The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007

 

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Following consultation with the construction industry, the new Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM 2007) came into force on the 6th April 2007. Construction is still one of the highest risk sectors seeing more than one fatality each week and many more injuries.

 

Intended to simplify previous regulations in this area, the CDM 2007 place legal duties on almost everyone involved in construction work with the aim of clarifying the responsibilities of individual duty holders and focusing on planning and risk management.

 

Key changes include:

  • clarifying construction client responsibilities in relation to health and safety standards
  • removing the planning supervisor and introducing the CDM co-ordinator who will advise on health and safety matters
  • reducing unnecessary health and safety paperwork and ensuring that paperwork is relevant, tailored to the project in question and of real use in managing risk on any given project
  • simplifying when the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) must be notified of a particular construction project

 

Under the CDM 2007, the HSE must be notified of all construction work that is likely to last longer than 30 days and / or involve more than 500 persons' days of construction work. ‘Persons days’ include holidays, weekends and any day upon which an individual works a normal shift. Construction work for private domestic clients does not have to be notified to the HSE.

 

The HSE has worked with the construction industry to produce practical information to help ensure compliance with the CDM 2007. The new Approved Code of Practice provides helpful guidance on the duties contained within the Regulations and it has special legal status. The new Approved Code of Practice also includes a copy of the CDM 2007 Regulations and can be purchased through the HSE’s website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/

 

The CDM Regulations 2007 themselves can be viewed free of charge on the Office of Public Sector Information website. They are listed under their Statutory Instrument number, 2007/320.

 

For further information on the CDM Regulations, please click here.

 

For more information, contact John Mitchell, a partner in Blake Lapthorn's Health and Safety team on 023 8085 7231; email john.mitchell@bllaw.co.uk.