9th April 2015

CDM 2015 Now In Force

As reported on in recent articles The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015  (CDM 2015) came into force in Great Britain on 6 April 2015. They set out what people involved in construction work need to do to protect themselves from harm and anyone the work affects.

What’s changed?

Following the extensive review of the regulations, the HSE’s agenda was to try and enhance and promote risk management from the forefront of the design process, rather than as an unnecessary ‘bolt-on’ often seen as bureaucratic and costly, and of no real benefit to a project.

The regulations in their technical aspect remain largely unchanged, as these were seen to generally work industry wide when implemented correctly. It was more the way the regulations were implemented in the real world which were deemed to need changing.

The principal changes are as follows:

• Strengthening of Client duties;
• Introduction of Domestic Clients;
• Replacement of CDM Coordinator by a Principal Designer for the planning, managing, monitoring and coordination of pre-construction phase health and safety;
• Principal Designer and Principal Contractor will be required on all projects where there will be more than one contractor working on the project;
• Replacement of explicit requirement for dutyholder competence with need for appropriate Information, Instruction, Training & Supervision;
• Change to the HSE’s Notification level – now only required for projects lasting more than 30 days and involving more than 20 workers simultaneously.

Industry guidelines have now been published for the new CDM 2015 regulations which can be downloaded here  

What will it mean for existing projects?

There is a transitional period that will run for a period of six months from 6 April 2015 to 6 October 2015. This will cover any existing projects already in progress, before they will be required to transfer over and comply fully with CDM 2015.

Any existing formal appointments will also need to be reviewed, and the role of Principal Designer established and agreed within the project teams.

As of 6th October 2015, ALL applicable construction works must fully comply with CDM 2015.

Existing clients subscribing to the health and safety support services will have their H&S manuals updated to take account of the revised legislation during routine consultant service visits, however for any queries on how your business may be affected by this recent change please do not hesitate to contact us on advice line – 0845 459 1727