Expert Opinion: Is your business CDM compliant?

Health & Safety has to be top of any business agenda and, following many disasters both at home and overseas,  it is ever more critical that property businesses are CDM compliant.

CDM is widely used as shorthand for the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations which govern health, safety and welfare on all construction projects.

Last updated in 2015, the CDM regulations set out the statutory responsibilities of all parties involved in construction, covering new builds, renovations and restitutions, conversions and appendages. The rules apply equally to commercial and to domestic projects.

Jonathan Hyde, Head of Building at Stockport based Fairhurst Estates explains more:

The overarching aim of CDM 2015 is to improve the management of health and safety in all aspects of construction. So as well as setting out detailed responsibilities and obligations relating to all parties, the legal side is accompanied by in-depth practical guidance published by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) aimed at helping industry professionals achieve compliance.

The guidance covers every stage of the construction process, from initial conception through to completion. The intention is to put health and safety and workforce welfare front and centre of planning and project management. It sets out exactly who the duty holders are in each project, and what they each must do to comply with the law.

The key principles of the guidance include:

• Ensuring everyone takes responsibility for health and safety, from the people commissioning the work to the sub-contractors carrying out specific tasks;
• Prioritising appropriate risk assessments and risk management procedures at every stage;
• Encouraging active cooperation and communication between parties on all health and safety matters;
• Making sure everyone involved has the right level of skills to carry out their roles safely and effectively.

CDM compliant

The detailed HSE guidance sets out protocols and procedures to follow to ensure compliance with the CDM regulations. The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) condenses these into a handy three-step process which provides a useful guide for ensuring a project is in keeping with the main principles of the law.

Read more HERE