Construction Phase Plan – The Lowdown

This blog post gives you the lowdown on Construction Phase Plans, answering some of the most frequently asked questions about the CPP: What is a CPP? What kind of plan are you required to complete for your construction activity? What do you need to include in a CPP? Read on for detailed answers to these questions, plus tips for creating your CPP. 

What is a Construction Phase Plan?

A Construction Phase Plan is a legal requirement of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Each construction phase plan must:

• Be relevant to the project.
• Record the health and safety arrangements and site rules for the construction phase of the project.
• And, be appropriate for the scale and complexity of the work to be undertaken, considering the risks involved. 

What do you mean by construction?

The definition of ‘construction’ under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 is very broad. Essentially, if a job involves any form of preparation, construction, alteration, conversion, ‘fitting out’, commissioning, renovation, repair, upkeep, redecoration, maintenance, de-commissioning, demolition or dismantling of a structure is classed as construction work. If you were wondering, a ‘construction site’ is defined as anywhere that a construction activity takes place.

Do I need to write a Construction Phase Plan?

If you work in the construction industry, you will need to write a construction phase plan in either of the following circumstances:

• If there is more than one contractor working on a project, one of you needs to become the designated Principal Contractor. That person or business will be responsible for drawing up the plan before the construction site is set up, and reviewing the plan for any inaccuracies, updating it when necessary.
• For single contractor projects i.e., you are the only contractor involved with the project, you will be responsible for creating the construction phase plan as soon as possible prior to the set-up of the site. 

If either of the above circumstances apply to your business, you will need to supply a construction phase plan as part of the SafeContractor assessment process.

What should a Construction Phase Plan contain?

A suitable CPP must contain the following areas:

• A description of the project including key dates and important project team members.
• The management of the work including the; Health and safety aims, Site rules, Arrangements to make sure with all team members cooperate and coordinate their work, for example, regular team meetings, Arrangements for involving site workers, Site induction, Welfare facilities, and Fire and emergency procedures.
• The control of any of the specific site works from Schedule 3 of CDM 2015 if they are relevant to the work (which we outline in the next question).

What else do I need to consider in my plan?

Schedule 3 of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 requires you to set out controls for work involving risks. Where relevant to a job or project, your plan may need to include details of the risks and the specific control measures put in place to manage the ten risks specified in Schedule 3 of the regulations.

The ten risks:

1. Work which puts workers at risk of burial under earth falls, engulfment in swampland or falling from a height, where the risk is particularly high by the nature of the work, the processes used, or by the site environment/location.
2. Work which puts works at risk from chemical or biological substances constituting a danger to the health and safety of workers or involving a legal requirement for health monitoring.
3. Work with ionizing radiation requiring the designation of controlled or supervised areas under regulation 16 of the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999.
4. Work near high voltage power lines.
5. Work exposing workers to the risk of drowning.
6. Work on wells, underground earthworks and tunnels.
7. Work carried out by divers having a system of air supply.
8. Work carried out by workers in caissons with a compressed air atmosphere.
9. Work involving the use of explosives.
10. Work involving the assembly or dismantling of heavy prefabricated components.