Accredited Principal Designer
A principal designer must be a designer as defined by the regulations
A principal designer must be a designer as defined by the regulations, and must be able to demonstrate they have the health and safety skills, knowledge and experience (SKE), and where they are an organisation, the organisational capability, to carry out the work they are being appointed for. The level of SKE should be proportionate to the complexity of the project and the range and nature of the risks involved. This will involve having:
- The technical knowledge of the construction industry relevant to the project;
- The ability to understand, manage and coordinate the pre-construction phase (including ensuring that significant and foreseeable risks are managed through the design process) and any design work carried out after construction begins.
CDM (Scotland) Ltd are registered principal designers with both the Association for Project Safety and CHAS. As part of this process we have to demonstrate our competence both in the safety field but also show that we have a design and construction background.
The Health and Safety Executive have stated that an example of demonstrating organisational capability can include the successful award from third party assessors, such as those who are members of Safety Schemes in Procurement Forum.
Check the HSE’s Guidance at: www.hse.gov.uk/construction/areyou/principal-designer.htm
CDM Services
Upholding specific requirements from The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015
The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM) now place specific requirements on all duty holders during the course of any construction work. These duties impact from the conceptual stage of a project.
From CDM advisor appointment and site audits to CDM training, CDM Scotland can help. Browse our wide range of CDM related services below.
Our CDM services include:
We can act as an independent advisor on behalf of individual duty holders including clients, designers, principal contractors and contractors to ensure that all works are carried out in accordance with the requirements of CDM2015.
CDM2015 places a significant responsibility on the client to ensure the works are carried out in full accordance with the spirit of the regulations. We can provide advice and recommendations on a one off or ongoing basis throughout a project or projects to ensure that both the client and other duty holders maintain compliance and best practice standards.
We can carry out an independent audit on your project or specific site to ascertain compliance with the requirements of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. After the audit we will issue a detailed report into our findings and make recommendations where improvements could be made.
We pride ourselves finding solutions to problems before you know there is a problem.
We can carry out detailed competency checks and assessments on all parties involved in a project. On a corporate level we can also establish, monitor and manage an approved dutyholder database which allows an organisation to demonstrate at all levels that they have checked and confirmed the competency and resources of those they employ to act on their behalf.
Who better to carry out CDM Awareness Training than practicing CDM specialists who are highly regarded within the industry? We can present a number of training courses tailored to your organisation and company focus area. We can provide training at a location of your choice, or we can host training at our office in Ayr.
A key tool in mitigating and managing risk is through design risk analysis. Design risk is not solely concentrated at the pre-construction stage but evolves throughout the works on site. We utilise a staged process to identify hazards pre, during and post construction to track and close out design issues.