Steadmans has welcomed the adoption of the new Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) Regulations for the construction industry, which introduce new health and safety rules for small projects.
The latest version of the CDM Regulations, which came into force on April 6, 2015, now cover projects of all types, including new build, demolition, refurbishment, extensions, conversions, repairs and maintenance. This means that defined health, safety & welfare rules are now in place on domestic work as well as commercial.
Under the new rules, clients and all projects must have written construction phase plans, and all people performing tasks must have the right skills, knowledge, training and experience – young or inexperienced workers, such as apprentices, must be supervised. The role of principal designer has replaced that of CDM co-ordinator and principal designers and principal contractors must be appointed on projects with more than one contractor.
Principal designers have to co-ordinate all matters relating to health and safety, while principal contractors are ultimately responsible for operational site safety. Their duties include planning and monitoring pre-construction phases, taking prevention principles into account.
Ian Hodgson, divisional director for Steadmans, said: “The 2015 rules are particularly relevant to us as their biggest impact is on businesses working as sole contractors on smaller projects – the kind of customers and jobs to which we supply a lot of materials. Companies in this position will have to act as principal designers and principal contractors, so will need to consider health and safety in designs and produce site safety plans.
“It may be tempting for some businesses in this position to see the new requirements as more unnecessary bureaucracy but of the 42 people who died on construction sites in Britain last year, 75% were working on smaller projects. The focus of the legislation is therefore rightly shifting – after all, high-risk features, such as working at height, operating machinery and moving vehicles aren’t just features of large sites.”
According to Steadmans, statistics from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) show that, although construction has only around 5% of Britain’s employees, the industry accounted for 31% of fatal injuries and 10% of reported major injuries to workers in 2013/14
Since the new regulations came into effect at the beginning of April, both businesses and homeowners have been urged to prepare for the new health and safety rule by a number of firms related to the construction industry.
