After much consultation, protestation, placation and revision, the revised Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM) 2015 are now in force.
For the first time, the regulations apply to domestic as well as commercial projects. But although there has been some debate as to the liability of Mrs Jones if a contractor has an accident building her conservatory, it’s the commercial changes that will have the biggest effect on industry.
What’s happening?
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The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM) are the main set of regulations for managing the health, safety and welfare of construction projects.
The 2007 CDM Regulations have been replaced to help workers, contractors, designers and clients work together to improve health and safety.
From Monday 6 April 2015, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 require small and medium size construction businesses to plan and manage health and safety.
New to CDM or unsure what its all about? Watch our short video at the bottom of the page which explains the basics of CDM 2015
Key changes of the new CDM Regulations 2015
The revised Regulations apply to all projects including domestic client jobs
All projects must have a written construction phase plan
The role of CDM co-ordinator in the previous CDM Regs 2007 has been removed and replaced with a new role of principal designer
There is a duty to make sure all persons doing the job have the right skills, knowledge, training and experience
A Principal designer and principal contractor must be appointed on projects that will have more than one contractor.
The HSE have produced guidance ' Managing health and safety in construction - Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 - (L153) on the legal requirements for CDM 2015. They have also revised their construction webpages, produced a short client leaflet and a new construction phase plan template for small projects.