Principal Designer Service
Each project is unique! An individual project will be ‘shaped’ by the Project Brief, the Client circumstances and arrangements, the existing site circumstances, plus the numerous project stakeholder requirements, interests and expectations. A construction project will also require a proactive, diligent and coordinated approach, involving professional inputs required from a wide and diverse assembly of people and organizations.
Each construction project is delivered within a bespoke context. . It is essential that each project is also delivered with due consideration for safety – for all persons affected by a building’s design, construction, use, maintenance and eventual disposal. The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 gives reference to three legally-accountable parties: The Client, the Principal Designer and the Principal Contractor. All duties are clearly listed within the CDM Regulations.
For clarity, the Principal Designer duties are also summarised below.
- Plan, manage, monitor and coordinate health and safety matters to ensure that, so far as is reasonably practicable, the project is carried out without risks to health and safety
- Consider the General Principles of Prevention, Construction Phase Plan and Health and Safety Files when:
- Design, technical and organizational aspects for items of work take place simultaneously or in succession
- Estimating the period of time required to complete such work or work stages
- Identify, eliminate or control, so far as is reasonably practicable, foreseeable risks to the health or safety of any person:
- Carrying out or liable to be affected by construction work
- Maintaining or cleaning a structure
- Using a structure designed as a workplace
- Ensure all designers comply with their duties
- Ensure, in relation to the pre-construction phase, all persons cooperate with client, principal designer and each other
- Assist the client in provision of pre-construction information
- Provide pre-construction information, promptly and in a convenient form, to every designer and contractor appointed, or being considered for appointment
- Liaise with the principal contractor and share information relevant to monitoring and coordination of health and safety matters during the construction phase
- Prepare a Health and Safety File during the pre-construction phase and review, update and revise as necessary, and:
- If principal designer appointment to the end of the construction phase, hand completed Health and Safety File to client
- If principal designer appointment ceases before the end of the construction phase, hand Health and Safety File to the principal contractor for completion
- Not accept the principal designer appointment unless capable
- Provide comprehensible information or instruction as soon as practicable
- Cooperate with others on the site and adjoining sites
- Be satisfied that the client is aware of their duties under CDM 2015
