The planning of any construction project is surely the most important part of the process? That’s why the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) were developed.

The CDM 2015 identifies the responsibilities and legal duties each individual has within a construction project. Several positions were added as a result of the new regulations and some positions were revised in order to better address essential construction duties.

The changes, which came in to effect on 6 April this year detail alterations to the CDM co-ordinate role which has now been rebranded as the principle designer role. With a number of essential duties detailed under the new title, as someone in the trade, you need to make sure you are aware of the responsibilities and changes to the role.

The role of the principal designer is to oversee the pre-construction phase on projects that involve more than one contractor. Principal designers’ roles are divided into the following five essential duties:

1. They will plan, manage, monitor and coordinate health and safety during pre-construction. This involves reviewing relevant health and safety information that may affect the design work before and during the construction phase
2. They will liaise with the principal contractor and inform him or her about potential risks.
3. They will help and advise clients in collecting vital pre-construction information. This involves distributing key information to designers and contractors.
4. They will work with other designers to eliminate, reduce and control all health and safety risks.
5. They will ensure that everyone involved in the pre-construction phase effectively communicates and coordinates their work

Managing the risk of dust: The dust hub

The objective of CDM 2015 regulations is to emphasise health and safety through increased coordination between the client, designer and contract. This is why the new regulations are also looking at managing the risk of dust with the health and safety executive (HSE) introducing ‘The dust hub’.

Whilst dust may not be the biggest health and safety matter or a key priority within your construction process, the risks of dust inhalation are very real, and can take years to develop, which can make it even more important to limit exposure. The hub aims to address the potential risks which dust presents when working on construction sites.

The online facility provides information on the potential risks, prevention measures and general advice on minimising the damage that dust could cause. You can learn more about the damaging effects and how to minimise your employees’ exposure by visiting HSE.

Source: Zywave – Risk Insights Construction – Complying with CDM 2015

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