The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015) describes:

• the law that applies to the whole construction process on all construction projects, from concept to completion

• what each dutyholder must or should do to comply with the law to ensure projects are carried out in a way that secures health and safety

CDM 2015 aims to improve health and safety by helping those in the construction industry to:

• sensibly plan the work so the risks involved are managed from start to finish

• have the right people for the right job at the right time

• cooperate and coordinate your work with others

• have the right information about the risks and how they are being managed

• communicate this information effectively to those who need to know

• consult and engage with workers about the risks and how they are being managed

CDM 2015 places duties on all persons who can contribute to a project and are prescribed as:

• Clients (commercial and domestic)

• Designers

• Principal designers

• Principal contractors

• Contractors

• Workers

The majority of customers that we, at CSS, support are commercial clients so we will focus here on explaining the duties placed on this category of clientele. Please contact us if you would like further information and guidance relating to the duties placed on other categories.

A commercial client is anyone (individual, partnership or organisation) who has construction work carried out for them that is done in connection with a business, whether the business operates for profit or not. Commercial clients include local authorities, housing associations or other landlords who own domestic properties.

The commercial client has a major influence over the way their project is procured and managed. Regardless of the size of the project, the client has contractual control, appoints designers and contractors, and determines the money, time and other resources available. Because of this, CDM 2015 makes a commercial client accountable for the impact their decisions and approach have on health, safety and welfare on their project.

A commercial client's duties begin from the very start of a project, i.e. as soon as there has been a decision to go ahead with the project and early planning and design work begins. A client's duties continue to the end of a project and beyond. The commercial client will continue to have responsibility for health and safety issues that arise from the maintenance and use of the building after construction work is finished. This responsibility continues until the client disposes of their interest in the building.

For all projects, commercial clients must: 

• make suitable arrangements for managing their project, enabling those carrying it out to manage health and safety risks in a proportionate way. These arrangements include:

  • appointing the contractors and designers to the project (including the principal designer and principal contractor on projects involving more than one contractor) while making sure they have the skills, knowledge, experience and organisational capability

  • allowing sufficient time and resources for each stage of the project

  • making sure that any principal designer and principal contractor appointed carry out their duties in managing the project 

  • making sure suitable welfare facilities are provided for the duration of the construction work

• maintain and review the management arrangements for the duration of the project 

• provide pre-construction information to every designer and contractor either bidding for the work or already appointed to the project

• ensure that the principal contractor or contractor (for single contractor projects) prepares a construction phase plan before that phase begins

• ensure that the principal designer prepares a health and safety file for the project and that it is revised as necessary and made available to anyone who needs it for subsequent work at the site

For notifiable projects (where planned construction work will last longer than 30 working days and involves more than 20 workers at any one time; or where the work exceeds 500 individual worker days), commercial clients must:

• notify HSE in writing with details of the project

• ensure a copy of the notification is displayed in the construction site office.