Hello everyone, I wonder if you can help and direct me to a design risk assessment format or template. I have produced a few but am having problems with one CDMC at the moment and I just want to make sure my understanding is satisfactory and to current best practice. Your help would be gratefully appreciated. Stephen

Design Risk Assessment isn't current best practice. It should never have been - the CDM regs don't require it. DRAs of a severity x likelihood type have never been suited to the design process, though lots of CDM-Cs are unable to grasp that. The HSE at least does get it - see http://www.hse.gov.uk/co...on/cdm/faq/designers.htm - "The consideration of hazard and risk is integrated within the design process, so there is no need to carry out a separate 'design risk assessment'." Or see the CITB guidance at http://www.cskills.org/u...rs4web_07_tcm17-4643.pdf which was produced and published with the HSE and supported by a wide range of industry bodies including the ICE and IStructE. This states "The introduction of CDM 2007 allows the process of 'risk assessment' to be revisited with a view to adopting a more productive and meaningful approach" and proceeds to describe a 'hazard elimination and risk reduction' process. The CITB guidance states that it "illustrates the necessary sequence of actions … compatible with the need for a simple qualitative technique. It will only be on rare occasions (for example in the design of nuclear facilities) that a more sophisticated approach, such as quantitative analysis or risk ranking, will be required". The CITB guidance includes a template for recording the process and outputs. The information it recommends be recorded is: 1. References/Location/Phase etc. 2. Hazard or issue - Brief description (if helpful, these can be wider project hazards, e.g. planning issues). 3. Elimination? - If 'yes' describe action to be taken, by whom and by when. 4. (If elimination not possible) Associated risks and reduction measures taken - Note: action to be taken in accordance with the hierarchy and principles of prevention and protection 5. Information to be conveyed to others - Is the method chosen to communicate this information adequate? 6. Date of assessment 7. Action by and Required by: 8. Action cleared There is no attempt to rank or rate hazards or risks is included in this list. Risk assessments that score (numerically or verbally) the probability and/or severity of an occurrence or some combination of the two are not current best practice, and should not be used unless the scoring is properly undertaken with a detailed, calibrated, quantitative analysis.

Our procedures refer to it as "documenting the designer's decision-making process" which is a mouthful, but also a better description. Our form that is issued if a CDM-C wants a DRA is titled 'Designer's CDM Review'.

A CDM-C who demands a DRA to list out risks in the design is vastly exceeding the remit of the role defined by law, in my opinion. Residual hazards need to be recorded. Unusual hazards need to be recorded. Critical design assumptions need to be recorded. But a risk assessment that lists out risks (especially if it attempts to rate or rank them) is not required by law, not within the statutory remit of a CDM-C to demand, not actually helpful to anyone, and at risk of being positively harmful by burying the necessary and useful information in the middle of a wodge of paper.