Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007, the person responsible for the management of a building site is required, if the construction phase involves more than 30 calendar days or 500 person-days of work, to appoint a Construction Design and Management (CDM) coordinator, who must appoint a principal contractor for the project.
The CDM coordinator is responsible for the coordination of health and safety measures during the construction and for the maintenance of the health and safety file. When the construction is complete, the health and safety file must be passed to the client who commissioned the project.
The principal contractor must plan, manage and monitor the construction to ensure that it does not pose risks to the health and safety of workers and visitors to the site. This includes drawing up the necessary site safety rules and supplying contractors with the information necessary for them to carry out their work without risk to themselves or any other person. This will include providing induction training and any other training which may be appropriate. The principal contractor is also responsible for controlling access to the site. There are various other requirements for the principal contractor to consult with site workers on health and safety issues and to maintain for inspection copies of all relevant information.
Contractors working for the principal contractor are required to pass on to the principal contractor any information which might affect the health or safety of any person engaged in the construction work or who may be affected by it. Such information should be included in the health and safety file.
Any failure to adhere to the requirements which leads to an injury will normally leave the principal contractor in the line of fire as regards any claim that results, so it is important that the requirements are understood and enforced to the fullest possible extent.
If you require further information on your site safety responsibilities, we can advise you.
