New health and safety regulations covering the construction industry have just been published. They will be coming into force on 6th April. The Construction Design and Management (CDM) Regulations 2015 will replace the existing 2007 regulations.

The new regulations are being introduced after a comprehensive review of the 2007 regulations reported that they were -

• often misinterpreted;
• over-interpreted;
• bureaucratic;
• creating a heavy-handed approach to competence within the sector;
• and that co-ordination during the pre-construction phase was not well-established.

The new regulations are aimed at meeting these concerns through simplification and revised guidance. Our technical team are reviewing both the regulations and the revised guidance to update the advice and guidance available to our clients.

Construction Design and Management (CDM) Regulations 2015 In the meantime you should be aware of the principal changes:

• The role of CDM co-ordinator is replaced by that of principal designer. A person with responsibility for planning, managing, monitoring and coordinating health and safety during the pre-construction phase.
• The client duty-holder must ensure the provision of training, instruction, information and supervision of workers. Previously the duty was to assess their competence.
• Clients will have to appoint a principal contractor and or designer whenever there will be more than one contractor on site.
• Clients become responsible for ensuring that the principal contractor complies with their duties.
• Clients become responsible for ensuring that the principal designer complies with their duties.
• The client, rather than the principal contractor, becomes responsible for the F10 notification of a project to the Health and Safety Executive.
• The regulations will, for the first time, apply in full to domestic clients. (HSE recognises the need for a proportionate approach to this change and is recommending that the principal contractor or designer takes on these duties for the client.)
• The requirement to notify new sites to the HSE comes into effect when the project is expected to last more 30 days and involve more than 20 workers.
• The existing Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) is being replaced by a slimmed down which contains less detail and signpost the way to achieve compliance.

Although the new regulations come into force in April the Health and Safety Executive has stated publicly that it will allow a six month transitional period. This will mean that many current projects which will come to an end before 1st November 2015 will not have to bear the cost of introducing the new requirements.

Peninsula health and safety clients will shortly be able to find advice and guidance on the requirements of the new regulations in the guidance note section of their BusinessSafe Online account.

If you need clarification on this issue then contact the BusinessSafe Advice Service on 0844 892 2785.