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Association for Project Safety (APS) sets out CDM view one year on

The Association for Project Safety (APS) has published a Statement on the CDM Regulation 2015 now that the regulations have been in force for well over one year and after the transition period has ended.

The full text can be seen on the APS website. The headlines are that:

“The Association for Project Safety view is that, we, as an organisation”:

• PD Appointment – Strongly recommend the early appointment of the Principal Designer at the concept design stage;
• HSE – Support Health and Safety Executive implementation of The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015;
• ACOP – Do not consider an Approved Code of Practice is required to the CDM 2015 Regulations;
• PD Role – Have defined the role of Principal Designer;
• PD Numbers – Realise that there is a requirement for the construction industry to provide many more Principal Designers (Design Phase Co-ordinators) and Principal Contractors (than required under CDM2007) due to the requirement for the Client to identify and appoint these roles if more than one contractor on the site at any one time and the same is true for the Principal Contractor;
• CPP -Support the need for a Construction Phase Plan on every project;
• PCP – Consider that on many projects the Pre-Construction Phase will last until the end of the Construction Phase;
• Health – Are shouting that HEALTH is important;
• Client Advisers – Believe that Clients may need advice about Health and Safety management of construction projects and may need to find CDM advice and appropriate Advisors if the Principal Designers are not capable of providing additional Client advice over the Principal Designer role;
• Site Start – Consider the start on site is important and the Client will often require advice which may not be available from the Principal Designer;
• PCI– Believe in the importance of good well-distributed Pre-Construction Information complete with the assessment and filling of information gaps;
• Design Risk Management – Believe in the importance of good and well-managed (by the Principal Designer) Design Risk Management;
• Skills etc. – Consider there is further work required by the construction industry to bottom out what is required relating to competency of duty holders (or as it is now called Skills, Knowledge, Experience and Organisational Capability);
• Proportionality – Support the view that proportionality of the application of CDM 2015 is paramount; and
• APS Remit – The Association for Project Safety remit is to provide support for all of those involved with Construction Health and Safety, although predominately aimed at the Pre-Construction Phase.

This article was posted on 6th October 2016