CDM-C

Aims & Objectives

Why this training is needed

Many organisations do not realise that they become the ‘Client’ under CDM 2015 whenever they commission construction work. The Client role falls on whoever commissions the work - manufacturers, offices, warehouses, laboratories, retailers, schools, hospitals and property owners - not just construction companies or large building projects.

CDM 2015 was written with traditional construction in mind, but the legal definition of construction work is much wider. Installation, alteration, repair, dismantling and some maintenance activities often fall within CDM, even though the organisation does not see itself as being ‘in construction’. Failure to understand these duties is one of the most common reasons projects drift into poor planning, weak contractor management and avoidable risk.

Course aim

To give Client organisations and non-construction industries a clear, practical understanding of what CDM means, when it applies, and what they must do -and to provide a simple, defensible method for identifying when CDM applies in non-construction environments.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course delegates will be able to:

• Explain when CDM 2015 applies and what legally counts as construction work.
• Identify who the Client is and understand the Client’s legal duties.
• Recognise the activities in their own organisation that legally fall within CDM.
• Apply a simple screening method to decide whether CDM applies.
• Recognise when Principal Designer and Principal Contractor appointments are required.
• Understand the difference between notifiable and non-notifiable projects.
• Put in place suitable arrangements for planning, managing and monitoring projects.
• Integrate CDM into existing systems such as contractor control, permits and isolations.
• Produce proportionate documentation and evidence, and know what to retain.
• Avoid duplication, confusion and the common mistakes that routinely leave Clients exposed.

Suitability

Directors, senior managers, facilities and estates managers, engineering and maintenance managers, project and procurement managers, operations managers, HSE advisers, permit issuers and contractor controllers

Requirements

No prior knowledge of CDM is required. Delegates should ideally have some involvement in commissioning, managing or overseeing projects, contractors or maintenance activity within their organisation.

Syllabus

Course 1: CDM 2015 Awareness for Client Organisations (half day)

Part 1. What is CDM and when does it apply?

• Purpose and scope of CDM 2015
• What legally counts as ‘construction work’
• Why maintenance, refurbishment, installation and demolition often fall within scope
• Examples that catch organisations out:
  • Replacing a mezzanine floor
  • Installing new pipework or production lines
  • Roof repairs
  • Replacing office partitions or ceilings
  • Major plant maintenance shutdowns

Part 2. The Client’s duties

• Who is the Client?
• Commercial Client versus Domestic Client
• Duty to make suitable arrangements
• Providing sufficient time and resources
• Ensuring suitable management arrangements are in place
• Ensuring welfare is provided
• Providing Pre-Construction Information
• Retaining and handing over the Health and Safety File

Part 3. When do you need a Principal Designer and Principal Contractor?

• The ‘more than one contractor’ rule
• Why self-employed specialists count as contractors
• Requirement for written appointment
• Consequences of failing to appoint
• What happens if the Client does not appoint them

Part 4. Notification and common misunderstandings

• F10 notification thresholds
• Why most duties still apply even when the project is not notifiable
• The common myth that ‘small jobs are exempt’
• Typical misunderstandings in offices, factories and commercial premises

Part 5. What good looks like

• Simple Client-side project checklist
• What information to ask for before work starts
• Minimum evidence to retain:
  • Scope of work
  • Contractor competence checks
  • Written PD and PC appointments
  • Pre-Construction Information
  • Construction Phase Plan
  • Monitoring records
  • Health and Safety File
• Practical examples of proportionate compliance

Part 6. Workshop exercise

Delegates review three short project examples and decide:

• Does CDM apply?
• Who is the Client?
• Is a PD and PC required?
• Is the project notifiable?
• What should the Client do next?

Suggested scenarios:

• Office refurbishment using three contractors
• Roof replacement at a warehouse
• Installation of a new process line during a factory shutdown

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Course 2: CDM 2015 for Non-Construction Industry (one day)

When everyday work becomes ‘construction’.

Part 1. Why CDM catches non-construction organisations out

• What CDM actually says
• The legal definition of construction work
• Why the definition is wider than most people think
• Typical sectors affected:
  • Manufacturing
  • Warehousing and logistics
  • Food production
  • Pharmaceuticals and laboratories
  • Offices and commercial premises
  • Healthcare
  • Utilities and infrastructure

Part 2. A simple test — does CDM apply?

Introducing the Three Question CDM Test:

• Does the work build, alter, dismantle, extend, remove, install, maintain or significantly change a structure, plant or system?
• Does it involve design input, sequencing, coordination or more than one contractor?
• Does it create construction-type hazards such as work at height, lifting operations, excavation, live services, structural change, confined space, hot work or temporary works?

If the answer to any of these is yes, CDM is likely to apply.

Part 3. The jobs that routinely fall within CDM

Examples relevant to non-construction industry:

• Installing a new conveyor or production line
• Replacing a tank or vessel
• Modifying process pipework
• Replacing roofs, floors or mezzanines
• Building office extensions or welfare areas
• Removing asbestos containing materials
• Large shutdown maintenance involving several contractors
• Demolition or dismantling of redundant plant
• Installing new electrical supplies or switchgear

Part 4. Roles and legal duties

• Who is the Client in a non-construction organisation?
• Who is the Designer?
• When do you need a Principal Designer and Principal Contractor?
• Why self-employed specialists count
• Duties of contractors and workers
• How CDM sits alongside:
  • HSWA 1974
  • MHSWR 1999
  • Permit to Work systems
  • Contractor control procedures

Part 5. Notification and documentation

• F10 notification thresholds
• Why most projects are not notifiable but still subject to CDM
• The minimum documentation needed:
  • Pre-Construction Information
  • Construction Phase Plan
  • Welfare arrangements
  • Monitoring and supervision records
  • Health and Safety File
• How much is enough — keeping it proportionate

Part 6. Integration, not duplication

• How to align CDM with existing systems
• Using existing contractor approval and permit-to-work arrangements
• Avoiding duplication of RAMS, permits and CDM paperwork
• Creating a simple ‘switch into CDM mode’ process
• Suggested trigger points:
  • More than one contractor
  • Structural change
  • Significant engineering work
  • High-risk work activities

Part 7. Practical workshop

Delegates work through realistic scenarios and decide:

• Does CDM apply?
• What roles are required?
• What documentation is needed?
• How should the organisation integrate the requirements into its current systems?

Suggested scenarios:

• Replacement of a process vessel using several contractors during a shutdown
• Relocation of a production line and new service connections
• Roof repair above a live process area
• New laboratory fit-out involving electrical and ventilation contractors

Optional follow-on module (additional half day)

• Writing effective Pre-Construction Information
• Developing proportionate Construction Phase Plans
• Integrating CDM with permit-to-work and contractor management systems
• Running a live project through the decision process

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Key messages reinforced throughout both courses

• CDM applies because of the work being done, not because of the industry you are in.
• The Client usually has the greatest influence and therefore the greatest responsibility.
• More than one contractor means written PD and PC appointments are normally required.
• Notifiable does not mean ‘CDM applies’. Most duties apply regardless.
• Good CDM is about planning, coordination and sensible control, not producing a mountain of paperwork.

Notes

Fully comprehensive notes will be given to all delegates who attend the course. Materials provided include:

• Client dutyholder quick guide
• Client project checklist
• Simple CDM decision flowchart for non-construction organisations
• CDM applicability screening form
• Three Question CDM Test aide memoire
• Example written PD and PC appointment letters
• Example Pre-Construction Information template (full and short-form)
• Example short-form Construction Phase Plan template
• Example project file checklist

Certification

On satisfactory completion of the course a certificate of attendance will be issued