Posted By Keith Egerton The HSE guidance on CDM is quite clear as regards notifying the HSE of a project if over 30days duration/500 man days etc. It is also clear that when more than 4 men are on site CDM applies What happens in cases where property refurbishment is being undertaken on multiple properties, separated by at least a couple of miles, but there are more than 4 people (in total) on site at the same time BUT not more than 4 at any one site. Is it general practice to consider such circumstances as one overall project, hence CDM applies ot would each building be treated as a separate project and hence CDM would not apply.

Posted By David A Jones The seperate sites need not be considered as the same project in respect of CDM if the activites at one site do not affect the activities at another. So the fact that financially they are considered one project does not mean they need to be one project so far as CDM is concerned. Similarly, just because separate financial projects exist it does not mean they should not be considered as one project in respect of CDM i.e. the projects are interrelated e.g. demolition of a building followed by redevelopment of the site may be two (or more) separate contracts but be one project so far as CDM is concerned. The key issue really is not so much as to whether CDM applies but as to whether a suitable system is in place for managing safety and the co-ordination of various contractors. The full requirements of CDM will definetely apply if the trigger values are breached and the activities of one site impact on another. It should be noted that CDM applies to all activities that are defined as construction within the regulations - its just a question of how much (as determined by trigger values) - for example the duties of the designer would always apply.

Posted By steviezenga Keith, If you have 1No. contract with 1No. Principal Contractor which , overall, meets the applicability/notification criteria, then the geographical locations of the individual work packages within that contract are irrelevant. If you are setting them up as individual contracts be careful that your actions could not be construed by the HSE as an attempt to circumvent CDM applicability/notification by manipulating contractual arrangements. Personally I advise Clients, in similar circumstances, to keep out of the "grey areas", by ensuring the project is CDM applicable/notifiable with their contractual arrangements.

Posted By Ron Hunter My understanding is that CDM Regs are project specific, therefore immaterial how many people are working at any one property -how many people are engaged in construction work at any one time within the overall Project? There still seems to be unecessary angst about 'applying' the CDM Regs. All they ask is that the project is effectively managed across its life cycle and that information about risk arising from designs, environment, structures and construction work are communicated to those who need to know. Compliance with CDM is NOT onerous, and I suggest that the principles can be applied to any significant construction project. Aren't there designers involved? Isn't there a client who will be looking for a Health & Safety File at the end of the Project? Doesn't a Health & Safety Plan serve as an ideal vehicle to bring together all project related H&S info, surveys and records? Finally,as previous respondents suggest - if in doubt notify the Project!