Principal Designer
We undertake the role of Principal Designer to control the pre-construction phase of the project. Principal Designers have an important role in influencing how risks to health and safety are managed throughout a project. Design decisions made during the pre-construction phase have a significant influence in ensuring the project is delivered in a way that secures the health and safety of everyone affected by the work.
The CDM Regulations place responsibility for managing the health and safety of a construction project on three main duty holders. The client has overall responsibility for the successful management of the project and is supported by the Principal Designer and Principal Contractor in different phases of the project. For the successful delivery of a project, good working relationships between the duty holders are essential from the start.
Principal Designers are required to:
- Plan, manage, monitor and coordinate health and safety in the pre-construction phase
- Help and advise the client in bringing together pre-construction information, and provide the information designers and contractors need to carry out their duties
- Work with any other designers on the project to eliminate foreseeable health and safety risks to anyone affected by the work and, where that is not possible, take steps to reduce or control those risks
- Ensure that everyone involved in the pre-construction phase communicates and cooperates, coordinating their work wherever required
- Liaise with the Principal Contractor, keeping them informed of any risks that need to be controlled during the construction phase
