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The new Construction (Design and Management)
Regulations 2007 SI No 320 (CMD 2007) came into force in
Great Britain on 6th April 2007 and aim to reduce the
number of
construction related accidents and injuries.
The 2007 Regulations replace the CMD Regulations 1994
and the Construction (Health Safety and Welfare)
Regulations 1996, revising and consolidating their
provisions into a single new set of Regulations.
These are supported by an Approved Code of Practice
and industry approved guidance. Health and Safety
Executive guidelines
www.hse.gov.uk/construction/cdm/duties.htm, outline
that around one third of all workplace fatalities occur
in construction and many thousands are injured each
year.
Such incidents often have a significant and long
lasting effect on the individuals, their colleagues,
family, friends and business. [1]
The new Regulations are wide reaching and place specific
legal duties on anyone having construction or building
work carried out unless they are a ‘domestic client’.
A domestic client is someone who lives, or will live
in the premises where the work is carried out and the
premises must not relate to any trade, business or
undertaking. Although a domestic client does not have
duties under the CDM Regulations 2007 anyone employed by
them on a construction project will.
Part 2 of the Regulations sets out general duties
that apply to all construction projects, including
duties of clients (the firm or individual for who the
project is carried out), designers and contractors.
These include a duty on every person working under the
control of another to report anything that he is aware
is likely to endanger health or safety (regulation
5(2)).
Part 3 imposes additional duties on clients,
designers and contractors where the construction project
is one which is ‘notifiable’ to the Health and Safety
Executive. Under the CMD 2007 notification is required
if the project is likely to last longer than 30 days or
involve more than 500 person days of construction work.
A ‘person day’ is one individual, including supervisors
or specialist trades, carrying out construction work for
one normal working shift.
Where a project is ‘notifiable’ an employer must:-
appoint a ‘CDM co-ordinator’ and a ‘principal
contractor’ and ensure that these individuals are
competent and have sufficient resources to carry out
their health and safety responsibilities;
ensure that construction work does not start until a
suitable health and safety plan has been prepared by the
principle contractor and
ensure the health and safety file is available for
inspection after construction.
The ‘CDM Co-ordinator’ must, in accordance with
regulation 14, co-ordinate the health and safety aspect
of the project design and initial planning. Additionally
he/she must ensure a health and safety plan is prepared
before work begins, ensure a safety file is prepared and
delivered to the client on completion of the work and
ensure that designers comply with health and safety
duties, are competent and co-operate with each other.
The ‘principal contractor’ must, in accordance with
regulations 16-18, take over the health and safety plan
and ensure that it is developed and implemented, ensure
that contractors are competent and that they co-operate
and comply with health and safety duties, ensure that
contractors are provided with information, ensure that
employees are properly consulted, informed and trained
and must pass information for the health and safety file
to the CDM Co-ordinator.
The objective of reducing the number of
accidents at work is paramount. The Health and
Safety Plan must be a pre-tender plan describing the
work and risks to workers. A full health and safety plan
should then be developed for the construction phase. The
plan should include a description of the project, an
outline of the risks to health and safety, details of
the provisions made for the welfare of people working on
the project. The range of information which must be
included in the plan is set out in detail in the
guidance to the Regulations.
www.cskills.org/healthsafety/cdmregulations.
The Health and Safety File must provide information
about the risks which have to be managed throughout the
construction project from commencement to conclusion and
should include drawings and plans, the design criteria,
the construction methods and materials used, maintenance
procedures for the structure, specialist operating and
maintenance manuals and the location and nature of all
utilities and services including emergency and
fire-fighting systems.
A free leaflet “‘Want construction work done safely?’
A quick guide for clients on the Construction (Design
and Management) Regulations 2007” which can be
downloaded from the HSE website at
www.hse.gov.uk/construction/cdm/moreinfo.com
[1] HSE Construction Homepage
Guidelines to the Construction (Design and Management)
Regulations 2007 © Crown copyright J Fineberg for
Winston Solicitors
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- accident at work in
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