CDM principal designer

Currie & Brown adopts a multifaceted, holistic approach to the role of principal designer and its accompanying legal requirement to reduce health and safety risk.

Our holistic approach

Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015), which came into force on 6 April 2015, the principal designer is required to establish a vital 'thread' of health and safety from concept to completion of a project.

At Currie & Brown we are acutely aware that accidents and ill health are caused by a large number of inter-related circumstances which, in design and construction, can be particularly complicated. Our approach to the responsibilities of principal designer is therefore both multifaceted and holistic.

We also recognise and respond to the additional statutory duties that CDM 2015 places on our clients.

Comprehensive services

Our principal designer services to clients include:

• Assisting in the development of the initial brief
• Planning, managing and monitoring the co-ordination of the pre-construction phase
• Helping clients identify, obtain and collate pre-construction information
• Providing pre-construction information to designers, principal contractor and contractors
• Co-ordinating significant health and safety issues with the design team through to resolution
• Ensuring that designers co-operate with each other and comply with CDM 2015
• Attending design review meetings
• Liaising with the principal contractor for the duration of our appointment
• Supporting the principal contractor in seeking and obtaining responses to health and safety queries from designers
• Agreeing a format and compiling the statutory health and safety file for formal handover at project completion
• Communicating our progress and raising awareness of potential health and safety issues

Pre-construction

CDM 2015 requires a client to identify and obtain pre-construction information. We offer support to do this and will also help collate the information for issue to the designers and the principal contractor for the construction phase.

Adding value

In addition to our CDM 2015 statutory duties as principal designer, we can also:

• Provide a dedicated CDM 2015 consultant to each project, for the duration of each project
• Ensure RIDDOR investigations are carried out and appropriate reporting is undertaken. Where necessary, we will intervene to ensure RIDDOR compliance to protect our clients’ interests
• Arbitrate on client/principal contractor CDM and construction health and safety disputes
• Undertake on-site CDM compliance inspections and report to our client
• Deal with telephone and email queries within 24 hours
• Provide telephone support to clients with regard to CDM 2015 and construction health and safety matters