Techno Bits

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994 (CDM) and the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 have brought major changes to construction health and safety, explicitly bringing clients and designers into the process for the first time. It places emphasis on managing health and safety throughout the life of a project, and highlights the need for everyone to play their part in reducing health and safety risks to construction workers.

'Managing Health and Safety in Construction', a revised Approved Code of Practice (ACoP) and guidance on the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994, comes into force on 1 February 2002. Published by the Health and Safety Commission (HSC) it aims to address the fact that a significant number of people in the industry didn't fully understand their legal responsibilities.

The new ACoP includes a greater emphasis on the management of health and safety throughout the life of a project; clarification of the responsibilities of clients and designers under the regulations; and a restructuring of the document to make it more user-friendly. Key elements of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 have been included as the industry had indicated that it would be more helpful than having to refer to a separate document.

Once the ACoP has come into force, HSE plans to begin a review of CDM. This will begin with a wide-ranging discussion document next spring to encourage debate. This will ask how the regulations could be improved, but it will also address the wider, more difficult issue of how compliance and encouraging best practice can be improved. The review is expected to last about three years.

Archived - Jan. 27, 2003