Regulation 9 of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM) sets out the duty of designers to eliminate, reduce or control foreseeable risks that may arise during construction or maintenance activities. Specifically, Regulation 9 requires designers to ensure that their designs take into account the general principles of prevention, as set out in Schedule 1 of the regulations.
These principles include:
- Avoiding risks where possible
- Evaluating the risks that cannot be avoided
- Combating risks at the source
- Adapting work to the individual
- Adapting to technical progress
- Replacing the dangerous with the non-dangerous or the less dangerous
- Developing a coherent overall prevention policy
- Giving collective protective measures priority over individual protective measures
- Giving appropriate instruction to employees
Examples of how designers can comply with Regulation 9 and the general principles of prevention include:
- Designing structures that are easy to maintain and inspect, to reduce the risk of accidents during maintenance activities
- Ensuring that structures are designed to withstand expected loads and environmental conditions, to reduce the risk of structural failure
- Reducing the need for working at height by designing structures that are easily accessible from ground level
- Specifying non-hazardous materials in the design, to reduce the risk of exposure to hazardous substances
- Incorporating safety features, such as guardrails or safety harness anchor points, into the design where appropriate, to reduce the risk of falls from height
- Ensuring that the design takes into account the needs of workers with disabilities or specific needs, to reduce the risk of accidents or ill health
- Providing clear and concise instructions and information to workers on how to safely carry out the work, to reduce the risk of accidents or ill health
By following the general principles of prevention and ensuring that their designs take into account foreseeable risks, designers can help to reduce the risk of accidents and ill health during construction and maintenance activities.
You can use the MSAFE Design Hazard Review Tool to check and record your application of the principles of prevention.
MSAFE can be of benefit to a design team, individual designers or principal designers. We offer a service as CDM Advisor to assist in complying with Regulation 9 of CDM 2015.
Contact MSAFE to discuss how we may be able to assist further.
