Appendix 1: The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
In 2007, the new version of the CDM regulations changed several principles that were thought to be troublesome in the version previously in place. In particular, they replaced the planning supervisor role with the CDM coordinator (the CDM-C), they changed some definitions and, as the HSE said at the time, they made explicit areas that had previously been implied.
There was a commitment to review the regulations in three years. By that time it was clear to many that the new regulations were not quite as successful as had been hoped.
Several difficult points had opened up. In particular, there was growing pressure from the EU as the UK had not fully implemented EU Council Directive 92/57/EEC (on temporary or mobile construction sites), the role of the CDM-C was still not achieving what had been hoped, and the industry was drowning in paperwork as a result of misinterpretation, preventing the regulations from being as effective as intended. A consultation confirmed that, while the actual regulations were thought by everyone – government, regulators and industry – to be right in principle, implementation was reducing their effectiveness.
Following the consultation, a number of initiatives – such as the Löfstedt review and the Red Tape Challenge – delayed the development of revised regulations until 2014. Following further revisions the regulations were issued in early 2015, hopefully heralding a new and more effective approach. In parallel, many in the industry are also hoping that a new realism can accompany the regulations. In support of this the HSE is working closely with industry to help ensure that unintended consequences are kept to a minimum.
The 2015 CDM regulations
The 2015 regulations addressed a number of issues:
- full implementation of the EU directive, in particular with the introduction of the domestic client and revised thresholds of notification
- removal of the CDM-C role
- addition of the principal designer role (to balance the principal contractor role)
- reduction in bureaucracy, principally by changing the direct competency requirements
- more focus on small sites, especially in respect of falls, refurbishment and plant accidents
- measures to ensure the protection for workers is not diminished
- simplification of the regulations’ structure, to follow the natural process of a project.
Statutory Instrument: 2015 No. 51 
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
| Laid before Parliament | 29 January 2015 |
| Came into force | 6 April 2015 |
The CDM regulations are structured as follows:
| PART 1 Introduction | |
| Regulation 1 | Citation and commencement |
| Regulation 2 | Interpretation |
| Regulation 3 | Application in and outside Great Britain |
| PART 2 Client duties | |
| Regulation 4 | Client duties in relation to managing projects |
| Regulation 5 | Appointment of the principal designer and the principal contractor |
| Regulation 6 | Notification |
| Regulation 7 | Application to domestic clients |
| PART 3 Health and safety duties and roles | |
| Regulation 8 | General duties |
| Regulation 9 | Duties of designers |
| Regulation 10 | Designs prepared or modified outside Great Britain |
| Regulation 11 | Duties of a principal designer in relation to health and safety at the p re-con struct ion phase |
| Regulation 12 | Construction phase plan and health and safety file |
| Regulation 13 | Duties of the principal contractor in relation to health and safety at the construction phase |
| Regulation 14 | Principal contractor's duties to consult and engage with workers |
| Regulation 15 | Duties of contractors |
| PART 4 General requirements for all construction sites | |
| Regulation 16 | Application of Part 4 |
| Regulation 17 | Safe places of construction work |
| Regulation 18 | Good order and site security |
| Regulation 19 | Stability of structures |
| Regulation 20 | Demolition or dismantling |
| Regulation 21 | Explosives |
| Regulation 22 | Excavations |
| Regulation 23 | Cofferdams and caissons |
| Regulation 24 | Reports and inspections |
| Regulation 25 | Energy distribution installations |
| Regulation 26 | Prevention of drowning |
| Regulation 27 | Traffic routes |
| Regulation 28 | Vehicles |
| Regulation 29 | Prevention of risk from fire, flooding or asphyxiation |
| Regulation 30 | Emergency procedures |
| Regulation 31 | Emergency routes and exits |
| Regulation 32 | Fire detection and fire-fighting |
| Regulation 33 | Fresh air |
| Regulation 34 | Temperature and weather protection |
| Regulation 35 | Lighting |
| PART 5 General | |
| Regulation 36 | Enforcement in respect of fire |
| Regulation 37 | Transitional and saving provisions |
| Regulation 38 | Revocation and consequential amendments |
| Regulation 39 | Review |
| Schedule 1 | Particulars to be notified under regulation 6 |
| Schedule 2 | Minimum welfare facilities required for construction sites |
| Schedule 3 | Work involving particular risks |
| Schedule 4 | Transitional and saving provisions |
| Schedule 5 | Amendments |
Key changes commentary 2007–2015
Directly reflecting the scope of the EU directive has been a challenge for the HSE, although it remains to be seen if the European Commission agrees that the 2015 changes achieve full implementation. The Commission has embarked on a review of the effectiveness of current health and safety legislation, although the timetable may mean any implications are not seen for several years.
Additionally, the 2015 changes set out to simplify the regulations and remove any ‘goldplating’, discouraging bureaucracy and promoting the use of better regulatory principles.
The removal of the CDM-C role and the addition of the principal designer role is significant. The concept behind this is that this new position balances that of the principal contractor: one in authority over the pre-construction phase, one in authority over the construction phase. The principal designer is in a more strategic role, acting from ‘inside’ the design team. The main concern is to ensure that the pre-construction phase activities are addressing the right issues and producing the right information; the role is less about developing detailed procedures and more about being an integrated and influencing force, with an ability to understand design nuances.
The changes to the thresholds for notification mean there is now one simple formula. Notification is required for projects scheduled to last more than 30 working days and have more than 20 workers working at any one time, or which will exceed 500 person days.
Domestic clients are now included within the regulations, under the provisions to fully implement the EU directive. The domestic client position has been carefully formulated:
- If there is only one contractor, the client duties and the contractor duties are undertaken by the contractor.
- If a domestic client employs more than one contractor then the contractor duties and the client duties fall on the contractor that has been appointed as the principal contractor. It the client fails to appoint a principal contractor, the duties fall on the contractor in charge of the project.
- A domestic client also has the option, to be agreed in writing, that a designer can be asked to undertake the client duties. This is often the approach that naturally fits a small domestic project.
The focus on regulating competence has given rise to an industry providing checking services, which has become disproportionate to the original intentions. (These details were covered in Appendix 4 of the 2007 regulations, which has been withdrawn from the 2015 version.) The HSE is looking to professional institutions and other organisations to provide the guidance and administration needed to ensure competence. The HSE is keen to liaise with industry as to how this will develop. The HSE feels that a fully qualified chartered architect or architectural technologist with a wide range of experience (at least three years) and with up-to-date CPD should have the necessary skills, knowledge and experience to undertake the principal designer role. Their experience should be across a range of projects and contracts, and for some of that time they should have been leading a project. It should also include working with colleagues who are considerably more experienced.Competence