Are you a client?

What you need to do

Project clients are required to undertake the following actions:

• Competence – assess the competence of those involved;
• Information – provide pre-construction information;
• Appointments – appoint a CDM co-ordinator and Principal Contractor on notifiable projects and;
• Arrangements - establish your project management arrangements, check those of others and review throughout the project.

What you need to know – three key questions

Question 1: Who has client responsibilities under CDM 2007?

Answer: A client is someone who is having construction or building work carried out, unless they are a domestic client. A domestic client is someone who lives, or will live, in the premises where the work is carried out. The premises must not relate to any trade, business or other undertaking. Although a domestic client does not have duties under CDM, those who work for them on construction projects will.

Client duties apply to any business that seeks or accepts the services of architects, builders or workers to carry out construction project work. This definition is very wide and includes companies, partnerships and sole traders.

Question 2: Which construction projects attract client duties?

Answer: Client duties apply on all projects and there are additional requirement on notifiable projects.

The client duties therefore apply on:

• major construction projects;
• minor building works and;
• small projects involving refurbishment and repair work.

Some of the most hazardous work takes place smaller projects, e.g. repair of fragile roofs and fragile rooflights on business premises. Around 7–10 workers die each year after falling through such roofs and rooflights.

Question 3: When do client duties commence?

Answer: Client duties apply from project conception through to completion. Most client duties require action well before work starts on site.

The client is critical to securing project safety and achieving compliance with all other aspects of CDM 2007. The extent of client duties will be affected by the scale and nature of the project.

Competence

Clients must ensure that those appointed or engaged on the project are competent to comply with health safety requirements.

In practical terms, this means the client must implement procedures that check the CDM Competence of others.

Appointments may not be made until the client has taken steps to establish the competency of others.

Information

The client must ensure that CDM co-ordinators, designers and contractors are promptly provided with pre-construction information (PCI).

PCI consists of all the information which is relevant to the health and safety of those engaged in, affected by the work or using the structure as a future workplace.

This will include the information in any relevant existing health and safety file.

On notifiable projects, the CDM co-ordinator appointed by the client will collect and provide the PCI.

Appointments

The client must appoint a project CDM Co-ordinator (CDM-C) at a very early stage and subsequently appoint a Principal Contractor (PC). This requirement applies on notifiable projects.

If others are not appointed the project client becomes both CDM-C and PC and takes on the duties of both roles.

Arrangements

Finally, the client must take steps to ensure there are suitable arrangements for managing project health and safety matters. These must cover:

• those people carrying out the construction work;
• necessary welfare facilities for the project and;
• making sure that workplace structures are designed taking account of other regulations relating to the design of, and materials used in, the structure.

The client must also take steps to ensure that these arrangements are maintained and reviewed throughout the project.

Clients must also:

• co-ordinate with others while giving and seeking their co-operation to enable compliance with their duties.
• specify the minimum time before the construction phase, allowed to appointed contractors, to plan and prepare for the construction work and;
• take steps to ensure the construction phase does not start until welfare facilities and a compliant construction phase plan are in place.