Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, also known as CDM Regulations or CDM 2007, previously defined legal duties for the safe operation of UK construction sites. They were superseded by the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. The regulations placed specific duties on clients, designers and contractors, to plan their approach to health and safety. They applied throughout construction projects, from inception to final demolition and removal.
They were introduced by the Health and Safety Executive's Construction Division to:
History.
CDM 2007 was a result of an EU Directive 92/57/EEC (OJ L245, 26.8.92), the 'Construction Sites Directive'. They came into force on April 6, 2007 and replaced a 1994 predecessor as amended in 2000 and 1996 Health and Safety regulations. They were superseded by the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 with effect from 6 April 2015, with transitional arrangements for existing construction projects to comply with the 2007 regulations until October 2015.
Organization.
The regulations were divided into 5 parts:
CDM 2007 applied to all construction and covers construction activities such as building, civil engineering, engineering construction work, demolition, site preparation and site clearance.
Approved Code of Practice 2007 (ACoP).
The HSE's Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) gives practical advice on how to comply with the law. It states that following the advice given complies with CDM regulations. Violation of the health and safety law/code carry legal consequences.
ACoP came into force in April 2007. This edition completely re-wrote the original and revised ACoP's that complied with CDM 1994.
Notifiable projects.
Projects are classified as ‘notifiable’ if the construction work phase is expected to last longer than 30 working days and have more than 20 workers working at the same time at any point on the project, or to exceed 500 person days. Under the CDM regulation, the client appoints a competent Principal Contractor and CDM coordinator, who notifies the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) by using Form 10 (F10). Failure to do so means the client must take the duties of Principal Contractor and CDM coordinator assigned to the parties under CDM 2007.
Non-notifiable projects are those that are likely to take less than 30 days of construction time. Although there is no legal requirement for a formal appointment of a Principal Contractor or CDM coordinator or a construction phase plan for non-notifiable projects, regulation does require cooperation and coordination between all members of the project team.
"CDM coordinator" is the new title for the Planning Supervisor under CDM 1994, with increased duties and responsibilities.
Multiple plan documents must be prepared.
The importance of this phase is in the inspection of expected performance standards to ensure compliance). Additional duties are also placed on the Client, Designers and Contractors.
Duty holders.
Parties with specific duties under the regulations are the client, designer, principal contractor, other contractors, and a new duty holder introduced by the regulations, the ‘CDM coordinator'.
Each of these duty holders, apart from the client, must be "competent" to act in the project.
Client.
The client is the party for whom the project is carried out. The client controls the duration, budget and appointment of other parties. As such they play a key role in the promotion of a systematic approach to health and safety management in construction. The client's legal duties are:
On notifiable projects the client's additional duties are to:
Often, clients have little knowledge of managing a construction project. Clients without construction expertise rely on the CDM coordinator’s advice on how best to meet their duties. The CDM coordinator needs the client's support and input to work effectively. The client remains responsible for ensuring client duties are met. Domestic clients having work done on a property they intend to live in are exempt from CDM 2007.
CDM coordinator.
A CDM coordinator is required only on notifiable projects. Primary roles and duties are to provide the client with an advisor on construction health and safety risk management matters and to ensure compliance with CDM 2007. The legal duties of a CDM coordinator under CDM 2007 are:
Designers.
In CDM 2007, ‘designer’ covers persons or organisations who prepare drawings, design details or specify a particular construction method or material. Therefore, by default anyone involved is a potential designer, including the client, architect, engineers, surveyors, service designers, project managers, landscape architects, contractors, interior designers and shop fitters and anyone purchasing materials without a detailed specification.
Designers can identify and eliminate hazards and reduce hazard risks where elimination is not possible. Designer responsibilities extend beyond the construction phase. They must consider the health and safety of those who maintain, repair, clean, refurbish, and eventually remove or demolish the structure, as well as that of workplace users. Where significant risks remain, designers must ensure that the CDM coordinator, other designers and contractors are aware of these risks.
Designers also have duties under other legislation.
The legal duties of a designer under CDM 2007 are to:
On notifiable projects designers' additional duties are to:
Principal Contractor.
The principal contractor develops a health and safety plan from the pre-construction information provided by the CDM coordinator and by ensuring that the plan is followed. The principal contractor must be a licensed contractor. A contractor performs/manages construction work and is formally appointed by the client. The principal contractor must also comply with the contractor's duties (below). The principal contractor has prime responsibility for safety and health during the construction phase only on notifiable projects. Duties are to:
Contractors.
Contractor duties are to:
In addition, for notifiable projects:
Workers.
Workers behave as safely as possible and not endanger others. Their duties are to:
Statutory documents.
Mandatory documents for a CDM project, include project notification, pre-construction information, construction phase plan and health and safety plan. Pre-construction information is required for all projects, while some form of the other documents must be produced for both notifiable and non-notifiable projects. Project notification is only needed for notifiable projects. The Construction Phase Plan is required on notifiable projects, but something similar is required on other projects to provide for effective health and safety management. The Health and Safety File must be produced by the CDM coordinator on notifiable projects. Existing Health and Safety files must be modified files for structures undergoing modifications. The client must establish related procedures. Even when a Health and Safety File is not required, as-built and operational and maintenance information are required.
Project notification (Form 10).
The regulations require the CDM coordinator to notify the local HSE office of all projects expected to last more than 30 working days and all work of shorter duration that involves more than 500 person-shifts. The initial notification happens as soon as possible after appointment of the CDM coordinator. Further notifications are required by project changes that affects the notification, such as the subsequent appointment of the principal contractor. Additional notifications are not required should designers and contractors change. This notification may be performed using the HSE Form 10(rev) or by other means, including electronic, providing it contains the information specified by Schedule 1 of CDM2007, which consists of:
Pre-construction information.
Pre-construction information (PCI) provides information for planning and for the construction phase plan. The 'pre-construction information' is information regarding the project, site and other relevant issues required by designers and contractors. The pre-construction information may include indexed drawings, reports, surveys, etc., either in digital or hard copy.
Construction phase plan.
Construction phase plans (CPP or CPHP) must contain health and safety management systems and arrangements, and risk assessments and method statements for initial work activities. On non-notifiable projects involving demolition or high risk levels, a written plan, approximating the construction phase plan is recommended. The client must establish the need for this, with assistance from designers. The CDM ACoP, Appendix 3 contains a listing of required items.
Health and safety file.
A health and safety file (HSF) is required only on notifiable projects. However, if a health and safety file exists for a structure involved in a non-notifiable project, this file must be updated. The health and safety file contains information needed to allow safe construction. Scope, structure and format must be agreed between the client and the CDM coordinator at the outset. The client takes charge of the file upon project completion. On notifiable projects, contractors must promptly provide relevant information to the principal contractor. The pre-construction information covers contents, timing and format.
Key consultation results.
Public review generated 1427 responses, among the highest of any consultation undertaken by HSE. The main findings were: