The Principal Designer is responsible for health and safety on all projects where there is more than one contractor on the project at any time. The client must appoint in writing a designer with control over the pre-construction phase, known as the principal designer.
The principal designer must plan, manage and monitor the pre-construction phase and coordinate matters relating to health and safety during the pre-construction phase to ensure that, so far as is reasonably practicable, the project is carried out without risks to health or safety, and must be involved when design, technical and organisational aspects are being decided in order to plan the various items or stages of work which are to take place simultaneously or in succession; and must also estimate the period of time required to complete any such work or work stages, the principal designer must take into account the general principles of prevention and, where relevant, the contents of any construction phase plan and health and safety file.
The principal designer must identify and eliminate or control, so far as is reasonably practicable, foreseeable risks to the health or safety of any person:
- Carrying out or liable to be affected by the construction work
- Maintaining or cleaning a structure, or
- Using a structure designed as a workplace.
The principal designer must also ensure all designers comply with their duties under the CDM regulations and that all persons working in relation to the pre-construction phase cooperate with the client, the principal designer and each other.
The principal designer must assist the client in the provision of the pre-construction information and so far, as it is within the principal designer’s control, provide pre-construction information, promptly and in a convenient form, to every designer and contractor appointed, or being considered for appointment, to the project.
The principal designer must liaise with the principal contractor for the duration of the principal designer’s appointment and share with the principal contractor information relevant to the planning, management and monitoring of the construction phase and the coordination of health and safety matters during the construction phase.
Halsall Lloyd Management a subsidiary of Halsall Lloyd LLP is qualified to undertake the role of principal designer as all of our Principal Designers and Health and Safety Advisers come from an architectural design background, either qualified architects or architectural technologists. They have previously worked as CDM-C’s and have all received enhanced training in CDM 2015.
Under the CDM 2015 regulations certain functions that were previously undertaken by the CDM-C are now the responsibility of the client, these include notifying the health and safety executive and reviewing the principal contractor’s construction phase health and safety plan to assess its adequacy. Halsall Lloyd Management offer a bespoke principal designers appointment where we undertake these duties on the clients behalf.
We can also, should the client wish, as a separate appointment undertake health and safety site audits on the client’s behalf.