Construction Design and Management Regulations

Construction Design and Management Regulations In the mid-1990s, fatal accidents in the construction industry
were five to six times more frequent than in other areas of
manufacture. Also, all construction workers could expect to
be temporarily off work at least once in their working life as a
result of injury. The Construction Design and Management
Regulations (CDM) 1994, effective from 31 March 1995,
were drafted to try and improve these statistics. The regulations
make designers responsible for making buildings ‘safely
constructible and to provide safety information’.
The purpose of the CDM Regulations can be summarized
as follows:
• To ensure Health and Safety (H & S) issues are considered
from the beginning of a project and to consider the H & S
implications during the life of the structure in order to
achieve a safe working environment during construction
and beyond.
• To ensure the professionals appointed are competent to
comply with the CDM Regs. These include designers, planning
supervisors, contractors and sub-contractors.
• To see that an H & S Plan is prepared for the construction
period and that an H & S File is prepared for the completed
structure.
• To ensure that adequate resources are allocated to comply
with the legislation imposed by the Health and Safety
Executive (HSE).
Planning Supervisor
To implement the regulations, a Planning Supervisor (PS) must
be appointed by the client. This can be anyone competent,
and may be a member of the design team, contractors or
even the client. Alternatively, architects should develop an
H & S team by bringing in outside expertise or use a CDM advice
service. The PS must notify the HSE of the project; see that
designers do their CDM duty and co-operate on site safety
matters; prepare the H & S plan, on time, for the construction
work, and prepare an H & S file for the client on completion.
They may also, if requested by a client, advise on the appointment
of consultants and contractors as to their competence
and resources in regard to CDM matters. If architects are to
act as Planning Supervisors they must ensure that they receive
certified HSE training, as failure to comply with the regulations
could lead to criminal prosecution.
When CDM regulations are not applicable
Listed below are situations where the CDM regulations need
not apply. However, the designer is still legally obliged to
avoid foreseeable risks; give priority to protection for all; and
include adequate H & S information in the design.
• Minor works in premises normally inspected by the Local
Authority, who will be the Enforcing Authority, e.g. storage
of retail goods or dangerous substances, exhibition displays
of goods for sale, animal accommodation.
• Work carried out for domestic householders, on their own
residences, used solely as a private dwelling (i.e. not as an
office as well as a home).
• Work which is for 30 days or less duration and involves
four persons or less on site and does not involve demolition
or dismantling of a structure.
Source: Managing Construction for Health and Safety
CDM Regulations 1994
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