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CDM CO-ORDINATOR SERVICES
Damrel & Associates Limited offer the following services:
- Advise the client of his duties under the C.D.M. Regulations
- Advise the client as to the needs of the project in relation to the
C.D.M.Regulations.
- Complete and send to the H.S.E. form F10.
- Collate all relevant and available information including existing drawings, plans and specifications, surveys and soil tests with the assistance of the client.
- Prepare Pre-Tender Health and Safety Information.
- Co-ordinate all relevant information for the preparation of a Health & Safety File.
- As far as is reasonably practical ensure that the design incorporates appropriate safety standards during the period of the appointment.
- Arrange for co-ordinating safety matters between members of the design team.
- Advise the client as to the competence and resources of the design team and principal contractor in so far as they effect safety
- Provide a pre-tender competence survey of prospective Principal Contractors relating to Health & Safety.
- Advise the client on the adequacy of the Contractors Developed Health & Safety Plan.
- Advise the client on establishing a system of safety management during the planning and design phases of the project
- Prior to the start of construction, liaise with the Principal Contractor in respect of the development to the Health & Safety Plan.
- Complete the Health & Safety File and submit it to the client on completion of the project.
- Monitor the compliance of the Principal Contractor with regards to welfare on site.
- Monitor the Principal Contractor’s safety management systems.
Clients' duties relating to the Construction Design and Management (CDM) regulations, 2007.EXISTING GENERAL DUTIES.
CDM REGULATIONS 2007
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"Competence is King"The CDM 2007 Regulations require all of the team, the Client, the Designers, the CDM Co-ordinator, the Principal Contractors and Contractors to make competent appointments. As with all good policies this starts at the top, in this case with the Client. The case highlighted below emphasises this situation. I was recently called to attend a meeting between the HSE and other team members in relation to the development of three houses on a green field site. The Client had appointed my client, the groundworks contractor, as Principal Contractor for the first phase of the contract, works up to oversite level. The duty was then to be passed to a German specialist company for the construction of the envelope and finishings. At the time of the HSE visit the German company had commenced work, completed the shell to one building and had the second up to first floor level. No formal change of Principal Contractor had taken place. The German company had no manager on site capable of communicating in English and the groundworks contractor was not capable of communicating in German. Co-ordination between the two contractors was therefore difficult. The groundworks were continuing at the same time as the superstructure and finishing. The superstructure involved heavy lifting by cranes, reinforcing steel, mass concrete, carpentry and roofing. The groundworks supervisor had attended a 2 day site supervisors course and was deemed to be competent to manage groundworks but not superstructures. The German contractor was not deemed competent to manage groundworks. Under the CDM Regulations there can only be one Principal Contractor on site at any one time unless there is a physical division between Principal Contractors and they operate as independent sites. The short term solution was deemed to be the separation of the site into two. One section was to be supervised by the Groundworks Contractor and one by the German contractor. This could only be a short-term solution since the access route and welfare were shared in common and groundworks had to be completed on the section of the site occupied by the German contractor. The organisation of the work and segregation of contractors was therefore difficult to manage. This could not happen until the German contractor had a manager who could communicate in English. The preferred long term solution was to have a site manager competent to supervise the whole site. The HSE stated that the minimum health and safety requirement for a competent manager for all but the smallest of sites was that the manager should have a CITB SMSTS certificate. Also in this case contractors should be able to communicate in a common language. It was the duty of the Client to ensure that competent site management was in place. The HSE was asked for their view of the competencies necessary for an individual to manage their own development. The HSE inspector stated that they should be able to satisfy themselves that they could comply with appendix 4 of the CDM 2007 regulations and that they also should, as part of their commitment to health and safety, attend a CITB SMSTS course. The conclusion is that while communication, co-operation and control are all necessary pillars of a good safety culture none of this will be adequately achieved without the fourth pillar of competence. Those clients who ignore this fact are likely to face delays to their projects, unsafe sites, additional costs and possible prosecution. C.M.Damrel, |
| Introduction | General H&S | Construction H&S | CDM Co-ordinator | Contact |
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