Case Studies ·
The client assumed their architect was "handling CDM." No written appointment had been made. Then HSE visited. This is an anonymised account of a situation we encounter more often than we should.
Question-Led ·
Before your last construction project started on site — did you read the Construction Phase Plan? Not skim it. Actually read it.
Client Duties ·
Welfare facilities on your construction site are not just the contractor's responsibility to sort out. Ensuring adequate welfare is a client duty under Regulation 4(4) of CDM 2015.
Client Duties ·
"I didn't know I had any CDM duties." We hear it on almost every first call with a new client. If you commission construction work, CDM 2015 makes you a duty holder. There is no opt-out.
Myth-Busting ·
"Our CDM Coordinator is handling it." If someone on your project team holds that title, there is something important you need to know.
Case Studies ·
The client called it "planned preventative maintenance." CDM 2015 called it construction work. HSE agreed. This is an anonymised account of how scope creep created a significant compliance gap.
Duty Holder Explainer ·
When the Principal Contractor is on site, many clients assume their CDM exposure is covered. It is not.
Regulation Deep-Dive ·
"What actually needs to be in a Construction Phase Plan?" is one of the most searched CDM questions — and one of the most poorly answered in practice.
Regulation Deep-Dive ·
The health and safety file is the record the next team will rely on to work on the building safely. Who prepares it, what goes in it, what stays out, and what the client must do with it after handover.
HSE Enforcement ·
A CDM breach is not a fine on a balance sheet. For individuals, it can mean prison. Compliance gets treated as a commercial risk. The regulations treat it as a criminal one.
Regulation Deep-Dive ·
Regulation 8 of CDM 2015 uses a four-part test for competence. Most clients only check one of the four.
Regulation Deep-Dive ·
On a higher-risk building, there is a hard legal stop before you can start construction. Many clients don't know it exists.
