Health and Safety Executive

Health and Safety Executive

CDM 2007 Training

Package

Competence & training

Version: September 2007

What is competence?

To be competent, an organisation or individual must have:

• Sufficient knowledge of the specific tasks to be undertaken and the risks which the work will entail; and

• Sufficient experience and ability to carry out their duties in relation to the project; to recognise their limitations and take appropriate action in order to prevent harm to those carrying out construction work, or those affected by the work

CDM 2007 Competence & training – Slide 2

What does CDM 2007 require? (1)

• All persons who have duties under CDM 2007 should:– Take “reasonable steps” to ensure persons

who are appointed are competent– Not arrange for or instruct a worker to carry

out or manage design or construction work unless the worker is competent

– Not accept an appointment unless they are competent

• Applies to corporate and individual competence

CDM 2007 Competence & training – Slide 3

What does CDM 2007 require? (2)

• Assessment should focus on the needs of the particular project and be proportionate to the risk, size and complexity of the work

• CDM 2007 should streamline the competence assessment process

• A key duty of the CDM co-ordinator is to advise the client about the competence of those employed by the client

CDM 2007 Competence & training – Slide 4

Corporate competency (1)

• Corporate competency should be assessed by a two-stage process– Stage 1: An assessment of the company’s

organisation and arrangements for health and safety

– Stage 2: An assessment of the company’s experience and track record

• Companies will be expected to reach the standards set out in the core criteria in CDM 2007 ACoP Appendix 4

• The Core Criteria have been agreed between industry & HSE

CDM 2007 Competence & training – Slide 5

Corporate competency (2)

• Duty holders can– assess potential appointees against the core

criteria or– can use independent accreditation schemes

such as CHAS, National Britannia Safe Contractor

• The agreed criteria will help prevent a diversity of demands from clients and others and reduce the amount of paperwork and bureaucracy

CDM 2007 Competence & training – Slide 6

Individual competency

• Individual competency should be assessed by a two-stage process– Stage 1: Assessment of knowledge, training

records and qualifications, including basic understanding of site risks

– Stage 2: Past experience in the type of work you are asking them to do

• Those new to construction work will need close supervision by a competent person until they can themselves demonstrate competence

CDM 2007 Competence & training – Slide 7

Individual competency – designers (1)

• When assessing the competence of individual designers, look for– Stage1: membership of professional

institution e.g. RIBA, CIAT, ICE, IStruct E, CIOB etc.

– Stage 2: evidence of past experience in similar work

• You may need to take into account the skills and knowledge of other designers if the work is to be carried out by a design team

CDM 2007 Competence & training – Slide 8

Individual competency – designers (2)

• Designers must be able to – Identify hazards, understand how they can be

eliminated, and address residual risk– Design in accordance with the Workplace

(Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992

– Identify significant remaining risks– Inform contractors – Co-operate and co-ordinate with the PC

CDM 2007 Competence & training – Slide 9

Individual competence – CDM co-ordinator (1)

• CDM co-ordinators play a key role in CDM 2007 and need– Good interpersonal skills to encourage

co-operation and co-ordination– Understand the design process and the

need to co-ordinate designers’ work – Knowledge of health and safety in

construction– Identify the key information others will

need to know

CDM 2007 Competence & training – Slide 10

Individual competence – CDMco-ordinator (2)

• For smaller projects– Stage 1: Knowledge of the design

process and health and safety in construction (e.g. qualification such as NEBOSH construction certificate, Membership of the ICE health and safety register, IPS, APS, etc)

– Stage 2: Experience in applying the knowledge of construction

CDM 2007 Competence & training – Slide 11

Individual competence – CDMco-ordinator (3)

• For larger/higher risk projects– Likely to be a corporate CDM co-

ordinator appointment– Appendix 5 of CDM 2007 ACOP

provides detailed guidance

• The skills and knowledge of the CDM co-ordinator will need to reflect the complexity of the project and the specialist knowledge necessary to ensure that the risks are properly controlled

CDM 2007 Competence & training – Slide 12

Individual competence - workers

• Assessments should focus on the needs of the job, & be proportionate to the risks– Stage 1: Assess the task knowledge to

carry out the work safely e.g. training records, qualifications, CPD, NVQ, time served

– Stage 2: Assess the individual’s experience

• Provide supervision, training and instruction as necessary

CDM 2007 Competence & training – Slide 13

Competence & training – Key messages

• By choosing the right people for the right job and appointing them early, all in the construction team can make sure that the project is safety to build, safe to use, safe to maintain and delivers good value

• CDM 2007 will make it easier to show that you have the right skills and experience for the job

• Competent designers eliminate hazards and reduce risks – manage the risk, not the paperwork

CDM 2007 Competence & training – Slide 14