CDM Principal Designer
Managing Health & Safety Through Design
Good design considers more than how a building looks and performs.
It also considers how it will be safely constructed, maintained, altered and ultimately used.
As CDM Principal Designer, Jervis Architects leads the management and coordination of health and safety during the pre-construction phase, helping the client and wider design team identify foreseeable risks early and address them through considered design decisions.
Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, a Principal Designer is required where a project involves, or is likely to involve, more than one contractor.
Our approach is straightforward:
Identify risk early. Design it out where possible. Reduce what remains. Communicate it clearly.
What Does a CDM Principal Designer Do?
The CDM Principal Designer takes the lead in planning, managing, monitoring and coordinating health and safety during the pre-construction phase.
Working alongside the client, architects, engineers, specialist designers and contractor team, we help ensure foreseeable risks are considered as the design develops rather than left to be resolved on site.
Where risks cannot reasonably be eliminated, we work with the project team to reduce or control them and ensure significant residual risks are clearly communicated to those who need to know.
The result is a more considered, coordinated and informed route from design into construction.
Our CDM Principal Designer Process
01 - APPOINT
Establish responsibilities
The process starts by establishing the project team, confirming responsibilities and understanding the scope and complexity of the proposed works.
The Principal Designer should be appointed as early as possible in the design process and, where practicable, during the concept stage.
We establish how CDM responsibilities will be managed and how health and safety information will be coordinated throughout the pre-construction phase.
In simple terms:
Who is responsible for managing health and safety through the design process?
02 - INFORM
Understand the project
Good decisions begin with good information.
We work with the client and project team to identify the relevant pre-construction information available for the project.
Depending on the nature of the work, this may include:
Existing drawings and records
Measured and topographical surveys
Structural information
Asbestos information
Utility and services information
Site constraints
Existing Health & Safety Files
Previous reports and investigations
Information relating to neighbouring buildings or structures
We help bring this information together and ensure relevant information is available to the designers and contractors who need it.
In simple terms:
What do we need to know before we design and build?
03 - REDUCE
Design out foreseeable risk
This is where CDM becomes part of the design process.
As the project develops, we work with the design team to identify foreseeable health and safety risks associated with constructing, maintaining and altering the building.
Where reasonably practicable, the first objective is to eliminate the risk through design.
Where this is not possible, we look at how the risk can be reduced or controlled.
This might include considering access, construction sequencing, maintenance, cleaning, replacement of components, work at height, structural interfaces and other significant aspects of the design.
In simple terms:
Can we remove or reduce the risk before it reaches site?
04 - COORDINATE
Bring the design team together
Buildings are rarely designed by one person.
Architectural, structural, mechanical, electrical and specialist designs all need to work together.
As Principal Designer, we coordinate health and safety matters across the pre-construction design team, encouraging designers to communicate, cooperate and consider the effect their decisions may have on others.
Significant design risks can then be identified collectively and addressed as part of the normal design development process.
In simple terms:
Is everyone considering the project - and its risks - together?
05 - COMMUNICATE
Prepare for construction
As the project moves towards construction, relevant information needs to follow it.
We liaise with the Principal Contractor and communicate significant residual design risks that cannot reasonably be eliminated through design.
Where design work continues during construction, we continue to coordinate relevant design health and safety matters for the duration of our appointment.
The HSE recognises that the Principal Designer appointment may need to continue into the construction phase where design work remains ongoing.
In simple terms:
Does the contractor have the information they need to manage the remaining risks?
06 - HANDOVER
Complete the Health & Safety File
The Health & Safety File provides relevant information about the completed project that may be required when future construction, maintenance, alteration or demolition work is carried out.
Where a project involves more than one contractor, the Principal Designer is responsible for preparing the Health & Safety File during the project.
We coordinate the relevant information and develop the file as the project progresses.
At the appropriate point, the completed information is handed over so that important knowledge about the building remains available beyond construction.
In simple terms:
What will someone working on the building in the future need to know?
The CDM Journey
Appoint → Inform → Reduce → Coordinate → Communicate → Handover
Our aim is to make CDM a natural part of the architectural and design process rather than a separate administrative exercise.
By identifying foreseeable risks early and coordinating them alongside the design, potential issues can be addressed when there is still an opportunity to make meaningful changes.
When Do I Need a CDM Principal Designer?
A CDM Principal Designer is required where a construction project involves, or is likely to involve, more than one contractor.
This can apply to projects of many different sizes, not simply major commercial developments.
For domestic projects, the way client duties are allocated under CDM 2015 differs from commercial projects. We can help establish the appropriate responsibilities and appointments at the beginning of the project.
If you are unsure whether your project requires a Principal Designer, speak to us at an early stage.
CDM Principal Designer Services
Depending on the project and our appointment, our service can include:
CDM Principal Designer appointment
Review of existing project and site information
Assistance with Pre-Construction Information
Identification of significant foreseeable design risks
Design risk reviews
Coordination with architects, engineers and specialist designers
Monitoring and coordination of designers' CDM duties
Design team health and safety coordination
Residual risk communication
Liaison with the Principal Contractor
Review of design changes during construction
Preparation and coordination of the Health & Safety File
Project handover
CDM Integrated With Good Design
At Jervis Architects, we believe health and safety should be considered as part of the design process, not added to it afterwards.
Early decisions can influence how easily a building can be constructed, accessed, maintained and adapted throughout its life.
Combining architectural understanding with Principal Designer coordination allows these considerations to form part of the wider project conversation from the outset.
Better information. Better coordination. Better design decisions.
Speak to Jervis Architects
If you are planning a construction project and require a CDM Principal Designer, or would like advice on your responsibilities under CDM 2015, speak to Jervis Architects.
We can review your project, establish the appropriate CDM responsibilities and discuss the level of Principal Designer service required.