Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007: A Briefing

By Dr. Richard Griffiths, PhD, MSc, MEd, Cert Ed, Grad R.S.C, FRSH, FRIPH, CMIOSH, MIIRSM

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM 2007) came into effect on 6 April 2007, and the Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) provides practical guidance on complying with the duties set out in the Regulations. The new, simplified CDM Regulations revise and bring together into a single regulatory package the existing regulations (CDM 1994), the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 (CHSW), and the Construction (General Provisions) Regulations 1961, and revoke other instruments (Schedule 4; CDM 2007).

The single regulatory package now consists of the revised regulations, the supporting AcoP and a regulatory impact assessment.

The main aim of CDM 2007 and the ACoP is to reduce the incidence of construction accidents and ill health by integrating health and safety into the management of the project. Everyone involved in the planning and management of the project will be expected to emphasise co-ordination, co-operation, communication and flexibility, specifically targeting health and safety by identifying risks early in the project life. It is also intended that bureauracracy associated with construction work will be minimised.

CDM 2007 includes duties relating to health and safety on construction sites with regard to safe places of work, housekeeping and site security, demolition or dismantling, explosives, excavations, reports of inspections, welfare facilities, prevention of drowning, traffic routes, vehicles, prevention of risk from fire, emergency procedures, lighting, etc. Regulation 5(2) specifies a duty on every person working under the control of another to report anything that he/she is aware of that is likely to endanger health or safety.

The duty holders for CDM 2007 are:

• Clients (commercial purchasers of construction/engineering works and services).
• CDM Co-ordinators (formerly Planning Supervisors).
• Designers (anyone who prepares or modifies a design).
• Principal Contractors (typically "main" contractors).
• Contractors (typically sub-contractors).

Some of the more significant changes resulting from the introduction of the revised regulations/ACoP include:

• A list of duties for all parties (Clients, Designers and Contractors) that apply to all projects (notifiable and non-notifiable), with additional duties for notifiable projects.
  • Notifiable projects (with specific exceptions as outlined within CDM 2007) are those likely to involve more than 30 days or 500 person-days of construction work, i.e. the same as before. If a project has been fully notified to HSE under CDM 1994 there is no need to give a further notice under CDM 2007.
  • Non-notifiable projects are primarily non-commercial residential work and projects which do not exceed 30 days and/or 500 man-days in duration. Duty holders involved in non-notifiable projects have the specified minimum obligations. The provision relating to 5 or more workers on site has been removed.

  The main difference between the two types of project is that a CDM Co-ordinator must be appointed for notifiable projects and notice of the project must be given to the HSE.

  No work may take place on notifiable projects, other than initial design, until the Co-ordinator has been appointed.

• Domestic projects no longer need be notified. The provisions for clients’ agents and developers have been removed. (One client in a project may act on behalf of all clients.)
• For notification purposes, demolition is treated in the same way as other types of construction work (although a documented plan of how the work will be conducted must be prepared).
• The appointment of a CDM Co-ordinator under Regulation 14(1) to support and advise the Client (Planning Supervisors no longer exist) or a Principal Contractor under Regulation 14(2).
• The need for a written health and safety plan only applies to notifiable projects.
• Duty holders involved in notifiable projects have additional requirements placed upon them and duty holders cannot appoint anyone to “manage, design or construct” anything unless they are competent or under competent supervision. Duty holders are required to establish the competence of appointees, and also to ensure their own competence prior to accepting any appointment.
• Assessment and demonstration of competence is simplified (guidance is given in the revised ACoP) and competence of relevant parties is simplified by assessment by duty holders prior to selection.
• All duty holders are to take account of the general principles of prevention set out in Schedule 1 to the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (S.I. 1999/3242) in the performance of their duties and in the carrying out of the construction work (Regulation 7).
• Co-operation and co-ordination duties now apply to everyone involved, while protective and preventive measures mirror the Management Regulations.
• Client duties are made more specific. The Client must take reasonable steps to ensure that work can be carried out without risks to the health and safety of anyone concerned.
• Clients must tell Designers and Contractors how much time they have for planning and preparation of work.
• The facility whereby Clients can transfer their criminal liabilities (under CDM) to a Client’s Agent are removed.
• There is an enhanced duty on Clients to exercise their influence in ensuring effective health and safety standards during construction projects.
• A new duty on Designers to ensure that structures they design as workplaces comply with the relevant requirements of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992.
• A new duty on Designers to eliminate hazards and reduce remaining risks, so far as is reasonably practicable.
• The former duty of the Planning Supervisor to prepare a health and safety plan has been replaced by that of the Principal Contractor to prepare a construction phase plan (Regulation 23).
• Civil liability is now restricted under CDM 2007 only in respect of the Part 2 and 3 duties, for which there is civil liability only to employees, except in respect of the duties concerning welfare facilities and to prevent access by any unauthorised person, and of the Client’s duty concerning the construction phase plan, for which liability is unrestricted (Regulation 45).
• Some of the definitions have changed, including those for Client, Construction Phases, Construction Work, Contractor, Design, Place of Work and Structure.