There are many benefits to using an experiencing health and safety professional as a CDM Advisor on a project. This can include:
1. Supplementing a design practices skills, knowledge and experience aka competence
General Duties 8 (1) requires:
A designer (including a principal designer) or contractor (including a principal contractor) appointed to work on a project must have the skills, knowledge and experience and, if they are an organisation, the organisational capability, necessary to fulfil the role that they are appointed to undertake, in a manner that secures the health and safety of any person affected by the project.
In our experience designers usually have the skills, knowledge and experience in terms of the technical design through their general experience and professional qualifications commensurate with the size of project they are working on. What in our experience they lack, is the skills, knowledge and experience relating to health and safety, and how to inform design decisions and planning of the project.
This is where they come to us for advice and ask “what should we be doing” or wherever possible we are proactively advising them.
2. Providing additional resource
We allow designers to focus on their design, yet ask questions and held them to account on health and safety management through:
- Using MSAFE to manage Hazard elimination and management schedules (HEMS)
- Assist with the development of CDM Pre Construction Information
- Hosting CDM Designer Review and Maintenance Access Workshops
- Preparation of the Health and Safety File at the design stage
- Generally ensuring that the Principal Designer and other designers are meeting their duties
3. Ensuring the client is protected.
The old CDM Regulations meant the CDM Coordinator was a clients friend, assisting them with their role. The revised regulations removed this, potentially leaving gaps in advice. By engaging MSAFE as Client CDM Advisor either directly or through design practices we can ensure the client duties are covered.
For more information on how to obtain a proposal on services we can provide, please contact us.
