Parties with specific duties under the regulations are the client, designer,
principal contractor, other
contractors, and a new duty holder introduced by the regulations, the ‘CDM coordinator'. Each of these duty holders, apart from the client, must be "competent" to act in the project.
Client The client is the party for whom the project is carried out. The client controls the duration, budget and appointment of other parties. As such they play a key role in the promotion of a systematic approach to health and safety management in construction. The client's legal duties are: • Verify the competence and resources of all organisations and internal teams on the project (e.g., principal contractor, CDM coordinator, designers and contractors). • Ensure suitable management arrangements. • Ensure sufficient time and resources are allowed for all stages including site setup. • With CDM coordinator, compile and provide pre-construction information to designers and contractors. • Ensure cooperation and coordination between client and contractor staff. On notifiable projects the client's additional duties are to: • Select and appoint a competent and resourced CDM coordinator and principal contractor. • Verify the sufficiency of the construction phase plan prior to construction commencement. • Verify that suitable welfare facilities are in place prior to construction commencement and cooperate with the principal contractor to provide a suitable welfare facility • Compile and retain up to date health and safety files from the CDM coordinator. Provide access to others for health and safety purposes. Often, clients have little knowledge of managing a construction project. Clients without construction expertise rely on the CDM coordinator's advice on how best to meet their duties. The CDM coordinator needs the client's support and input to work effectively. The client remains responsible for ensuring client duties are met. Domestic clients having work done on a property they intend to live in are exempt from CDM 2007.
CDM coordinator A CDM coordinator is required only on notifiable projects. Primary roles and duties are to provide the client with an advisor on construction health and safety risk management matters and to ensure compliance with CDM 2007. The legal duties of a CDM coordinator under CDM 2007 are: • Notify notifiable projects to the Health & Safety Executive. • Advise and assist the client with all of their duties.
Designers In CDM 2007, ‘designer’ covers persons or organisations who prepare drawings, design details or specify a particular construction method or material. Therefore, by default anyone involved is a potential designer, including the client,
architect,
engineers,
surveyors, service designers,
project managers,
landscape architects, contractors,
interior designers and shop fitters and anyone purchasing materials without a detailed specification. Designers can identify and eliminate hazards and reduce hazard risks where elimination is not possible. Designer responsibilities extend beyond the construction phase. They must consider the health and safety of those who maintain, repair, clean, refurbish, and eventually remove or demolish the structure, as well as that of workplace users. Where significant risks remain, designers must ensure that the CDM coordinator, other designers and contractors are aware of these risks. Designers also have duties under other legislation. The legal duties of a designer under CDM 2007 are to: • Ensure that the client is aware of the client's duties prior to commencing design work. • Ensure that personnel allocated to their design team from internal or external resources are competent and adequately resourced. • Eliminate or reduce health and safety risks to constructors, users, maintainers, repairers,
commissioners, testers,
cleaners, demolishers etc. • Work with other designers, including temporary works designers, to ensure adequate design coordination. • Provide information about risks that cannot be satisfactorily addressed to the client, other designers and contractors. On notifiable projects designers' additional duties are to: • Verify that the project has been notified and that the CDM coordinator has been appointed. • Cooperate with the CDM coordinator • Provide information requested by the CDM coordinator for the health and safety file.
Principal Contractor The principal contractor develops a health and safety plan from the pre-construction information provided by the CDM coordinator and by ensuring that the plan is followed. The principal contractor must be a licensed contractor. A contractor performs/manages construction work and is formally appointed by the client. The principal contractor must also comply with the contractor's duties (below). The principal contractor has prime responsibility for safety and health during the construction phase only on notifiable projects. Duties are to: • Demonstrate competence and adequacy of resources to perform required duties. • Verify competence and resources allocation of any sub-contractors. • Prepare, develop, communicate, implement and amend the construction phase plan. • Plan and manage construction processes. • Manage subcontractors. • Ensure provision of adequate welfare facilities, prevent unauthorised site access, prepare and enforce site rules. • Supply key documents to subcontractors such as health and safety file information, site surveys, designers' information, risk assessments, and the construction phase plan. • Inform subcontractors of their mobilisation time. • Ensure the workforce is consulted on health and safety matters and provided with suitable information and training. • Liaise with the CDM coordinator for any design undertaken during the construction phase. • Provide information for the health and safety file. • Display the project notification on the site.
Contractors Contractor duties are to: • Ensure that workers under their control are safe. • Ensure that any contractor whom they engage to work is with the permission of the Estates project manager/supervisor and are informed of the amount of time allowed to prepare before starting work. • Provide workers under their control any necessary information, including about relevant aspects of other contractors' work that they need to work safely, to report problems or to respond appropriately in an emergency. • Coordinate their work with others. • Ensure adequate welfare facilities for their workers. In addition, for notifiable projects: • Check that the client is aware of their duties, check that a CDM coordinator has been appointed and ensure that HSE has been notified before the work starts. • Cooperate with the principal contractor in planning and managing work. • Provide details to the principal contractor of contractors they engage. • Provide any information needed for the health and safety file. • Inform the principal contractor of any problems. • Inform the principal contractor of reportable accidents, disease and dangerous events.
Workers Workers behave as safely as possible and not endanger others. Their duties are to: • Ensure they only carry out tasks at which they are competent. • Report risks and hazards to the contractor. • Coordinate work to ensure the health and safety of themselves and others. • Follow site health and safety rules and procedures. ==Statutory documents==