CDM 2015 – LEGAL PITFALL OR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY FOR ARCHITECTS? - BEALE & COMPANY
Fiona Mckay
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (“CDM 2015”) came into force on 6 April 2015, replacing the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007. The new regulations have a significant impact on how health and safety risks must be managed on construction projects in Great Britain, particularly in relation to design.
All architects working on projects in Great Britain have a legal duty to be familiar with the new regulations and fulfil the legal obligations.
- Came into force on 6 April 2015
- Replaced CDM Co-ordinator role with new Principal Designer role
- Principal Designers should carefully consider their form of appointment
- New notification threshold
- Domestic client exemption removed
- Withdrawal of current ACOP
Under the CDM Regulations 2015 the CDM Co-ordinator role is replaced with a new role of Principal Designer. A Principal Designer must be appointed where there is more than one contractor or sub-contractor working on the project at the same time. Furthermore, the Principal Designer must be a designer with control over the pre-construction phase. Therefore, the appointment will come from within the project team at the pre-construction stage rather than a third party specialist, as was often the case with the CDM Co-ordinator.
The Principal Designer manages and co-ordinates during the pre-construction phase to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the project is carried out without risks to health and safety. The duties of a principal designer under the new regulations are potentially onerous, including ensuring that all other designers comply with their duties!
AIA UK sponsor, Beale & Company, produced a briefing note for AIA members, which can be found here. In addition, AIA members interested in finding out more about CDM 2015 can also listen to this webinar held recently by Beale & Company.
If you have any initial queries in relation to CDM 2015 call the AIA UK Legal Helpline on (+44) 020 7469 0400.
