2015 CDM Regulations

On Monday 6 April 2015, the 2015 CDM Regulations replaced the 2007 Regulations. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM) are the main set of regulations for managing the health, safety and welfare of construction projects.

Key changes of the new 2015 CDM Regulations

1. All projects must have:

• workers with the right skills, knowledge, training and experience
• contractors providing appropriate supervision, instruction and information
• a written construction phase plan

2. Project where more than one contractor is involved (domestic or non-domestic) must have 1 above plus:

• principal designer and principal contractor must be appointed
• a health and safety file

3. If work is scheduled to:

• last longer than 30 working days and have more than 20 workers working simultaneously at any point in the project
• OR exceeds 500 person days

All of 1 and 2 above plus

• Client must notify project to HSE
• Main roles include:
• Client
• Designers
• Contractors

Where there is more than one contractor there are additional roles:

• Principle designer
• Principle contractor

On large projects the client is responsible for managing the Principle designer and Principle contractor to make sure they carry out their duties. The designer is responsible for health and safety during the planning stage including identifying, eliminating or minimising foreseeable health and safety risks.

What happens if I don’t comply with my duties under the 2015 CDM Regulations?

You are more likely to have a dangerous or fatal accident while your construction work is carried out if you do not ensure that the CDM 2015 Regulations are followed. In addition, your finished structure may not be safe to use, safe to maintain and may not deliver you good value for money.

Serious breaches of health and safety legislation on a construction project could result in construction work having to be stopped by HSE or your local authority and additional work may be needed to rectify matters. In the most serious circumstances you may be prosecuted.

What’s in it for me?

The 2015 CDM Regulations aim to help you ensure that your construction project is safe to build, safe to use, safe to maintain and delivers good value by:

• helping you to reduce bureaucracy and paperwork – making the focus planning and management, rather than the plan and other paperwork;
• simplifying the regulations to improve clarity – so making it easier for duty holders to know what is expected of them;
• encouraging more integration – strengthening the requirements regarding co-ordination and co-operation, particularly between designers and contractors;
• simplifying the assessment of competence (both for organisations and individuals) to help raise standards and reduce bureaucracy; and
• maximising their flexibility – to fit with the vast range of contractual arrangements.

The CDM Coordinator role has been removed from the regulations, however we can act as CDM Advisor. We offer competent support and access to health and safety expertise.

For more information on 2015 cdm regulations, contact us today.