What is Construction Design Management Regs – CDM?
Construction Design management Regs, came into force in 1994, and have gone through 2 revisions, CDM 2015 being the latest one. It applies to all construction projects
What is a Construction Project?
According to the regulations, a “Construction Project” can incorporate a wide range of activities.
- Construction, alteration, conversion, fitting out, commissioning, renovation, repair, upkeep, redecoration or other maintenance de-commissioning, demolition or dismantling of a structure;
- Preparation for an intended structure, including site clearance, exploration, investigation and excavation, and the clearance or preparation of the site or structure for use or occupation at its conclusion
- Assembly on site of prefabricated elements to form a structure or the disassembly on site of the prefabricated elements which, immediately before such disassembly, formed a structure;
- Removal of a structure, or of any product or waste resulting from demolition or dismantling of a structure, or from disassembly of prefabricated elements which immediately before such disassembly formed such a structure;
- Installation, commissioning, maintenance, repair or removal of mechanical, electrical, gas, compressed air, hydraulic, telecommunications, computer or similar services which are normally fixed within or to a structure,
- However, there are some exclusion like site surveys and pre-construction archaeological investigations. Exploration for, or extraction of, mineral resources, or preparatory activities carried out at a place where such exploration or extraction is carried out are also not included under CDM regulations
Would I need to comply with CDM when carrying out routine maintenance activities?
Technically, yes. However, one of the most important aspects of CDM is the fact that the level of risk management should be proportionate with the level of risk involved. So for examples, for routine maintenance activities, are there already adequate systems in place to provide the right information to a competent person in order to complete the job safely? This could be provided by job-cards, working instructions, procedures and RAMS. If the answer to the question is yes, the chances are, you are already complying with your duties under CDM regs anyway.
However, if you have to carry out a major overhaul maintenance activity, requiring cranes and equipment as such, you would need adequate planning etc. to execute the project safely. In such cases, if you need a Pre-Construction Information (PCI) pack or a Construction Phase Plan (CPP) we can help you generate those by utilising our robust CDM process. Why not contact us for more information