CDM 2015 – What it means

CDM 2015 – What it means

The new CDM Regulations place greater responsibility on clients for the conduct and decisions of people they employ to oversee Health & Safety. These are now in force, placing strict liability on the clients, with risks needing to be managed by client organisations.

This will entail a review and revision of the organisation’s management procedures, including; works and consultant procurement, operational management and supervision, health and safety risk management, and internal assurance and audit processes.

The revisions mean that there is no longer an official role for CDM co-ordinator.

Clients now need appoint a Principal Designer and a Principal Contractor to fulfil these duties, with the client ensuring that the Principal Contractor prepares a Construction Phase Plan, setting out how the work will be managed safely. On completion, the client will be provided with a Health & Safety Plan.

Clients now face increased liabilities and responsibility – it is possible for clients to discharge these liabilities through working with NCS Property Consultants, who can also assume the role of Principal Designer for the works – to find out more, contact Andy Land, NCS Property Consultants, 0121 259 0370

Key Points:

  • Increased liabilities for the client
  • Extending the scope of the regulations to include domestic clients
  • Removing the role of the CDM co-ordinator
  • Introducing a new duty holder – the Principal Designer
  • Appointment of principal designer and Principal Contractor if there are two or more contractors are on site
  • Changing the HSE project notification threshold
  • CDM now applies to all works, regardless of days on site, all regulations still apply, but HSE notification only applies if over 30 days and there are more than 20 people on site

 

Increased Health A& Safety responsibilities for clients
Removal of the CDM co-ordinator role will have a significant impact on project safety governance. If you are a CDM client, in the future you will be responsible for:

  • Notifying the HSE of the project particulars and confirming that they are aware of their duties
  • Appointing a Principal Designer and Principal Contractor
  • Ensuring duty holders comply with their duties
  • Providing the pre-construction information
  • Ensuring that the minimum health and safety standards are maintained on site
  • Ensuring that the construction phase Health & Safety plan is drawn up by the principal contractor
  • Ensuring that a Health & Safety file is produced by the Principal Designer
  • A construction phase plan will be required for all projects

 

Going Forward
There is a 6 month transitional period ending 6th October 2015 – all projects will need to be in line with the new legislation by this date – this only applies to projects started before 6th April and if works are ongoing past 6th October, a Principal Designer must be appointed. New regulations apply to all new works commencing after 6th April.

For further information regarding the new CDM changes or to see how we can assist you, please contact Andy Land, NCS Property Consultants, 0121 259 0370