CDM Regulations 2015

The Practical Implications of the Changes for the Construction Industry

17th June 2015

Steve Ash

MSc (Hons), CMIOSH, RMaPS (NOS), OSHCR, PGDip, DipSM, MIIRSM

Faithful+Gould

Head of Health and Safety, West Region

Chair for the Welsh Region of APS

Executive Committee Member of IOSH, Bristol & West Region

Member of the HSE working group on BIM4Regs

Master Degree in Occupational Health and Safety

Chartered member of IOSH

Member of Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register

Carpenter and Joiner

Clerk of Works

Appionted Person

UK Legislation

What does ALL UK legislation have in common?

It sets a minimum standard

CDM 2015, So Far

The CDM Regulations 2015 were introduced 78 days ago on the 6th April 2015. The third

reiteration of the orginal1994 Regulations.

How has the Construction Industry accepted and implemented CDM2015?

The HSE has been proactive

What is the HSE currently doing?

During March 2015 HSE construction inspectors carried out a two-day inspection of domestic basement (non-notifiable) projects in London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea and Fulham and parts of Westminster.

What did they find?

127 sites were inspected

136 contractors met

Enforcement action taken at 62 sites visited (48.8% non-compliant nearly 1 in 2 sites)

Main areas of concern

Working at height – risk of workers falling from height, either into underground excavations or through unprotected floor openings, lack of edge protection

Excavation – Unshored excavations

Welfare – Poor or absent welfare facilities for workers

Work not properly planned – Failure to appoint a competent temporary works engineer to design suitable propping to support excavations and existing structure

http://www.hse.gov.uk/construction/ebulletins/index.htm

What is the HSE currently doing?

CDM 2015

The regulations apply to all construction work which is defined as the carrying out of any building, civil engineering or engineering and construction work and includes:

• Construction, alteration, conversion or fitting out

• Preparation including site clearance, investigation, clearance & excavations

• On site assembly of prefabricated components

• Commissioning

• Renovation

• Repair

• Upkeep, redecoration or other maintenance

• M&E install / commissioning / maintenance and repair within or fixed to a structure

• Decommissioning

• Demolition or dismantling of a structure

CDM 2015

There are five duty holders under the proposed regulations:

• Client

• Principal Designer (PD)

• Designer

• Principal Contractor (PC)

• Contractor

• + additional guidance for workers

Only the Client and Principal Designer have enhanced

or new duties under CDM2015

CDM 2015 Significant Changes from CDM2007

The draft regulations propose significant changes:

• ACoP replaced with individual L-series guidance for each duty holder

• CDMC replaced by ‘principal designer’

• Explicit competence requirements removed

• All duty holders must have the necessary skills, knowledge & experience (on a project by

project basis)

• Client must ensure the principal designer & principal contractor comply with their duties

• Applicable to domestic clients

• PD & PC appointed for all projects with more than one contractor

• Construction phase plan is required for all projects

HSE description of Skills, Knowledge, Experience & Training

Competence is the ability to undertake responsibilities and to perform activities to a recognised standard

on a regular basis. Competence is a combination of practical and thinking skills, experience and

knowledge. Source: Ref. 1. HSE. http://www.hse.gov.uk/humanfactors/topics/02competency.pdf

Truly effective health and safety management requires competency across every facet of an

organisation and through each level of the workforce. HSE: The Health and Safety of Great Britain \\ Be

part of the solution. HSE. http://www.hse.gov.uk/stratergy/stratergy09.pdf

Competence can be described as the combination of training, skills, experience and knowledge that

a person has and their ability to apply them to perform a task safely . Other factors, such as attitude

and physical ability, can also affect someone’s competence.

HSE. http://www.hse.gov.uk/competence/waht-is-competence.htm

Under CDM 2015 the duty to appoint suitable persons with relevant skills, knowledge,

experience and training for each role is with the client. There is NO established standard,

the HSE expects industry to establish standards across the construction industry.

The Principal Designer

• The Principal Designer can be an individual / business within the pre-construction team or a third party with the necessary skills, knowledge, experience & training

• The PD is the ‘’Designer ‘’ with control over the pre-construction phase of the project

• Responsible for:-

• Planning, managing and monitoring the pre-construction phase

• Ensuring that risks are eliminated or controlled through design

• Passing information on to the Principal Contractor

• Ensuring co-operation and co-ordination

• Ensuring designers comply with their duties

• Assisting the client in preparing the pre-construction information; and

• Preparing the health and safety file

HSg Draft Comments on the Principal Designer Role

Your duties as a Principal Designer apply regardless of the contractual

arrangements for the appointment of other designers on the project and irrespective of whether or not the project is notifiable to the HSE.

As the Principal Designer, you have overall responsibility for controlling

health and safety in the pre-construction phase. In order to do this you must be

able to demonstrate to yourself and the client that you are able to plan, manage,

monitor and co-ordinate health and safety during this stage of the project.

Are You a Designer?

Designers

• ‘’Designer’’ means any person (including client, contractor etc) who :-

• Prepares or modifies a design

• Relating to a structure or to a product or M&E system

• Or arranges for or instructs anyone under their control to do so

• Design relating to a structure is defined under the regulations and includes:-

• Drawings

• Design details

• Specifications & Bills of Quantities

• Specification of articles or substances

• Design calculations

Designers – PM’s, QS’s, BS’s, Engineers etc

• ‘’Designer’’ can be any of the following:-

• Architects

• Consulting engineers

• Interior designers

• Temporary works designers

• Chartered surveyors

• Technicians

• Specifiers (QS’s & Project Managers)

• Principal contractors

• Specialist contractors

• Clients

• Others

Clients Duties

• A client must make suitable arrangements for managing a project, including the

allocation of sufficient time and other resources.

• Arrangements are suitable if they ensure that—

• (a) the construction work can be carried out, so far as is reasonably practicable, without

risks to the health or safety of any person affected by the project; and

• (b) the welfare facilities required by Schedule 2 are provided

• A client must ensure that these arrangements are maintained and reviewed throughout

the project

• Where there is more than one contractor the client must appoint a PC & PD

• If an appointment is not made the client must fulfil the roles

• Before construction begins a suitably developed construction phase plan must be in place

• Remove the domestic client exemption - defaults position, duties fall to the contractor, PC

or PD

All Duty Holders Must

Complete and record compliant documentation proportionate to the inherent foreseeable risk of the specific project

Questions and Answers

Steve Ash, Head of Health and Safety, West RegionFaithful+GouldBristol