CDM Support For Commercial Projects
CDM consultancy helps businesses understand and organise their duties under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Construction work can include commercial fit-outs, refurbishment, demolition and building maintenance as well as new development. The nature of the work determines the duties, rather than the label on the purchase order.
A commercial landlord commissioning alterations and a manufacturer extending a production building may both be construction clients. The consultancy brief should identify who is commissioning the work, who is designing it and which contractors are involved. Unclear appointments can leave important coordination tasks without an owner.
We help define the support required, review available project information and identify gaps for the relevant dutyholders to address. Advice to a client is different from accepting a statutory principal designer appointment. Any formal role must be expressly agreed with the competence, resources and authority appropriate to it.
The Commercial Client Duties
HSE guidance explains that commercial clients must make suitable arrangements for managing their projects and allow sufficient time and resources. They must provide relevant information to those who need it. Duties apply to commercial projects regardless of whether the work is large enough to require notification.
Where more than one contractor is involved, or is reasonably foreseeable, the client must appoint a principal designer and principal contractor in writing. The principal designer coordinates health and safety during the pre-construction phase. The principal contractor manages health and safety during the construction phase.
The client must make sure a construction phase plan is prepared before construction work begins. Where required, a health and safety file must be prepared and retained for future work. A consultant can assist with the arrangements, but the client should understand which duties remain with them.
Information Before Work Starts
The first step is to define the project, programme and dutyholders. We ask about existing drawings, building information, previous alterations and the activities that will continue while construction takes place. A project in an occupied school or production facility needs careful attention to the boundary between construction and ongoing operations.
Pre-construction information should communicate relevant existing risks without becoming an unfiltered archive. Known services, access limitations and building constraints should be brought to the attention of those planning the work. Missing surveys or design information need a decision before they create uncertainty on site.
We can help review the information schedule and record the questions that require responses from designers, contractors or the client. The aim is to help the right people make informed decisions at the right stage. A document pack assembled after work has started cannot substitute for early coordination.
Construction And Handover Support
During the project, agreed support may include reviewing progress against client arrangements and helping manage information changes. Site monitoring, design risk reviews and document checks should each have a defined purpose. A consultancy visit does not take over the contractor’s responsibility for directing their workforce.
At handover, useful information needs to reach the people who will operate, maintain or alter the premises. We can help establish what is expected, who supplies it and how it is organised. The health and safety file should be relevant to future construction work rather than simply a collection of product brochures.
Costs depend on project complexity, design maturity, programme length and the role being requested. Occupied premises, several work packages and repeated design changes can increase coordination time. Send a project outline, location, anticipated start date and current appointments so we can define a suitable scope.
Questions About Cdm Consultancy
Do Small Commercial Projects Need CDM Advice?
Small commercial projects can fall under CDM 2015 even when they are not notifiable to HSE. The duties depend on the work and the project arrangements. Advice can help you identify the client, designers and contractors and decide what information and planning are needed before construction starts at your business premises.
Are A CDM Adviser And Principal Designer The Same?
A CDM adviser and a principal designer have different roles unless the appointment expressly combines them. The principal designer has statutory pre-construction duties and must be a designer with the appropriate capability. General advice to a client does not create that appointment, so the role and authority need to be agreed in writing.
For wider support, speak to our health and safety consultants Birmingham about the activities and premises involved.
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