CDM-Coordinator Duties
Appointing the CDM Coordinator
Early appointment of the CDM Coordinator is crucial for effective planning and establishing management arrangements from the start. The CDM Regulations 2007 require the appointment to take place as soon as is practicable after initial design work or other preparation for construction work has begun. This allows you the client to appraise your project needs and objectives, including the business case and any possible constraints on development to enable them to decide whether or not to proceed with the project before appointing the CDM Coordinator.
The CDM Coordinator should be in position early in the project to be able to co-ordinate the health and safety aspects of the design work and advise the client on the suitability and compatibility of designs, and therefore should be appointed before significant detailed design work begins. Significant detailed design work includes preparation of the initial concept design and implementation of any strategic brief. As a scheme moves into the detailed design stage, it becomes more difficult to make fundamental changes that eliminate hazards and reduce risks associated with early design decisions.
Proper consideration of the health and safety implications of the design for those who build and maintain the structure will make a significant contribution to reducing its whole life cost, and will make delivery to time, cost and quality more likely.
On simple projects one person should be able to provide all of the support that clients need, but a team approach will be more common for larger or more complicated projects because of the workload and skills required.
What CDM Coordinators Should Do
CDM Coordinators must:
(a) give suitable and sufficient advice and assistance to clients in order to help you to comply with their duties, in particular:
(i) the duty to appoint competent designers and contractors; and
(ii) the duty to ensure that adequate arrangements are in place for managing the project;
(b) notify HSE about the project;
(c) co-ordinate design work, planning and other preparation for construction where relevant to health and safety;
(d) identify and collect the pre-construction information and advise the client if surveys need to be commissioned to fill significant gaps;
(e) promptly provide in a convenient form to those involved with the design of the structure; and to every contractor (including the principal contractor) who may be or has been appointed by the client, such parts of the pre-construction information which are relevant to each;
(f) manage the flow of health and safety information between clients, designers
and contractors;
(g) advise the client on the suitability of the initial construction phase plan and the arrangements made to ensure that welfare facilities are on site from the start;
(h) produce or update a relevant, user friendly, health and safety file suitable for future use at the end of the construction phase.
Contact US
If you are looking for a competent CDM Coordinator to assist you in complying with your legal duties under the CDM 2007 Regulations, then please give us a call on 0151 608 0023 or drop us an e-mail on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
