CDM changes
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) came into force in Great Britain on 6 April 2015. They set out what people involved in construction work need to do to protect themselves from harm and anyone the work affects.
Clients will now have a number of new responsibilities
If there is more than one contractor on site, the client will be responsible for appointing a Principal Designer and Principal Contractor. Clients will then be responsible for ensuring that the Principal Designer and Contractor are compliant with their responsibilities. In addition, the new regulations stipulate that it will be the client’s responsibility to notify the HSE of a project by providing the F10 notification.
The Principal Designer will be a key duty holder.
The Principal Designer will take on most of the duties currently delivered by independent CDMCs and clients will be responsible for ensuring that these requirements are fulfilled. There is a full list of the new responsibilities in the draft guidance. Unlike the CDMC, the Principal Designer will work within the project team itself, rather than as an independent safety specialist.
Changes to the ACOP will launch in October
The HSE will streamline the Approved Code of Practice into a briefer signposting ACOP, set to be developed over the first six months of the new regulations and published in October 2015. In the meantime the draft guidance provides guidelines for implementing the new regulations. Unlike the ACOP, the guidance will have specific legal status
There will be a new approach to ‘competence’
The proposed changes remove the concept of competence per se, replacing it with a legal obligation for those who appoint duty holders to ensure they have the skills, knowledge and experience to carry out their duties.
For more details on the CDM changes and how they affect you read more here.
