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Ten questions unlock door to designer compliance with CDM 2015

The CDM Regulations 2015 are taking time to ‘bed down’ as demonstrated by the responses to our recent CDM 2015 Five Minute Survey. See below. We hear and read reports of uncertainty and confusion despite the presence of extensive HSE and Industry Guidance explaining the regulations.

We have therefore decided to distill what is required of each CDM 2015 duty holder into a set of simple questions which can be used to structure self-appraisal and confirm compliance with the new legislation.

These questions are those most likely to be asked by HSE during a routine project intervention or incident investigation. The strength and veracity of your answers may affect the prospect of enforcement action by the regulator.

A major objective of CDM 2015 is to promote more positive action during the project design and preparation stage. Our first set of ‘Killer Questions’ therefore deal with the role of the Designer.

See also our ‘Killer Question’ for Clients, Principal Designers and Principal Contractors.

Remember – reference to ‘designer’ duties means the duties of the appointed business / organisation and not the employees who carry out the actual design work.

What are YOUR answers to these questions?

The following questions are based on the legal requirements on Designers under CDM 2015. A robust answer to each of these ‘Ten Killer Questions for Designers’ should deliver compliance with your responsibilities.

1. Client Awareness – How do you satisfy yourself that the client is aware of their CDM 2015 duties?
2. Skills and Knowledge etc. – How do you ensure you have the necessary skills, knowledge, experience and organisational capabilities in place on the project?
3. Risk Identification – How do you identify the foreseeable risks to those constructing, maintaining, cleaning and using the structure?
4. Risk Elimination – How do you take into account the general principles of prevention (GPP) and the project pre-construction information (PCI) to eliminate foreseeable risks identified?
5. Risk Reduction – How do you reduce the risk from those foreseeable risks which cannot be eliminated?
6. Risk Control – How do you control (through the design process) those risk which cannot be reduced?
7. Principal Designer – How do you provide information about those risks to the project Principal Designer (PD)?
8. Health and Safety File – How do you ensure appropriate information is included in the health and safety file (HSF)?
9. Information for others – How do you provide information about the design, construction or maintenance of the structure, to assist the client, other designers and contractors to comply with their duties?
10. Cooperation with Others – How do you cooperate with any other person working on or in relation to a project at the same or an adjoining construction site?

The questions can be used to structure your consideration of the HSE and Industry Guidance.

CDM 2015 Information and Templates

See our initial CDM 2015 Survey taken after 6 months and our further survey taken 12 months after the CDM Regulations 2015 came into operation.

We have published a great deal of further information and templates designed to support Clients, Designers, Principal Designers/Contractors and Contractors in meeting their duties under CDM Regulations 2015.

This article was posted on 22nd July 2016