Construction Design Management CDM

H&S Oversight – CEO / Executive Director, Dr Ben Todd

H&S Planning – Head of Quality & Compliance, with Health & Safety Committee, Jermu Pulli

H&S Management (Construction Sites) - Site Manager (David Todd)

H&S Management (Theatre) – Head of Production (Geoff Hense)

H&S Management (Events) – Head of Partnerships (Feimatta Conteh)

Adherence to H&S Procedures – Operatives & Contractors

Construction Design Management (CDM) regulations were initially intended (2007) to reduce the high incidence of accidents, injuries and fatalities on large construction sites. In 2015, the scope of the CDM regulations was expanded to cover much smaller 'construction' activities, and thus includes many things which you might not think of as construction - namely get-ins of theatre shows and setting-up trade shows stands. Much discussion in the events industry has resulted in a Guidance Document issued by the Association of British Theatre Technicians which has been widely adopted in the theatre industry (linked below).

Policing of CDM regulations for small-scale activities is very weak, thus our focus in theatre and events is generally on using CDM principles to make our activities safer, rather than on maintaining rigorous documentation. For larger construction projects and complex installations involving hydrogen, we need to be much more careful about both working safely and ensuring full documentation.

More info here:

 - Guidance on Regulations http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/l153.htm

 - Client Responsibilities http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg411.htm

 - Health & Safety in Construction http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/hsg150.htm

 - The Absolutely Essential H&S Toolkit for the Smaller Construction Company http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg344.pdf

 - ABTT Draft Guidance on implementing CDM in Theatre: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CVUHH5VjAqXaM7uPFn_7UVoZ623svpFM/view?usp=sharing 

Our general approach is as below:

The company is growing quickly and working towards implementation of Policies, Procedures and Certification to ISO9001 (Quality), ISO3100 (Risk), ISO14001 (Environment) & ISO45001 Occupational Health & Safety. CDM is implemented in this context, with most of the requirements included in the above Management Systems.

CDM arrangements apply in 3 contexts:

 - Build of Theatre Shows – appropriate management of regular get-in and get-out activities. Almost entirely on own premises. Arcola generally the Main Contractor and controller of the facilities. 

 - Participation in External Events – general stand set-up and specialist equipment in use or on display at ad hoc events. Generally off-site, under the control of a 3rd party Main Contractor. 

 - Construction Works – some works to own-premises, ad hoc external contracts involving installations which may fall under the scope of CDM regulations. Arcola as Main Contractor or Sub-Contractor. Almost always small installations, involving fewer than 10 people on-site, most of whom are direct employees or long-term partners. Projects are planned in detail in advance (Construction Phase Plan and Risk Assessment) and communicated in detail pre-commencement and on-site via Tool-Box talks.

The Management Team have previously been involved in significant construction projects – e.g. as Main Contractor on £1.5M project involving demolitions, underpinning, roofing, electrical installations, sewerage, HVAC, heating, SolarPV, DC Microgrid, etc. Thus there is significant in-houe experience of operating sites.

All Arcola Energy work is specialist and technical, we do not engage contractors or labour without good spoken and written English.

 When appointing contractors and labour we take reasonable steps to ensure that they have the skills, knowledge, experience, and, where they are an organisation, the organisational capability to carry out the work in a way that secures health and safety. Reasonable steps will depend on the complexity of the project and the range and nature of the risks involved. Organisational capability means the policies and systems an organisation has in place to set acceptable health and safety standards which comply with the law, and the resources and people to ensure the standards are delivered (Managing health and safety in construction, Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Guidance on Regulations)