Construction, Design & Management

CDM Awareness

If you are a commercial organisation carrying out or arranging significant building refurbishment work for yourselves then you need to consider if the project falls under Part 2 of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (CDM).

This means if the construction work on site will take: more than 30 days or more than 500 person days to complete i.e. it might only take 20 days but if you have 25 people on site then that equates to 500 person days. (This part of the Regulations does not apply to a domestic client.)

Stonevale Site Services Ltd will work with the Principal Contractor to co-ordinator , and manage employees and contractors; materials and equipment; budgets, schedules and contracts for the safety of employees and the public.

PREPARATION OF THE HEALTH & SAFETY FILE

CDM CO-ordinator

We ensure the preparation of a suitable health and safety file, or an update – if one already exists. Discuss this with the client in order that the format is agreed, along with who should provide what information and when. This requires the co-operation of a number of duty holders. We therefore make sure that designers and contractors know, early on, what they will have to provide. Clients need to provide appropriate requirements in contracts to ensure that the information is given to us immediately after relevant design or construction work is completed. At the end of a project a completed file is given to the client for safekeeping.

The Health and Safety File is a record of information for the client (and others who might be responsible for the structure in the future) of the key health and safety risks that have to be managed during any subsequent maintenance, repair or further construction work.

Responsibilities under Risk Assessments

Every company is under a statutory duty to carry out an assessment of risks present in its workplace. If your company employs five people or more, the risk assessment must be in writing.

Legislation requires that the assessment be carried out by a "competent person" and examine the entire company’s activities to identify any hazards involved, the likelihood of those hazards causing harm and the steps required to eliminate or minimise the risks. The risk assessment should be reviewed periodically and whenever there are significant changes in the workplace

Method Statements

A Method Statement is a document detailing how a particular process will be carried out. It should detail the possible dangers/risks associated with your particular part of the project and the methods of control to be established, to show how the work will be managed safely. Stonevale Site Services LTd will analyse your working processes and produce bespoke method statements to reduce the risks involved. You will then be able to comply with the needs of your clients and the CDM regulations.

We can arrange for a qualified Consultant to visit your premises and carry out a Risk Assessment and Method Statement study on your behalf.

Fire Risk Assessments

On the 1st April 2006 the Regulatory reform (Fire & Safety) order, came into force. All existing fire legislation will be repealed including the Fire Precautions Act 1971, Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997/99 and Management of Health & Safety in the Workplace Regulations 1999.

It is important to understand that fire risk assessment is not the same as a fire certificate. All business owners and employers must be able to demonstrate the following:
All fire risks have been assessed and the results recorded with written fire risk assessments.
Records to show that fire fighting equipment has been provided, properly maintained and regularly inspected.
An Emergency Action Plan has been written, confirmed and published.
Staff has received fire training in the use of equipment & procedures in the event of fire.
There are adequate means of fire detection, warning systems and escape routes in place to allow people to leave the building safely. Action plans have been formulated and signed off to indicate proposed completion dates and actual completion dates.

Advice

Stonevale Site Services Ltd understands that many small and medium sized businesses do not have the necessary in-house resources available to fully manage the various aspects of health and safety. Yet the associated risk of failure can cause major problems for organizations of any size, including HSE prosecutions, and even civil claims by individuals against companies for failing to provide adequate training.

Our trained consultants can provide bespoke management support to your organisation to assist you in the management of your health & safety.