Health and safety plan

The requirement for a Health and Safety Plan for construction was established by the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (or 'CDM Regulations') in 1994. The regulations came into force on 31 March 1995.

The regulations were introduced to ensure that health and safety issues are properly considered during a project’s development so that the risk of harm to those who have to build, use and maintain structures is reduced.

The original regulations required that the Planning Supervisor ensure a Pre-Tender Health and Safety Plan was prepared for contractors setting out:

• A general description of the construction work.
• The programme.
• Risks to the health or safety of any person carrying out the construction work.
• Other information enabling the contractors to demonstrate the competence and adequacy of resources.
• Other information enabling the contractors to understand and perform their duties under the regulations.

The Principal Contractor then ensured that during the construction phase the Health and Safety Plan contained information about:

• Arrangements for the project to ensure the health and safety of all persons carrying out the construction work and all persons who may be affected by the work.
• Information about arrangements for the welfare of persons carrying out the construction work.

However, the CDM Regulations were substantially revised in 2007. Amongst many changes:

• The role of Planning Supervisor was replaced with a new, more hands-on CDM Co-ordinator.
• The Pre-Tender Health and Safety Plan was replaced with Pre-Construction Information, provided by the client and checked by the CDM Co-ordinator.
• The Health and Safety Plan was renamed the Construction Phase Plan (CPP), developed by the Principal Contractor.

NB Rather confusingly, the Construction Phase Plan is still sometimes referred to as the Construction Phase Health and Safety Plan.

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[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• CDM.
• CDM Co-ordinator.
• Construction phase plan.
• Health and safety file.
• Planning supervisor.
• Pre-construction information.
• Principal contractor.
• Safety audit.