Designer/Architect/Engineer Duties

Here at CDMPC, we understand that as a designer (whatever your specialism) CDM will never be top priority on your projects.

Many institutions and groups have their own sets of rules/codes of conduct.

This makes CDM confusing and sometimes quite counter productive.

The following extracts are taken from the regulations, in all but the simplest of projects this can cause additional time and cost on your project.

That’s where we come in, we take the burden out of being Principal Designers, after all there is enough to do as designers.

We have set specially designed fee packages to cover all types of project.

From one off advisory role to full ‘face to face’ appointed principal designer as part of your design team.

For further reading, we have added designers guide below.

Regulation 9 Duties of Designers

1. A designer must not commence work in relation to a project unless satisfied that the client is aware of the duties owed by the client under these Regulations.
2. When preparing or modifying a design the designer must take into account the general principles of prevention and any pre-construction information to eliminate, so far as is reasonably practicable, foreseeable risks to the health or safety of any person:‐
   1. carrying out or liable to be affected by construction work;
   2. maintaining or cleaning a structure; or
   3. using a structure designed as a workplace.
3. If it is not possible to eliminate these risks, the designer must, so far as is reasonably practicable:‐
   1. take steps to reduce or, if that is not possible, control the risks through the subsequent design process;
   2. provide information about those risks to the principal designer; and
   3. ensure appropriate information is included in the health and safety file.
4. A designer must take all reasonable steps to provide, with the design, sufficient information about the design, construction or maintenance of the structure, to adequately assist the client, other designers and contractors to comply with their duties under these Regulations.

Regulation 11 Duties of a principal designer in relation to health and safety at the pre-construction phase

1. 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.
2. In fulfilling the duties in paragraph (1), and in particular when:‐
   1. 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
   2. estimating the period of time required to complete such work or work stages, the principal designer must take into account the general principles of prevention and, where relevant, the content of any construction phase plan and health and safety file.
3. In fulfilling the duties in paragraph (1), 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:‐
   1. carrying out or liable to be affected by construction work;
   2. maintaining or cleaning a structure; or
   3. using a structure designed as a workplace.
4. In fulfilling the duties in paragraph (1), the principal designer must ensure all designers comply with their duties in regulation 9.
5. In fulfilling the duty to coordinate health and safety matters in paragraph (1), the principal designer must ensure that all persons working in relation to the pre-construction phase cooperate with the client, the principal designer and each other.
6. The principal designer must ‐
   1. assist the client in the provision of the pre-construction information required by regulation 4(4); and
   2. 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.
7. 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.

Who is a principal designer?

A principal designer is the designer as defined in regulation 2(1) with control over the pre-construction phase of the project. This is the very earliest stage of a project from concept design through to planning the delivery of the construction work. The principal designer must be appointed in writing by the client. The principal designer can be an organisation or an individual that has:

1. the technical knowledge of the construction industry relevant to the project;
2. the skills, knowledge and experience to understand, manage and coordinate the pre-construction phase, including any design work carried out after construction begins.

Where the principal designer is an organisation, it must have the organisational capability to carry out the role. Principal designers may have separate duties as designers (see paragraphs 79–93).

Why is the principal designer important?

In liaison with the client and principal contractor, the principal designer has an important role in influencing how the risks to health and safety should be managed and incorporated into the wider management of a project. Decisions about the design taken during the pre-construction phase can have a significant effect on whether the project is delivered in a way that secures health and safety. The principal designer’s role involves coordinating the work of others in the project team to ensure that significant and foreseeable risks are managed throughout the design process.