CDM 2015 guides and advice for clients and contractors

Principal Contractor ·

How long before the evidence is on the table?

An inspector asks to see your Construction Phase Plan, your inductions and your welfare checks. How long before they are on the table? If the honest answer is "I'd have to ring the office", that is the finding. Wouldn't it be great if you could: — Open any CDM duty and see the evidence attached to it — Know who signed it off, and on what date — Do it from a phone, on site, while the inspector waits Enforcement rarely turns on an obscure technicality. It turns on the basics: no written...

Principal Contractor ·

Can you name everyone on your site right now?

The alarm goes at 11:40. Can you name everyone on your site? Not roughly. Exactly. Wouldn't it be great if you could: — See who signed in this morning, live, from your phone — Alert every one of them in a single tap — Hand the marshal a printed muster sheet on the way out Most sites still run this on a paper book in the cabin, a WhatsApp group half the subcontractors are not in, and someone counting heads in a car park. That is the arrangement being judged if it ever goes wrong. We have spent...

Duty Holder Explainer ·

The Principal Designer: The Most Misappointed Role

The Principal Designer is the most misappointed role in CDM 2015. Either it is not appointed at all. Or it is appointed too late. Or it is appointed to someone without the skills and influence to perform it effectively.

Question-Led ·

When Did You Last Properly Check Contractor Competence

When did you last properly check the competence of a contractor — not just their insurance certificates and CSCS cards? Regulation 8 of CDM 2015 requires every duty holder to take reasonable steps to verify the skills, knowledge, experience, and organisational capability of those they appoint.

Duty Holder Explainer ·

The Client: The Most Misunderstood Duty Holder

Under CDM 2015, the client is not a passive commissioner. They are a duty holder. That distinction matters. It means the client cannot simply hand the project to a contractor and step back.

Myth-Busting ·

Does CDM 2015 apply to small projects?

CDM 2015 has no minimum size, value or duration. What changes with size is notification, the appointments and the health and safety file. Here is what applies to every job.