One of the principal concerns of the HSE is that although the Construction (Design and Management) (CDM) regulations have been in force for over a decade there is insufficient evidence that they are benefiting those they were intended to help. Whilst a small industry grew up around the existing regulations this has been geared towards compliance with the letter of the law rather than its spirit. The new regulations are greatly simplified and are easier to interpret and apply to different industries and projects.
Some elements of the existing regulations will remain. There is still a requirement to appoint a planning supervisor although these are now known as co-ordinators. Under the proposals a principal contractor will still be appointed to take overall control of the work.
The new regulations greatly reinforce those aspects of planning and work control which are vital to good safety management.
Competency
Anyone who works on a site must either be competent for the work they are being asked to perform or be supervised by a suitably competent person. It will be an offence to employ any person without taking reasonable steps to ensure that they are competent.
It will be an offence for any person to accept a commission for any activity knowing that they are not competent to perform that work.
Co-operation
Planning and executing works is much easier when all the parties concerned co-operate and communicate. The requirements for all parties to help each other and for everyone to seek the co-operation of others are spelled out very clearly in the regulations.
Clarity
Documentation which is produced must be able to be understood by those who are intended to benefit from it. There is little or no benefit in producing reams of paper in the form of generic risk assessments or method statements if they are never read by those who should benefit from the guidance or advice.
If a crane driver is to be told what to do then the instructions must be in a form which can be easily read and understood by the crane driver.
And all in good time
Something which crops up in a number of places is the issue of time. Important roles such as those of co-ordinator and principal contractor must be filled in sufficient time to allow their work to be executed properly. Instructions, assessments and method statements must all be completed in sufficient time to get them to the people who need them.
Throwing assessments together for the sake of complying with legislation costs money and benefits no one.
Obviously this not a complete review or analysis of the proposed legislation. Visit www.hse.gov.uk for more information about the new regulations and the results of the consultation process.