Martin Cox, senior CDMC, head of H&S at Pellings
The new CDM regulations are a huge backward step for onsite health and safety. The changes do not appear to be about improving site safety. The word “competency” doesn’t appear in the draft or in the regulations. There is no requirement to check the construction phase plan – the contractor just has to tell the client one is in place. This may lead to people working with inaccurate or outdated documents and practices, as a “copy and paste” culture develops, especially among smaller contractors.
Clients need to be aware these new rules place a lot more responsibility on them, and that they will be more liable than before for mistakes.
Sajeesh Nair MCIOB, senior project manager, Cranbrook Basements
We work a lot on high-end domestic projects that will now fall under the new CDM regulations. The appointment of a principal designer will increase associated costs and require additional resources on small projects. The focus on health and safety will put extra pressure on small companies, who will have to assess their workers’ training needs against the needs of the job.
But the regulations will have a positive impact in the long run by improving health and safety, and reducing the number of accidents on smaller, less professionally managed sites.
Paul Bussey, author, CDM 2015: A Practical Guide for Architects and Designers
The new regulations clarify and improve how health and safety will be practically managed. Although the current regulations may be perceived to be working well, they are not. There is too much bureaucracy and a fear of prosecution that leads to design paralysis. Designers are thereby discouraged from taking innovative decisions.
The updated CDM regulations return us to the original intentions of the 1994 regulations before construction health and safety became its own separate industry.
Paul Kimpton, managing director, Building Safety Group
The new regulations will help drive a health and safety message to smaller businesses in the construction industry. A lot of domestic projects will now be brought fully under the CDM regulations, as they will need to notify the Health and Safety Executive.
All projects will also now need a construction phase plan that will have to be regularly updated.
However, in the short term this may cause problems, as many businesses will not be aware of their responsibilities or have the skills to manage them. Smaller businesses will need to understand their new duties or take competent advice, which will cost money.
Steven Carey, partner, Charles Russell Speechlys
The replacement of the CDM coordinator role with that of principal designer may lead to CDM coordinators relabelling themselves as principal designers or to one of the existing design team taking on and subcontracting this role.
In either case it is questionable whether this will mean the client has discharged its duty to appoint “a designer with control over the pre-construction phase” as principal designer.
A consultant appointed solely as CDM co-ordinator is not a designer and will not fulfil the criteria.
Jonathan Hall, director, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
For designers I don’t see the new CDM regulations having any significant change on how we design. HSE’s intention is that there will be less paperwork, so hopefully we will need to fill out less to demonstrate our competence.
As far as “principal designer” goes, architects need to think very carefully about whether they have the resource, skills and knowledge to undertake this role properly and fully. The definition is very wide, so the architect may not always be best placed to take on this role.
CDMCs are very useful and provide objective critical view. It is important that the skills that have been built up are not lost to the industry, as this would be a step backwards.
