A principal contractor plans, manages and monitors the construction phase of a project and coordinates health and safety during it. In practice that means drawing up the construction phase plan and keeping it current, organising the contractors so they work together safely, providing a site induction, keeping unauthorised people off site, providing welfare facilities and consulting the workers.
Those duties are in Regulations 12, 13 and 14 of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015). Here is what each one asks.
Who is the principal contractor?
The principal contractor is the contractor the client appoints under Regulation 5 where there is, or will foreseeably be, more than one contractor on the project. The appointment must be in writing, as soon as is practicable, and in any event before the construction phase begins. We cover the timing in when a principal contractor is appointed, and by whom.
Like every duty holder, the principal contractor must have the skills, knowledge and experience for the role, and the organisational capability if it is an organisation (Regulation 8(1)).
What does Regulation 13 ask of the principal contractor?
Regulation 13(1) is the core duty. The principal contractor must plan, manage and monitor the construction phase and coordinate health and safety during it, so that, so far as is reasonably practicable, construction work is carried out without risks to health or safety.
When it plans work that will happen at the same time or one after another, and when it estimates how long that work will take, it must take into account the general principles of prevention (13(2)). A rushed programme is a health and safety decision, not only a commercial one.
Under 13(3) the principal contractor must also:
organise cooperation between contractors, including contractors who follow one another on the same site
coordinate how the contractors put the legal requirements for health and safety into practice
ensure that employers, and where needed for workers' protection the self-employed, apply the general principles of prevention consistently, particularly under Part 4 (the general requirements for all construction sites), and follow the construction phase plan where required
Regulation 13(5) adds that the principal contractor must liaise with the principal designer for as long as that appointment lasts, and share information relevant to the pre-construction phase.
What does Regulation 12 say about the construction phase plan?
During the pre-construction phase, and before setting up the site, the principal contractor must draw up a construction phase plan or arrange for one to be drawn up (12(1)). The plan must set out the health and safety arrangements and site rules, and where it applies, specific measures for work in the Schedule 3 categories of particular risk (12(2)).
The plan does not end there. Throughout the project the principal contractor must make sure it is reviewed, updated and revised so that it stays sufficient (12(4)). Someone else may write it, but keeping it fit for purpose is still the principal contractor's duty. Our post on what a construction phase plan must contain goes into the content.
Regulation 12 also brings the principal contractor into the health and safety file. It must give the principal designer any information it holds that is relevant to the file (12(7)). If the principal designer's appointment ends before the project does, the file passes to the principal contractor to keep up to date (12(8) and (9)), and where there is no principal designer at the end, the principal contractor passes the file to the client (12(10)). See Regulation 12: the health and safety file.
What must the principal contractor provide on site?
Regulation 13(4) lists three things the principal contractor must ensure:
A suitable site induction.
The necessary steps to prevent access by unauthorised persons to the site.
Welfare facilities that meet Schedule 2, throughout the construction phase.
Schedule 2 sets the minimum welfare for a construction site:
suitable and sufficient toilets at readily accessible places
so far as is reasonably practicable, washing facilities, with showers if the work or health reasons require them, and hot and cold or warm water, soap and towels
an adequate supply of wholesome drinking water
changing rooms and lockers where workers wear special clothing and cannot be expected to change elsewhere
rest rooms or rest areas with tables, seating with backs, a way to prepare and eat meals, and the means to boil water
Clients and contractors have welfare duties too (Regulations 4(2)(b) and 15(11)). Our post welfare facilities are a client duty explains the client's side.
How must the principal contractor involve workers?
Regulation 14 requires the principal contractor to:
make and maintain arrangements so that it and the workers can cooperate in developing, promoting and checking health, safety and welfare measures
consult workers or their representatives in good time on matters that may affect their health, safety or welfare, so far as their employer has not already done so
let workers or their representatives inspect and copy information it holds on their health, safety or welfare, subject to listed exceptions such as information about an individual who has not consented
A weekly check for principal contractors
Has the construction phase plan been reviewed against the work now planned?
Has every new starter had a site induction?
Is the site boundary secure, and is everyone on site authorised?
Are the welfare facilities clean, stocked and still enough for the numbers on site?
Are contractors working to the plan, and have overlapping trades been coordinated?
When were workers last consulted, and what changed as a result?
Has new health and safety file information gone to the principal designer?
HSE's page on principal contractors' roles and responsibilities summarises the same duties. And remember that the principal contractor cannot delegate away its liability.
Free checklist
Our one-page roll call checklist has six checks before the alarm ever goes, four at the gate (including inductions and unexpected arrivals), and three for the Christmas shutdown. It is free, with no sign-up. More are on our free checklists page.
Where Clarity PC fits
Clarity PC is the principal contractor's CDM 2015 system. It keeps the construction phase plan, digital inductions, QR sign-in at the gate, the RAMS register and site checks in one place, so the evidence is captured as the job runs and the health and safety file is complete the day you finish. It is coming soon.
This article is general information, not legal advice.