HSE Launch Draft CDM 2015 Guidance

The long-awaited and much anticipated new CDM Regulations will come into force on 6th April 2015.

The Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2015 will replace the outgoing 2007 version and will remain the primary legislative driver for managing health, safety and welfare on construction projects. There will be a transitional period of 6 months, and on 6th October 2015, CDM 2007 will be formally withdrawn.

In anticipation of the new legislation, the HSE have produced a draft guidance document, which is available for FREE download by clicking this link. It should be noted that the guidance is subject to change, pending parliamentary approval of the Regulations.

The new version of the Regulations is based largely on the 2007 version, but with several significant changes. Some of these are: –

PRINCIPAL DESIGNER. The role of CDM co-ordinator (under CDM 2007) will be replaced by a principal designer. This means that the responsibility for  coordination of the pre-construction phase – which is crucial to the management of any successful construction project – will rest with an existing member of the design team. 

CLIENT. The new Regulations recognise the importance of the client as the head of the supply chain and as the party best placed to set standards throughout a project 

COMPETENCE. By splitting ‘competence’ into its component parts of skills, knowledge, training and experience, and  for organisations, organisational capability. This is intended to provide clarity for the industry to assess and demonstrate that construction project teams have the appropriate attributes to deliver a project in a safe manner.

DOMESTIC CLIENTS. For the first time, CDM will apply to homeowners, though client duties will normally be transferred to others involved in the project, such as the contractor or principal contractor.

The bulk of Simian’s client base is made up of contracting scaffold businesses that very often fill the CDM role of a CONTRACTOR and mindful of this, we have linked to this guidance document that is produced by the Construction Industry Advisory Committee (CONIAC) and is intended to provide guidance to those acting in that role.

The Contractor Guidance document is one of a set of six that are freely available for download by clicking the appropriate links below.

• Industry Guidance for Clients
• Industry Guidance for Designers
• Industry Guidance for Principal Contractors
• Industry Guidance for Principal Designers
• Industry Guidance for Workers

Simian clients are free to contact their Account Manager for further advice, or by calling 0345 602 2418 (option 1).