Pre-construction information is what the client knows, or can reasonably find out, about the project and its hazards, passed to the people who will design and build it. Under Regulation 4(4) of CDM 2015 the client must provide it, as soon as is practicable, to every designer and contractor appointed or being considered for appointment. It is a client duty, not paperwork the contractor sorts out.
What the regulations say
Regulation 2 defines pre-construction information as information in the client's possession, or reasonably obtainable by or on behalf of the client, which is relevant to the construction work, of an appropriate level of detail and proportionate to the risks. It includes information about:
the project;
the planning and management of the project;
health and safety hazards, including design and construction hazards, and how they will be addressed; and
anything in an existing health and safety file.
Two parts of that definition matter most. "Reasonably obtainable" means the duty is not limited to what is already in the filing cabinet. And "being considered for appointment" means the information has to reach people before they price the work, not after they have won it.
What it usually includes
HSE's guidance (L153) gives the starting point: the documents the client already holds. These might include a health and safety file from earlier work, surveys or assessments already carried out, such as asbestos surveys, and structural drawings. On a typical project that also means:
what the building is used for, and anything about its occupation that affects the work;
services, both buried and in the building;
ground conditions and known contamination;
structural information and any known weaknesses;
access, and the constraints of working next to an occupied building.
When it is needed
L153 ties the timing to what each person needs the information for:
Anyone bidding needs enough to put together a price based on a clear understanding of the work.
Designers need it early enough to judge whether they can design a risk out, and if not, how to reduce or control it.
Contractors already appointed need what they will use to plan, manage and monitor their work.
The information can be provided in stages. It is expected to grow as the project develops.
How to put it together
Gather what you already hold: the old health and safety file, surveys, drawings.
Look for the gaps against the work being planned.
Take reasonable steps to fill them, for example by commissioning a survey.
Issue it to every designer and contractor appointed or being considered, in a convenient form.
Keep it up to date as more is learned.
On a project with more than one contractor, the principal designer must help. Regulation 11(6) requires them to assist the client in providing the pre-construction information, and to pass it on promptly as far as it is in their control. On a single contractor project the duty is the client's alone, though they should work with the contractor and any designer to give them what they need.
A worked example
A client plans to refurbish a 1970s office floor. They hold drawings from the original build and nothing else. Before inviting prices, they commission an asbestos survey suitable for refurbishment work and trace the services, then send both, with the drawings and a note on how the floors below stay occupied, to every contractor bidding. The contractors can now price and plan the asbestos work and the segregation, instead of finding them on day one and claiming for them.
What happens when it is missing
A contractor who prices blind either carries a risk they cannot see, or claims for it when it surfaces. Designers make decisions without the facts that would have changed them. And the client has not met a duty that sits with them, whoever they hoped would cover it.
Common questions
Is pre-construction information the same as the health and safety file?
No. Pre-construction information is for this project. The health and safety file holds what will be needed for future work, and HSE's guidance says the file should not include the pre-construction information. See the health and safety file under CDM 2015.
Who provides it for work on someone's own home?
For a domestic client the duty passes to the contractor, the principal contractor, or the principal designer by written agreement. See domestic clients under CDM 2015.
Can the client hand the job to the principal designer?
The principal designer must help, but the duty stays with the client. The client still has to make sure the information reaches everybody who needs it.
Related: what Regulation 4's suitable arrangements mean, and our free design review checklist.
This article is general information, not legal advice.