Posted By Barry Bruce
Im currently working on a construction project to alter the use of a building from a welfare facility to office space.

The CDM Regulations say - 'HSE must be notified of projects where construction work is expected to last more than 30 working days'.

Does anyone have a more detailed understanding on the HSE's requirement in relation to the 30 working days rule - does this mean 30 x 8 hour days? Im not aware of any legal precedent that has been set in relation to this particular rule.

The reason I ask is, as we all know construction can be a slow process and can encounter delays. For example, a contractor may have to wait for a concrete screed to cure, or he may have to wait for materials to arrive onsite such as windows being supplied by another supplier. How do we account for that? Technically speaking the days where no construction work is being carried out are not 'working' days.

We do not 'expect' this construction project to last more than 30 working days i.e. 6 working weeks however, it may last 8 - 10 weeks in total as the contractor waits for materials from suppliers, etc.


Any thoughts?

Posted By CFT
Barry

Any day on which construction work takes place is counted towards 'day' count. What matters is how many days of construction work the project entails, not when these days occur or how many hours are worked, so 30 days or 500 person days of construction work is your 'yardstick'.

All the best

CFT

Posted By Alan Haynes
Careful - putting more men on it may bring you under 30 days, but take you over the 500 man-day limit.

Posted By Ron Hunter
It is concerning to still see a perception that CDM can be "avoided" by keeping works below certain thresholds.
In any respect, there are Designers involved here. Their CDM duties ALWAYS apply. A key part of their duties is to advise you (the CDM Client) of your CDM responsibilities.
I do hope the Project specific significant risks have been identified, and that you have a satisfactory way of communicating them to all these who need to know.
CDM is not a hindrance or a burden. Sensibly applied it can add value to your Project, help you ensure your contractors are competent, and ensure those who build, use, maintain and clean the structure(s) are kept safe.

Posted By CFT
Ron

In fairness to Barry he was making reference to 'notifiable' as opposed to CDM per se.

All the best.

CFT

Posted By Barry Bruce
I have a full understanding of the legislation, possibly dare I say - more than others. I am making reference to notifiable projects not the CDM regs per se, im more than aware of my own requirement in relation to projects that are not notifiable.

For a small company with limited resources expenditure can be tightly controlled. We do have a competent health and safety officer - me. Applying CDM in relation to notifiable projects can be a costly exercise without much positive impact - esp. in relation to small projects like this one -IMO. Before anyone shoots me down in flames - im not saying that CDM Regs are a waste of time, far from it. CDM Regs will play a major part in enforcing health and safety at sites/projects which in the past have never thought about h & S, never risk assessed, never developed safe working methods - the very sites that the HSE are targeting on a daily basis (recent 'dawn swoops' in England demonstrate this).

However, under notifiable projects there is a clear need to employ a CDM Co-ordinator, this brings with it certain requirements of which im not fully qualified. I do have a H S Dip but no construction qualifications as such. Im suitably qualified to risk assess and manage the health and safety of others by implementing safe working practices. CDM Co-ordinators do more than this, this is why there is a separate qualification - to provide knowledge and understanding of the requirements of CDM 2007

The hazards will/have been identified and risk assessed; control measures have/will be put in place; the designers and engineers have included safe methods for removal of non-supporting walls, propping methods, slapping methods, etc. Im sure im more than capable of controlling the risks. But like I say - im not a CDM Coordinator!!

The decision will be made tomorrow when I meet with the principal contractor (the only contractor)

Cheers

Posted By Bob Youel

Forget 30 days, 500 hours and even the CDM regs - the law [and common sense] says that you must manage irrespective so all sensible managing parameters apply e.g. welfare, resources, control, training, quality etc must be adequate

CDM is easy if you apply the same effort to managing it as you do to marketing, sales, boardroom jollies, managers choosing their new company car etc and yes decorating is also easy to manage via CDM [notifiable or otherwise]

As usual its alright for other areas to be complicated e.g. invoicing for the products that are to be used, the ISO system that is in place etc but for some reason H&S must be easy

Posted By Ron Hunter
Barry, bear in mind that CDM is not necessarily about the seperate employment of a party to undertake CDM-C duties!
Particularly on the less complex Projects, there is no reason why the Regulation 20 duties cannot be shared and undertaken by the Client,Designer and the Principal Contractor in a managed and structured way, without the need for additional consultant fees.