CDM Changes

CDM REGULATIONS 2015
On 6 April 2015, new CDM Regulations will come into force which will replace the 2007 Regulations. For the first time, the CDM regulations will apply to all projects including domestic jobs. Small and medium size construction projects will now have to provide a written construction phase plan and manage health and safety.
The new regulations will also provide greater clarity, so that all parties involved in a project will have a better understanding of their roles in ensuring a safe construction site.
Principle Designer
The CDM co-ordinator role in the previous CDM Regs 2007 has now been replaced with a new role of principal designer. This means that a member of the design team will be responsible for coordinating the pre-construction phase.
Where more than one contractor is involved on a project, a principal designer and a principal contractor will need to be appointed.  While the 2007 regs saw the CDM coordinator role as primarily a pre-construction role, the new regulations will ensure the principal designer and contractor work together during the design phase and throughout the build to completion. This will provide more consistency and continuity, essential to the management of any successful construction project.
Client
The client is considered to have the most influence and responsibility as the head of the supply. The client is responsible for budget setting, providing a skilled team as well as ensuring good standards of health and safety throughout the construction project. The new Regulations recognise this and the client’s duties are now described as ‘must do’.

Competence
The client, principal designer and contractor and any other duty holders must ensure that all persons they appoint have the right skills, knowledge, training and experience to fulfil their functions.
For clarity and ease of assessment this will be divided into the categories of skills, knowledge, training and experience and organisational capability (if applicable).

Health and safety
The client must make sure that a good level of health and safety is in place at the start and maintained throughout the project. The HSE has produced draft legal series guidance (L153) on the legal requirements for CDM 2015. These aim to reduce the number of accidents on construction sites particularly on smaller projects where there is greater cause for concern.