2.1 Introduction - What Is the HSE?
Now that we have had a look at the legislation for the Construction Design and Management Regulations 2015, we are going to turn our attentions towards the HSE.
Before we get into differentiating between situations where the CDM regulations do or do not apply, and when the HSE must be notiβied about a project, βirst, let's look at the HSE itself. The Health and Safety Executive (or HSE) is the national regulator and enforcement for workplace health and safety in the UK, working to prevent workplace injuries or death.
The HSE was created by the Health and Safety at Work, etc. Act 1974 and is an executive non- departmental public body, sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions. Health and Safety is an important consideration for any construction project to not only ensure the workers' welfare but also to comply with the law.
When health and safety regulations apply to construction work, the law is usually enforced by the HSE. Construction is a high-risk industry due to the nature of the work compared to, for example, working in an office. Therefore, it is no surprise that there are a variety of regulations put in place to try and reduce these risks.
According to the HSE, as stated on their website, the most common causes of accidental death and injury in the construction industry are:
1.Falls
2.Mobile plant
3.Falling and collapsing material
4.Electrical accidents
5.Trips
6.Asbestos
7.Manual handling
8.Noise and vibration
9.Chemicals
As construction workers are most at risk of injury or illness on a construction site, it is their responsibility to report anything that is likely to endanger either their own or others; health and safety. It is vitally important that construction workers in all areas — designers or contractors — are sufficiently able to carry out their duties, in order to comply with health and safety standards set by the HSE and CDM regulations.
They must have the necessary skills, knowledge, training and experience (sometimes abbreviated to SKTE) to do the work that they have been employed to do, or, at least, be in the process of obtaining them. Their supervisors or employers must provide them with adequate support training for them to carry out their jobs safely and without risk to their health.
2.2 When Do the CDM Regulations Apply?
In short, CDM applies to any building, civil engineering or engineering construction work. In the first module, we looked at the definition of what constituted 'construction work' in the legislation, and this can be applied here. 'Construction work', as defined by the legislation, includes alteration, conversion, fitting out, commissioning, renovation, repair, upkeep, redecoration or any other maintenance.
It also applies to decommissioning, demolition or dismantling of a structure. It applies to the assembly or disassembly on site of prefabricated parts to form a structure, or of any product or waste resulting from demolition or dismantling of the structure or from disassembly of prefabricated elements.
It also applies to the installation, commissioning, maintenance, repair or removal of mechanical, electrical, gas, compressed air, hydraulic, telecommunications, computer or similar services, which are normally fixed to a structure. However, the regulations do not apply to DIY work carried out by a homeowner or friend of the family. They also do not apply to the general maintenance of replacing parts or maintaining fire extinguishers, as these are considered to be construction work.
2.3 When to Notify the HSE
Here, we are going to look at which projects need to be notified to the authorities. While this is usually the HSE, it could also be the Ofβice of Rail Regulations or the Office of Nuclear Regulations.
According to the legislation, a project is notifiable if the construction work on a construction site is scheduled to:
1. Last longer than 30 working days and have more than 20 workers working simultaneously at any point in the project
2. Or exceed 500 person days
Where a project is deemed notifiable, the client must give notice in writing to the authorities as soon as possible and before the construction phase begins. Where the authority in question is the HSE, the client should notify them, using the F-10 form, which is easily accessible on their website and can be filled in online. If the client is domestic, the principal contractor or the contractor (if it is a single contractor project) is usually responsible for notifying the HSE on behalf of the client.
This notice must:
1.Contain the particulars speciβied in Schedule 1 of the legislation
2.Be displayed clearly in the construction site ofβice, where it can be read by any worker engaged in the construction work
3.Be periodically updated, if necessary
If a project includes construction work of a description for which the Ofβice of Rail Regulation is the enforcing authority, the client must give notice to them, instead of the HSE.
The client must notify the Ofβice for Nuclear Regulation, instead of the HSE, if the project includes construction work on premises which are or are on:
1. A GB nuclear site
2. An authorised defence site
3. A new nuclear build site
2.4 Domestic Clients
As defined in the legislation, a domestic client is someone who has construction work done on their own home or the home of a family member, which is not done in connection with a business. Local authorities, housing associations, charities, landlords and other businesses may own domestic properties, but they are not a domestic client for the purposes of CDM 2015.
If the work is in connection with a business attached to domestic premises, such as a shop, the client is not a domestic client. A domestic client has different duties to a non-domestic client, which we will cover more closely in later modules. As stated in the CDM Regulations, the duties of a domestic client differ, depending on how many contractors are working on their project. Where the project involves only one contractor, the contractor must carry out the client duties, as well as the duties that they already have as a contractor. In practice, this should involve doing little more to manage the work, to ensure health and safety.
Where the project involves more than one contractor, the principal contractor must carry out the client duties, as well as the duties that they already have as principal contractor. If the domestic client has not appointed a principal contractor, the duties of the client must be
carried out by the contractor in control of the construction work.
In some situations, domestic clients wishing to extend, refurbish or demolish parts of their own property will, in the first instance, engage an architect or other designer to produce possible designs for them. It is also recognised that construction work does not always follow immediately after the design work is completed.
If they so wish, a domestic client has the flexibility of agreeing in writing with their designer that the designer co-ordinates and manages the project, rather than this role automatically passing to the principal contractor. Where no such agreement is made, the principal contractor will automatically take over the project management responsibilities.
If the project falls below the notification levels that have been explained above, the CDM regulations still apply, whether the client is domestic or non-domestic, but no notification is required.
MODULE SUMMARY
Following on from the legislation we looked at in the last module, in this module, we turned our attention to the HSE and the application of CDM. We first looked at what the HSE is and their role in enforcing health and safety. Next, we looked at when the CDM regulations are applied and both when and how to notify the correct authorities about a project.
Finally, we looked at domestic clients and how their duties differ from a non-domestic client, which we will look at in more detail in the upcoming modules. In Module 3, we will look at the duty-holders' responsibilities with regards to Pre-construction Information.
.svg)
