The challenge
Where things stood
A main contractor took on a project where design risk was not being managed and the client's CDM 2015 duties were not being met. Without a Principal Designer coordinating health and safety through the design phase, hazards were being carried into construction unchallenged, which meant avoidable risk on site and exposure for the client if anything went wrong.
What we did
Our approach
We took on the Principal Designer role and built health and safety into the project from the design stage. We coordinated the designers, made sure significant risks were designed out where possible and reduced where not and kept the client informed of their duties at each stage. We produced and maintained the pre-construction information and made sure it reached the Principal Contractor in a form they could actually use.
Throughout, we applied the hierarchy of control rather than defaulting to managing it on site, which is where cost and risk usually pile up.
The outcome
What it changed
The project completed with the client's CDM duties demonstrably met, significant risks designed out before they reached site and a clean health and safety file handed over at the end.