HSE to focus on CDM Regulations 2007 & safety record of smaller contractors
Posted on: August 18, 2011
As part of the Health & Safety Executives (‘HSE’) evaluation of the effectiveness of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, the HSE is putting the health and safety record of clients and smaller contractors under the microscope.
The HSE has given tier one contractors (‘Principal Contractors’) a clean bill of health for the positive changes they have made in recent years to improve the safety of their sites and the employees who work on them. However, clients and smaller firms are now coming under scrutiny from the safety watchdog as part of a review of the CDM Regulations.
CDM 2007 Requirements Overview
CDM 2007 places legal duties on virtually everyone involved in construction work. Those with legal duties are commonly known as ‘dutyholders’.
Dutyholders under CDM 2007 are (in accordance with current HSE advice):
• Clients - A ‘client’ is anyone having construction or building work carried out as part of their business. This could be an individual, partnership or company and includes property developers or management companies for domestic properties
• CDM co-ordinators - A ‘CDM co-ordinator’ has to be appointed to advise the client on projects that last more than 30 days or involve 500 person days of construction work. The CDM co-ordinator’s role is to advise the client on health and safety issues during the design and planning phases of construction work.
• Designers - The term ‘designer’ has a broad meaning and relates to the function performed, rather than the profession or job title. Designers are those who, as part of their work, prepare design drawings, specifications, bills of quantities and the specification of articles and substances. This could include architects, engineers and quantity surveyors.
• Principal contractors - A ‘principal contractor’ has to be appointed for projects which last more than 30 days or involve 500 person days of construction work. The principal contractor’s role is to plan, manage and co-ordinate health and safety while construction work is being undertaken. The principal contractor is usually the main or managing contractor for the work.
• Contractors - A ‘contractor’ is a business who is involved in construction, alteration, maintenance or demolition work. This could involve building, civil engineering, mechanical, electrical, demolition and maintenance companies, partnerships and the self-employed.
• Workers - A ‘worker’ is anyone who carries out work during the construction, alteration, maintenance or demoliton of a building or structure. A worker could be, for example, a plumber, electrician, scaffolder, painter, decorator, steel erector, as well as those supervising the work, such as foreman and chargehands
Will there be future changes to the Regulations?
Anthony Lees, Head of the HSE Construction Policy Unit, said in May that he does not expect to see “significant changes” to the existing CDM regime but said it was clear that some construction firms were still not complying with the law. Despite major improvements made to safety over the last decade, the HSE is now aware that on-site monitoring must be ramped up to prevent continuing health and safety abuses.
The HSE is delighted that the industry’s safety record has changed for the better. However, whereas a decade ago 30% of deaths on site could be traced back to employers of less than ten people, that figure rose to 65% last year. As a result, the supervisory body will be scrutinising the health and safety policies of clients and subcontractors to determine where and why unsafe practices are being adopted.