Marisco Group: CDM Regulations Compliance

Principal Contractor and Designer Obligations

Whenever Marisco undertakes a new property construction or refurbishment project where we assume the role of the Principal Contractor, we must comply with our legal duties specified under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. View the Regulations or HSE information.

Please read our CDM Regulations Policy.

It is worth mentioning that Marisco can assume the responsibilities of not only the principal contractor, but the other duty-holders' responsibilities in a number of ways, some of which may be unintended:

  • Entering into a contract with a client to fulfill that role;
  • Assuming it by being the being a lead contractor in line when the existing principal contractor vacates their office for any reason;
  • Taking a lead responsibility for a significant element of a project's build or refurbishment process in the absence of a written contract that specifies that responsibility, and in so doing assuming the role even when that was not the intention; and
  • By carrying out the responsibilities of the office and being viewed retrospectively as fulfilling the principal contractor's role.

Assuming the role of the principal contractor by default, intended or otherwise, has significant legal implications if a serious accident or legal claim is made. The first objective of the prosecution legal team will be to identify the principal contractor or contractors so they can be held to account. Not surprisingly, the de facto principal contractors will be doing their best to divest themselves of blame by passing it to other firms in the contractor chain. The legal position can get very confused and many contractor firms have found themselves being prosecuted as a defaulting principal contractor without ever having considered themselves fulfilling that role during the build or refurbishment project.

Regulation 13 sets out the H&S duties of the principal contractor.

Part 1 requires the principal contractor must plan, manage and monitor the construction phase and coordinate matters relating to health and safety during the construction phase to ensure that, so far as is reasonably practicable, construction work is carried out without risks to health or safety.

Part 2 states that In fulfilling the duties in paragraph (1), and in particular when:

(a) design, technical and organisational aspects are being decided in order to plan the various items or stages of work which are to take place simultaneously or in succession; and

(b) estimating the period of time required to complete the work or work stages, the principal contractor must take into account the general principles of prevention.

Part 3 states the principal contractor must:

  • organise cooperation between contractors (including successive contractors on the same construction site);
  • coordinate implementation by the contractors of applicable legal requirements for health and safety; and;
  • ensure that employers and, if necessary for the protection of workers, self-employed persons apply the general principles of prevention in a consistent manner, and in particular when complying with the provisions of Part 4; and where required, follow the construction phase plan (Part 12).

Part 4 states the principal contractor must ensure:

  • a suitable site induction is provided;
  • the necessary steps are taken to prevent access by unauthorised persons to the construction site; and
  • facilities that comply with the requirements of Schedule 2 are provided throughout the construction phase.

Part 5 states the principal contractor must liaise with the principal designer for the duration of the principal designer’s appointment and share with the principal designer information relevant to the planning, management and monitoring of the pre-construction phase and the coordination of health and safety matters during the pre-construction phase.

Part 7 has particular relevance to the work Marisco sometimes undertakes. It concerns the transfer of all the legal obligations of the client and the principal designer to us as the principal contractor when we work with domestic clients, unless they have appointed a principal designer to work with us.

The Building Safety Act 2022 has introduced a higher standard of legal obligation on Marisco to demonstrate they are meeting all fire and general building safety standards in future. Marisco is already actively engaged in a programme of training that will ensure its managers, site supervisors, and workers possess the detailed knowledge of all the applicable fire and building safety standards in order to ensure the work we carry out meets those higher standards of building safety compliance.

Part 12 covers the duty of the principal contractor to prepare a Construction Phase Plan and work with the principal designer to ensure the Health and Safety file is appropriately reviewed, updated and revised over the course of the project so it ready to be handed over to the client on completion.

With regard to the preparation of the Construction Phase Plan, customising our prepared generic version will fulfill most of the legal obligations Marisco will assume as the principal contractor for many of the simple, short duration property refurbishment projects we undertake. For more complex jobs, provision must be made to allow sufficient time to draw up a far more detailed and bespoke Construction Phase Plan, working with the client and the principal designers, before the construction phase of the project is started.

Part 14 concerns the principal contractors obligation to consult and engage with workers over the management of health, safety and welfare on the construction site.

Part 15 explains the duties of the contractors owed to the client, principal designer and principal contractor.

Marisco Group

Head Office:
Unit J5, The Fulcrum
Vantage Way, Poole, BH12 4NU

Tel: 01202 474001

Email: accounts@mariscosouth.com

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