Clients may not understand what safe systems of work are nor monitor activities but somewhere along the line they have been advised that these areas are something that they should cover in their tender. Provision of such systems should be a practicable thing to do for a contractor as such things should already be in place Clients should have a trusted friend to hand and the safety practitioner can be this person. Additionally a good safety practitioner should know all about such systems - also note that proper construction managers should also know about such things as its they who are supposed to manage such things

Depending on whether or not the construction work in question is notifiable under the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM), the client should appoint a CDM Co-Ordinator. Part of his or her job would be to advise the client on the suitability of the safe system of work and wider management arrangements for the job. Obviously where the project isn't notifiable, a CDM Co-ordinator won't be appointed. I would suggest that it would then be a duty of the client's source of competent health & safety advice to advise them on the proposed safe system of work. Notwithstanding the above, the client should have robust procedures in place to ensure only competent contractors are appointed to carry out works, which should include technical competence and health & safety training. The client won't necessarily have to monitor the works themselves - they can require the contractor to carry out monitoring as part of the contractor's health & safety management of the work. A