The new Construction Design Management (CDM) Regulations came into effect from 6 April 2015, with some key provisions being:
- The replacement of the CDM Co–ordinator with the Principal Designer for the Pre Construction Phase and revised obligations on the Principal Designer and Principal Contractor for the construction phase;
- The requirement to appoint a Principal Contractor remains;
- The client is identified as being accountable for the impact their decisions and approach have on health, safety and welfare on the project and is now to submit the F10;
- A requirement for the provision of pre-construction information and a construction phase identifies which information should be included in the Health & Safety file;
- The requirement for a Health & Safety file remains;
- The provision for a 6 month transition period for projects already being progressed;
- The CDM 2007 Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) is replaced by Health & Safety Executive (HSE) (L) Guidance.
During the 6 month transition period the following should be noted:
For projects involving more than one Contractor (this includes sub-contractors, any individual, sole trader, self-employed worker, or business that carries out, manages or controls construction work as part of their business. This also includes companies that use their own workforce to do construction work) which started before 6 April 2015, where by that date the Client has not appointed a CDM Co-ordinator, the client:
- a) must appoint a Principal Designer, as soon as practicable, if the Construction Phase has not started;
- b) is not required to appoint a Principal Designer if the Construction Phase has started, but may do so if they wish. If they choose not to appoint a Principal Designer, the Principal Contractor takes on the responsibility for the Health & Safety file as well as other duties. In these circumstances, any designer involved with the project should provide information about any residual risks in designs to the Principal Contractor.
Where on 6 April 2015 the client has appointed a CDM co-ordinator, they must appoint a Principal Designer within six months – i.e. by 6 October 2015.
As with the CDM co-ordinator, the role and duties of the Principal Designer can be provided by the Principal Supply Chain Partner (PSCP) or a member of their Supply Chains if an NHS Client chooses to adopt such an approach. The NEC3 Contract Templates have been amended to address the changes.
The above information is not exhaustive and NHS Clients, Professional Advisors, PSCPs and Supply Chain members should refer to the following in respect of the detailed provisions of the new CDM Regulations 2015:
- The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 – free download copy available from: www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/51/contents/made
- Managing health and safety in construction; Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015; Guidance on Regulations (First published 2015; ISBN 978 0 7176 6626 3 – free download copy available from: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l153.htm
