An Evaluation of the Role of the Principal Designer (PD)

The Construction Design and Management Regulations 2015, also known as CDM Regulations or CDM 2015, came into force on 6 April 2015. They govern the way construction projects of all sizes and types are planned in Great Britain. The principal designer role was introduced by the CDM 2015 regulations. They are appointed by the client to take the lead in planning, managing, monitoring and coordinating health and safety during the pre-construction phase (design and planning stage) of a 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.

This review goes above the evaluation that is required by the Post Implementation Review PIR for CDM which focuses on a response to the original Economic Impact Assessment (EIA) and looks at the structural changes that should have occurred within the industry arising from this new role.

One of the principal findings of the PIR was that the anticipated cost savings that were expected to arise from the introduction of the PD had yet to materialise. Several speculative reasons for this had been put forward. CD Sector needs to have greater understanding of what is driving behaviours in this area and how the role is functioning at present. This is to provide a basis for effective policy development and inform strategic considerations related to wider industry change associated with the Grenfell fire and the creation of a new Building Safety Regulator (BSR).

The aim of the project is to enhance CD's understanding of how the PD role is being embedded within construction projects of all sizes.

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