Construction Phase Plan

A construction phase plan is a collation of all the management arrangements for a construction project. Its size and content may well differ from minimal for a minor project to heavy detail for major works. Regulation 18 of CDM2016 states that the relevant contractor must ensure that:-

• A site-specific construction phase plan is prepared before the construction work commences
• The plan is in accordance with this Regulation
• The plan is monitored, maintained and kept up to date during the course of the work

The plan must include so far as is reasonably practicable:-

• A statement of responsibilities, listing the names, positions and responsibilities of all persons who will have specific responsibilities on the site for occupational health and safety
• Details of arrangements for ensuring occupational health and safety training appropriate to the construction work under the construction project
• Details of arrangements for the co-ordination of health and safety matters concerning persons engaged to undertake that construction work
• Details of arrangements for managing occupational health or safety incidents when they occur, including the identities of and contact details of all persons who will be available to prevent, prepare for, respond to, or manage recovery from, those incidents
• Any site safety rules, with the detail of arrangements for ensuring that all persons at the site, whether employees, contractors, suppliers or visitors, are informed of the rules
• Hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control information for all work activities assessed as having risks; and
• Safe work method statements for all high-risk construction work.

The relevant contractor, must ensure that a copy of the plan is available for inspection throughout the course of the construction work by:-

• any person engaged to undertake construction work at the site
• any person about to commence work at the site
• any person who works at the site

The relevant contractor must ensure that any person engaged to carry out construction work at the construction site is provided with a copy of the parts of the construction phase plan for that site that relate to that work or to the person so engaged before the person so engaged starts work at the site.

If a construction phase plan is changed during the course of construction work, the relevant contractor must ensure that every person engaged to carry out construction work at the site concerned is promptly provided with a copy of the changed parts of the plan that relate to that work or to that person.

What the HSI do not want to see is a generic construction phase plan. The aim of producing this plan is to make sure that the contractor in question has assessed the site, the hazards, the location, the design requirements etc. Additionally, the sharing of this document to all parties is paramount.

Safe Work Method Statements

If high-risk construction work is to be undertaken, the relevant contractor must, ensure that each contractor carrying out high-risk construction work gives the relevant contractor a written safe work method statement for the high-risk construction work before the work is started.

The contractor who has control of the high-risk construction work must prepare a written safe work method statement for the work before it is started.

The relevant contractor of a construction project in relation to which high-risk construction work is undertaken, must ensure that work stops on the site if:-

• The paragraphs above (as the case requires) is not complied with in relation to the project
• Or the safe work method statements given or prepared under paragraph two are not kept up to date and reviewed whenever there is a change to the high-risk construction work that may have an impact on the health and safety of any person.

The relevant contractor must ensure that there are arrangements for:-

• ensuring that all persons undertaking high risk construction work comply with the safe work method statement that applies to that work; and
• making a person who is not complying with a safe work method statement that applies to the work:-
  • if it is safe to do so, stop the work immediately, or
  • If an immediate stop would increase the risk to health or safety of that or any other person, stop the work when it is safe to do so

The work must not be resumed until the person who failed to comply complies with the safe work method statement. For more information see Method Statements.

Occupational Health and Safety Training

Regulation 20 requires the contractor in question to ensure that all persons on site have had sufficient training. The relevant contractor must not direct or allow another person, including a self-employed person, to undertake construction work on the construction project unless:-

• The relevant contractor is satisfied that the other person has completed occupational health and safety training appropriate to the construction work to be undertaken by the person; or
• The other person is a person specified above

A person engaged to undertake construction work must not undertake that work unless he or she:-

• has completed occupational health and safety training appropriate to the construction work to be undertaken by the person
• is a person specified in paragraph 5 below.

The relevant contractor must make a record of the occupational health and safety induction training and any other training given to persons directly engaged or trained by the relevant contractor to undertake any construction work.

The relevant contractor must keep the record made under paragraph (3) for 3 years after the completion of the construction project or work.

Paragraph five defines the persons specified for the purposes of this section as:-

• A visitor to the relevant construction site who is accompanied by a person who has completed occupational health and safety training appropriate to the construction work;
• A person temporarily at the relevant construction site to deliver plant, supplies, materials or services where a risk assessment indicates that any risks to such a person can be controlled through measures other than that person’s completing occupational health and safety training appropriate to the construction work; or
• A person undertaking construction work while he or she is undergoing such training as will ensure that the work is carried out without risk to health and safety.

For audit purposes there should be documentary evidence that the contractor has checked the health and safety knowledge of any persons on site.