Guidance Note 43 – Construction phase plan

A basic guide to preparation

Introduction

The Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2105) are intended to ensure that health and safety issues are properly considered during a project’s development so that the risk of harm to those who have to build, use and maintain structures is reduced.

Under CDM 2015 all Contractors are required to prepare a Construction Phase Plan when they are appointed as the Principal Contractor or when they are the only contractor present on a job.

This Guidance Note gives practical information about creating a construction phase plan for non-notifiable* small scale low risk projects to comply with CDM 2015.

Examples of could include:

• Domestic Bathroom Refurbishment.
• Reactive Maintenance Work on CCTV Systems eg replacing a camera.
• Minor Repairs to a Roof.
• Replacement of Windows or Doors.
• Maintenance works following the servicing of a Heating System.

This list is not exhaustive and is intended only as an example of the broad range of construction works that will require a Construction Phase Plan either based on the template included in this Guidance Note or similar e.g http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/cis80.pdf or http://www.citb.co.uk/health-safety-and-other-topics/health-safety/constructiondesign-and-management-regulations/cdm-wizard-app/.

(For notifiable* projects or for more high risk works, a more detailed construction phase plan will be required further information can be obtained at:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/priced/l153.pdf ).

A blank template has also been included in Appendix 1.

Completed sample templates have been included in Appendix 2 and 3 for non-notifiable projects. If you wish to use the template in Appendix 1 to construct your own documents, you must ensure that all references to Alcumus SafeContractor Accreditation have been removed and the final documents are clearly incorporated into your existing safety management system.

*Construction work is notifiable to the HSE if the construction work on a construction site is expected to:

• last more than 30 days and have more than 20 workers working at the same time at any point on the project or
• exceed 500 person days of construction work.