Design and Build: Who Owns Design Compliance
- Paul Scanlon
- Jul 30
- 1 min read
On a Design and Build contract, who is responsible for design compliance? Most clients get this wrong.
The assumption is simple: the contractor takes the design, so the contractor takes the duty.
CDM 2015 does not work that way.
The client has a statutory duty under Regulation 5 to appoint a Principal Designer to plan, manage and monitor design work — for as long as design work is being carried out.
On Design and Build, design work does not stop at contract award. It continues every time the contractor or its supply chain develops or changes the design.
Those post-commencement design changes still fall within the Principal Designer's remit.
If the client lets the Principal Designer role lapse at the point the contractor takes over, design risk stops being coordinated by anyone.
That is precisely where buildability failures and safety gaps appear later.
Handing over the design does not hand over the duty. The client's obligation to ensure design is properly managed runs as long as the design does.
On your current Design and Build projects, who is monitoring design changes made after work began?
Get your free Client Guide to CDM 2015 here: cdm2015.co.uk/resource-download
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