Principal Contractor Duties under CDM Regulations

A Principle Contractor must be appointed for each project that is notifiable to the HSE. To ensure clear demarcation of responsibilities on a project there should only be one Principal Contractor at any one time and for the same reason, when there are a number of overlapping projects, it is advisable to appoint a single Principal Contractor to cover them all.

If, for whatever reason, it is necessary to appoint more than one Principal Contractor, it is essential that they cooperate and that the hand-over is properly managed.

As regards the emphasis that a Principal Contractor should put on Health and Safety, the general principle is that everything should be in proportion to the levels of risk and complexity associated with the project. Their responsibilities extend to the health and safety of everyone on site, so, for example, the Principal Contractor must:

• Check that the Client is aware of their responsibilities under the CDM Regulations 2007



• Monitor and manage their own work



• Ensure everyone else employed on the contract is competent, has adequate resources for the project and the information needed so that they can work safely.

More specifically, the Principal Contractor must:

• Liaise with the CDM Coordinator to ensure health and safety is given appropriate priority throughout the construction phase.



• Provide direction and information (including appropriate parts of the Construction Phase Plan) for contractors; ensuring they are aware of the minimum amount of planning and preparation time and that they provide adequate welfare facilities.



• Act as liaison between the CDM Coordinator and Contractors to ensure information is available from which to assemble the Health and Safety file



• Provide every worker on the site with appropriate health and safety information, including suitable site induction and any further training that is deemed necessary.

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