Contractors

Contractors must co-operate with each other and with the principal contractor to co-ordinate their work activities. (This applies to adjoining sites as well as the project they are directly involved in.) Contractors should be competent for the work they are doing; plan, manage and monitor their own work to ensure health and safety; and provide suitable information and training for their workers to ensure their health and safety.

The contractor will be required to:

• inform the client of the their CDM 2007 duties if this has not already been done
• plan, manage and monitor the construction work to make sure it is carried out without risks to health and safety
• provide information, training and a suitable site induction for their workforce
• make sure the site is suitably fenced and prevent access by unauthorised persons
• ensure adequate welfare facilities for those working on the site

No. Regulation 13(6) requires the contractor to take reasonable steps to prevent unauthorised access to the site. This could be access by members of the public, site workers, visitors, or delivery drivers. For instance, the contractor may wish to control access to the site, and limit it to those who have received a site induction. Access may be controlled by a gate, a security guard, or turnstile system. A banksman may be used to control vehicles arriving on site.

Regulation 27(2) deals with circumstances where there are risks to health and safety on the site and it is necessary to use signage around the perimeter, or fence it off completely if the risks warrant this. For instance, painting work in an occupied office block may just be taped off with a warning sign. Pavement works in the street might have temporary barriers in place, but a larger construction site with greater hazards may require a hoarding or secure fencing.

A plan detailing the arrangements for how demolition work will be carried out must be prepared before demolition or dismantling work begins. This applies to all demolition work regardless of size, duration, or whether the job is notifiable.

Demolition means the deliberate pulling down, destruction or taking apart of a building or other structure.  This includes situations where only part of a structure is removed. Similarly, dismantling will be considered to be the taking down or taking apart of all of – or a significant part of – a structure.

Construction operations involving the removal of non-structural elements such as cladding, roof tiles and similar materials are not considered to be demolition or dismantling – eg where these finishes are being replaced. But where these operations are combined with other operations they may together form demolition and dismantling work – eg where the whole building is being taken down. 

The making of an opening for a door, window, service riser etc, where the majority of the wall or surface is retained, is not classed as demolition work.
The erection and taking down of a scaffold used for the purposes of construction is construction work. Taking down a scaffold is not demolition work in its own right.

See the free download of the ACoP, HSE publication L144 (Contractors and the self-employed) and related industry guidance.