order that it can ensure the appointment contains the necessary contractual guarantees ahead of the appointment's novation to the Principal Contractor;
Principal Designer
· The Principal Designer must produce the health and safety file (electronic or hard copy) during the pre-construction phase, keep it up-to-date throughout the project, and pass it to the Client at the end of the project (or pass it to the Principal Contractor where the Principal Designer's appointment finishes before the project completes);
· Before accepting the appointment, the prospective Principal Designer should satisfy itself that it will join the project early enough in order to enable it to discharge its duties, such as planning, managing and monitoring the pre-construction phase and the construction phase plan, ingratiating itself into the design team, and implementing the 'principles of prevention' detailed at Schedule 1 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999;
· The CDM 2015 are clear that the Principal Designer must reject an appointment unless it has the skills, knowledge, experience and organisational capacity to fulfil the role properly. A Principal Designer may buy-in suitable knowledge to plug any gaps but, should any duties be sub-contracted, the Principal Designer must remember that it will remain wholly responsible for its sub-consultant's performance.
Source: www.nabarro.com
For more information and details follow the link below
http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/cdm/2015/summary.htm
