Introduction
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulation (CDM 2015) came into force on 6th April 2015. These replace and update the 2007 regulations and are designed to be the main set of regulations for managing health, safety and welfare of construction projects.
Complying with CDM 2015 will help ensure that no-one is harmed during building work and that your building will be safe to use and maintain and should ensure that you have fewer unexpected costs and problems.
If a project is notifiable (more than 30 days and have more than 20 workers working simultaneously at any point in the project or exceeds 500 person days on site), clients must sign a declaration (notification) to the Health & Safety Executive.
Clients Duty To Manage
CDM 2015 recognises that clients are not usually experts in construction work and although you would not be expected to actively manage or supervise construction work yourself, it does recognise that clients can have a big influence over the way in which work is carried out, as the client will decide which designer and contractor will carry out the work and how much money, time and resource is available. The decisions clients make have significant impact upon health, safety and welfare of workers and others affected by the work.
The Client (usually the elders) will need to ensure that the following 10 principles are followed before commencing design of a building project:
- Appoint the right people at the right time – If more than one contractor will be involved, you will need to appoint (in writing):
- A principal designer who will be required to plan, manage and coordinate the planning and design work to ensure the work being considered can be carried out safely;
- A principal contractor to plan, manage and coordinate the construction work.
You will need to ensure that the designer and contractor are the right people for the job in hand. They will need to have skills, knowledge and experience to identify, reduce and manage health and safety risks within the design and into the Construction Phase Plan.
Ensure there are arrangements in place for managing and organising the project – The work is more likely to be done without harming anyone, and be on time, if it is properly planned and managed. The principal designer should understand the risks and try to avoid them within their design and the principal contractor will need to manage the risks on site. This will include, but not exclusively, managing risk for:
- Falls from height
- Collapse of excavations
- Exposure to building dusts
- Exposure to asbestos
- Electricity
- Protect members of the public, the client and others
- Allow adequate time – for the design, planning and construction work to be carried out properly.
- Provide information to your designer and contractor – the designer and contractor will need as much information as they can gather from you in relation to the existing building or site. As client you should put together a ‘client brief’ which includes all the information you have about the project, along with timescales and budget for the build and how you expect the project to be managed.
- Communicate with your designer and contractor – communication is one of the most important elements to ensure that your project runs smoothly and that all those involved cooperate effectively. Regular meetings with your design team and contractor are key to this and ensure the work progresses as planned.
- Ensure adequate welfare facilities are available – ensure that your contractor has given adequate provision for welfare facilities for their workers before the work commences.
- Ensure a construction phase plan is in place – the principal contractor (or contractor if there is only one contractor) has to draw up a plan explaining how health and safety risks will be managed. This should be proportionate to the scale of the work and associated risks and as client you should not allow work to start on site until there is a plan.
- Keep the health and safety file – at the end of the build the principal designer should give you a health and safety file. If the principal designer leaves before the end of the project, the principal contractor should do this. This record should be kept in a safe place and be used to help manage the health and safety within the building, and be made available to anyone who needs to alter or maintain the building in the future. The file will need to be updated if any changes are made to the building in the future.
- Protecting members of the public, including your employees – if you are an employer, or have members of the public visiting your premises, you need to be sure that they are protected from the risks of construction work. These risks should be discussed with your designer and contractor so that the risks can be removed.
- Ensure workplaces are designed correctly – If you project is for a new workplace, or alteration to an existing workplace, it must meet the standards set out in the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) regulations 1992. This may apply to local churches that have office accommodation within them that forms a ‘workplace’.
Notifying Construction Projects
For some construction work (work lasting longer than 30 days with more than 20 workers working at the same time, or involving 500 person days of work), you need to notify the HSE of the project as soon as possible before construction work starts. In practice, you may request someone else to do this on your behalf.
Why You Should Comply With Your Duties As Client
If you do not comply with CDM 2015, you are likely to influence the management of health and safety on your project. This means that your project could be putting workers and others at risk from harm, and that the finished structure may not achieve good standards or be good value for money.
If you don’t appoint a principal designer or principal contractor you will be responsible for the things they should have done!
A large print version of this document is available upon request. Contact Synod Office: 020 7799 5000
