Principal designer duties, run as one project file.

The principal designer's job is mostly chasing

On a large project, the questions never stop. Who has read the PCI? Which designer has returned their design risks? Where is the O&M manual for the lifts? Is the client clear on their duties?

The answers sit in email threads, spreadsheets and shared drives. At handover, someone spends weeks putting the H&S File together.

Clarity PD keeps all of it in one place, on one record, as the work happens.

How it works: nine steps

1. Appointment. Record the appointment and project details. The F10 check is built in, with the working-day and person-day sums done for you.
2. Strategy. Complete the CDM strategy brief with the client. Every question is answered, marked not applicable with a reason, or given an action.
3. Team. One register for the client, designers and contractors. Each person's role sets their CDM duties, and designer competence is recorded against them.
4. Surveys. A tracker of what is known about the site, and what is still missing.
5. Design risk. The significant issues register, with a detailed analysis for complex risks, plus meetings and design change control.
6. Issue the PCI. A gap check against L153 Appendix 2, then the pre-construction information is issued as one PDF that opens with "Key risks: read this first".
7. Construction. Liaison with the principal contractor, and screening of design changes.
8. H&S File. Each item is requested from the person who holds it, on their own link. It is chased, checked and accepted, with a record of every step.
9. Handover. The file goes to the client on their link, the handover certificate is issued and the project is closed.

Each step shows what is needed to complete it. A step can't be signed off until its duties are met, unless the PD lead overrides it with a reason, which is recorded.

What changes for your team

• Designers send design-risk returns on a link, using a template for each RIBA stage. Ticked risks go straight into the issues register.
• Recipients confirm they have received the PCI with one click. You can see who has, and who hasn't.
• Designer competence is gathered by questionnaire on a link, and assessed in one screen.
• The client answers the strategy questions and confirms survey orders on their own link. Their answers never overwrite yours until you accept them.
• H&S File items are requested, chased and accepted on links. Several providers can work on one item, each with their own message trail.
• The H&S File compiles to one bookmarked PDF, plus a folder export with an index, with files named for you.
• Most duties fill themselves in from the work already recorded. Each one says what completes it, before you press save.
• Meetings, actions and minutes: attendees are ticked from the team, open actions carry forward, and minutes go to each person's link.
• Company documents (insurances, competence, policies) are held once, with expiry reminders 30 days before and on the day.
• Every report is fingerprinted, and the audit trail is append-only, so you can show what was issued, when and to whom.

Who it is for

Clarity PD is built for principal designers on commercial projects of medium and large scale: architects, engineers and CDM consultancies appointed as principal designer, where the coordination load is the job.

It works on a PC, Mac or tablet in the browser, and can be installed as an app.

Clarity PD: per project, paid once

One payment covers a project from appointment to handover, however long it runs. Everyone in your practice can use it. Designers, the client, contractors and providers are always free on their links.

• The band is set by the contract value you declare when you buy. It stays fixed for the project.
• Free trial: a ready-made sample project to explore any time, plus 14 days free on one real project. No card needed.
• After handover, the project stays readable for 6 months. Before it is deleted, we remind you to download everything as one indexed ZIP: every document you uploaded and every document Clarity PD produced.

Clarity is sold for business use only. It is bought by companies and by people working for themselves, not by consumers.

General information, not legal advice.