PLANNING AND RISK
So what’s a construction phase plan? “Before starting any project, you need to plan the work considering the project’s scope, required resources, and timeline,” says Peter Kinselley, Associate Director, Health and Safety Consultancy at Cardinus. “This planning helps you estimate costs and allows your client to decide if the project can proceed.” Kinselley says a CPP goes beyond basic project planning, in that it: ● ensures that safety is a priority throughout the project; ● outlines how site safety will be managed and maintained; and ● ensures compliance with CDM 2015 and safeguarding everyone involved. A construction phase plan (PDF) must be prepared for a project before the construction phase begins. Kinselley explains. It must outline: ● Health and safety arrangements ● Site rules ● Specific measures concerning work involving the risks listed in Schedule 3 of the CDM 2015 Regulations “Pre-construction information and any key design information, identifying risks that need to be managed during construction work, will be helpful in planning the construction phase and drawing up the construction phase plan,” Kinselley adds. “A CPP is used to plan the project, ensuring safety is prioritised. RAMS identify hazards and implement suitable controls. Both the CPP and RAMS are essential to meet the requirements of CDM 2015.” Peter Kinselley
prepared for many other construction activities and are proven to be an effective and practical way to help plan, manage and monitor construction work. When it comes to CPPs, the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations (CDM) apply to all building and construction work, regardless of the size, nature or duration of the work. It includes work carried out for domestic clients. Importantly, they are both legal requirements. At what stage of a project should a builder create a RAMS versus a CPP, and how do the two interact with each other? AH: A CPP must be drawn up before construction starts onsite. The contractor in charge of the overall construction phase or build (sometimes referred to as the Principal Contractor) is responsible for producing the CPP. RAMS must be prepared prior to the task or operation being carried out – and can be produced by others rather than the builder in charge; for example, by subcontractors for their operations and operatives. The duty of the builder is to ensure these are in place. How do the legal requirements for RAMS and CPPs differ under the UK’s Construction (Design and Management) Regulations (CDM 2015), and what are the compliance implications for small builders? AH: The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 (HASAWA) is the enabling Act for all health and safety regulations including CDM and applies to everyone at work. It sets out duties such as those that: ● employers have towards employees and members of the public; ● employees have to themselves and to each other; and
● certain self-employed have towards themselves and others.
These legal duties are enforced by the HSE and everyone is required to meet their legal duties no matter the size of the organisation or business. What common mistakes do small builders make when preparing RAMS and CPPs, and how can they ensure both are practical and effective for site safety? AH: Here are a few: ● choosing to think that all these laws (in their entirety) do not apply to small builders; ● believing that they lack the ability to prepare either sets of documents; ● lacking an overall understanding of basic health and safety requirements; and ● thinking that using or maintaining these documents is impossible. The CPPs can be very simple and preparing a suitable set of RAMS is not as hard as it seems. Many of the health and safety ‘basic’ measures are in place by tradition rather than design.
Important resources Scan the QR code for guidance on Managing health and safety in construction, Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Scan the QR code for Health and Safety Executive’s requirements.
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Master Builder
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