Facilities Manager's Desk Reference, 3rd Edition

23Construction (Design and Management) Regulations

23.1 Introduction

Poor management of construction projects is a major cause of accidents and occupational health hazards in the building industry. In response to general concern over the level of avoidable illness and injury prevalent in UK construction, the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994 (CDM Regulations) were created. The CDM Regulations were updated in 2007 and again in 2015, with comprehensive supporting guidance such as the Approved Codes of Practice (ACoPs) L153 (Construction [Design and Management] Regulations 2015: Guidance on Regulations) and INDG411 (A Short Guide for Clients on the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015).

The main changes in the 2015 Regulations include changes to duty holders: removal of CDM co‐ordinator, creation of the new role of principal designer (PD) duty holder for projects involving more than one contractor, clarification of the duties of the worker, and greater duties for the client. The 2015 Regulations focus on embedding the CDM principles into all projects by requiring a construction phase plan for smaller projects, including non‐notifiable ones.

The CDM Regulations have been successful in reducing accident rates over the long term, with the number of prosecutions increasing each year. However, the fatality rate is still four times higher and the injury rate 50% higher than those of all sectors combined. In the majority of cases, the client has been ...