Risk assessment for construction

I am an experienced experienced Architectural Designer with over 30 years architectural and building experience on both sides of the fence including 20 years experience as a construction health and safety professional and combing my health and safety and architectural experience for the last 20 years. One would think the the new CDM 2015 regs with the new role of Principal Designer would play straight into my hands, but I find myself in a dilemma....

I know that as a health and safety professional that the only tool I have for assessing risk is a risk assessment, a quantitative risk assessment, but I feel that the HSE have tried to water this down, and I feel that that various health and safety organisations do not consider risk assessment even as a High, Medium, or Low is necessary, but merely mentioning a risk that you have considered is enough and is 'suitable and sufficient' for the purposes of building a Superstore....as if, if you have not considered a risk it is not worthy, if you have, it is worthy and therefore a risk and a significant risk.

The new CDM2015 goes on about 'so far as is reasonably practicable,' (Reg 9 (2) the guidance L153 (para 84) tells us 'Once the risks have been considered, the level of detail in the information provided to those who need it should be proportionate to the risks remaining. Insignificant risks can usually be ignored, as can those arising from routine construction activities, unless the design worsens or significantly alters these risks.'

The only way I know to be able to assess whether or not a hazard posses a significant risk or not is to undertake a quantitative risk assessment based on the information we have to hand, only with this assessment can we begin to make a judgement as to whether a risk is 'insignificant' or not, and whether or not the 'design worsens or significantly alters the risk'

I feel that merely stating a list of potential hazards that may come into ones head whilst considering a project, whilst being overcautious not to mention insignificant or trivial risks, or even those 'arising form routine construction activities' will mean that many of the risks that are truly significant and will harm construction workers and others who may be affect the works during construction and in the use and maintenance of the building will be missed out....people will contract occupational diseases, and people will be injured, people will die because others have been over cautious and not mentioned the risks which expose construction workers, 'neighbours' because they have not considered the ACTUAL RISKS THAT ARE STARING THEM IN THE FACE

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