The Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007
Introduction
Readers will probably be aware that The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 are scheduled to come into force on 6 April 2007. These will replace the current 1994 Regulations and also The Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996. The new regulations will be accompanied by an Approved Code of Practice (ACoP).
The impetus behind the new regulations is very much health and safety. The emphasis is about putting health and safety procedures into working practice and compliance will require more than 'lip service'.
The main points arising from the new regulations are as follows:
- there is a general duty on all people involved in the management of a construction project to co-operate with others to comply with the obligations imposed by the regulations;
- Any person who is working under the control of another person will have a duty to inform that person of anything that poses a threat to the health and safety of that person or others;
- Work on projects should be co-ordinated as far as is reasonably practicable to assist the health and safety of those carrying out the work and those affected by it;
- No contractor shall carry out construction work unless the client is aware of his duties under the regulations.
The new regulations would appear to impose greater accountability on clients. A key provision for example is for the client to assess or have a suitable method of assessing the competency of the workforce, including designers and contractors. This means making reasonable enquiries to check that the organisation or individual is competent to do the relevant work and the ACoP sets out a two-stage process by which this competency should be assessed. There are different competency assessment requirements for designers, co-ordinators and site workers.
The role of planning supervisor no longer exists in the new regulations. Instead, a new role of co-ordinator has been introduced for notifiable projects.
The new regulations are more detailed than the 1994 Regulations but would appear more user friendly. The new regulations should result in each person involved in the project having a clear idea of what their responsibilities and legal obligations are.
Ashfords is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The information in this article is intended to be general information about English law only and not comprehensive. It is not to be relied on as legal advice nor as an alternative to taking professional advice relating to specific circumstances.
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