Construction industry leads on CDM guidance

E084:06 16 August 2006

An industry led steering group is leading on creating guidance documents to support the revised Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM), due to come into force in April 2007. The group has been set up by the Health and Safety Commission's Construction Industry Advisory Committee (CONIAC).

The steering group has been appointed by CONIAC and its members are from a wide cross section of the industry. Kevin Fear, Head of Health, Safety and Environment at Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) Construction Skills is chairing the working group - bringing a pan-industry perspective to the project.

Kevin Fear said:

"Our aim is to co-ordinate industry guidance to ensure that clear and helpful advice is given on the application of CDM, explaining to employers and individuals what they have to do, how they work within the project team and setting out the benefits from getting it right. Each member of the steering group is responsible for consulting with and pulling together the initial draft of the guidance for key duty-holders, which come from their sector of industry. This will then be consolidated and finalised by the group which will then pass the guidance to CONIAC for sign off."

"We intend to make the guidance available to industry from January 2007. It will link in with the Approved Code of Practice, also to be published at this time, and the revised CDM Regulations which will come into force on 6 April 2007."

The steering group welcomes the input of all sections of the industry and particularly encourages other bodies involved in developing guidance to submit proposals to the CONIAC steering group.

The following are represented on the working group: Association for Project Safety; Construction Clients Group; Construction Confederation; Construction Skills; Department of Trade and Industry; Federation of Master Builders; Health and Safety Executive, Home Builders Federation; Institution for Civil Engineers; Institution of Occupational Health and Safety; Institution of Structural Engineers; National Association of Shopfitters; National Specialist Contractors Council; Royal Institute of British Architects; Strategic Forum for Construction; and Union of Construction Allied Trades and Technicians.

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Commission (HSC) is responsible for health and safety regulation in Great Britain. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and local government are the enforcing authorities that work in support of the HSC. Both HSC and HSE receive specialist advice from a range of advisory committees, boards and councils, of which CONIAC is one. Further information on the work of CONIAC can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/meetings/iacs/coniac/index.htm
2. The new proposed CDM Regulations revise and consolidate provisions in the existing - 1994 - CDM, and the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) (CHSW) Regulations into a single regulatory package. HSC decided in December 2005 that the revised package should be supported by an Approved Code of Practice and industry produced guidance. The steering group will discharge this action, and in doing so will aim to ensure that any industry guidance produced is consistent and properly targeted. The group has met twice (April and July) and plans a further meeting in September.
3. Construction Skills is a partnership between CITB-ConstructionSkills, Construction Industry Council (CIC) and CITB (NI). It is one of the Sector Skills Councils tasked by the Government to implement UK-wide Sector Skills Agreements between the bodies responsible for delivering training in the UK and those that demand it. Its website is www.constructionskills.net/

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