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Corporate responsibility: the duties and responsibilities under the new CDM regulations

In this exclusive extract from NBS Shortcuts, written by noted industry figure Austin Williams, we discuss the duties and responsibilities introduced by the 2007 changes to the Construction (design and management) regulations.

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations has just been changed to make it a whole lot easier to secure convictions against clients and their professional advisors. In today's climate, Health, Safety and Welfare could be a name of a firm of caring solicitors... presumably previously trading as Sewem, Grabbit & Runn.

In the past, if you were not found guilty in a court of law, you were presumed innocent; nowadays there seems to be a presumption of escaped justice. Thus the current Lord Chancellor has made great stock out of suggesting that the difficulty in securing convictions is a reason to amend the law so that the burden of proof can become less onerous.

In the light of a number of high-profile corporate manslaughter cases where a single "directing mind" could not be identified (i.e. if a suitably senior level company exec with direct relationship to the violation could show suitable distance from the chain of causality) then no-one could be held personally guilty of manslaughter. This was deemed to be a example of how the system was failing ordinary people, as opposed to the historic perception that guilt had to be proven beyond reasonable doubt. In the light of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill currently making its way through Parliament - which seeks to investigate organisations for manslaughter following work-related deaths, and prosecute where relevant - justice is being amended so that culpability can be more easily assigned. Under the Construction (design and management) regulations 2007 (CDM 2007) civil liberties exemption has been removed.

CDM 2007 came into force on April 6th 2007 with an accompanying Approved Code of Practice (AcoP) published two months earlier. It has been introduced to counter a creeping blasé approach to health and safety (H&S) in the UK construction industry, where it is often a custom more honour'd in the breach than the observance: thought of by some as a form-filling exercise with little regard to its ultimate viability. However, companies now need to be more realistic and transparent in their assessment procedures and to structure their H&S systems accordingly. For example, a client executive delegating responsibility to an untrained member of staff will be deemed personally to be at fault in any subsequent legal proceedings resulting from health and safety infractions.

CDM 2007 applies to all projects, although "notifiable" projects attract additional duties. Notifiable projects are those that last more than 30 working days or involve more than 500 person days of work (the actual number of people on site is now immaterial). Domestic projects which are carried out by "a client" (i.e. a housebuilder) are also notifiable. If demolition or structural dismantling is involved, then an additional written plan showing how danger will be prevented is required. Additionally, where project risks are higher, for example on those involving deep excavations, contaminated land and nearby high-voltage overhead power lines, something approaching a written construction phase plan will be required.

Every party involved in a project is expected to coordinate activities from health and safety viewpoints, and must cooperate with others involved in construction work on the site and on adjoining sites. Importantly, duty holders (the client, designer, etc.) must take account of the general principles in the Management of health and safety at work regulations 1999.

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The full text of this NBS Shortcut is exclusively available as part of a subscription to NBS Building Regulations. 

NBS Shortcuts is a new series of illustrated "how-to" articles and guides, covering a wide range of practice, regulatory and design guidance. The easy to follow text and detailed hand-drawn graphics will aid any building designer. They are available online as part of your subscription to NBS Building Regulations.

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