Principal Designer CDM Services:

What is a Principal Designer

The HSE states that a Principal Designer is a designer who is an organisation or individual appointed by the client to take control of the pre-construction phase of any project involving more than one contractor.

The Principal Designer must have the right skills, knowledge and experience, and, if they are an organisation, the organisational capability necessary to fulfil the role of Principal Designer. In essence, they should have:

• Technical knowledge of the construction industry, relevant to the project;
• An understanding of how Health and Safety is managed through the design process; and
• The skills to be able to oversee Health and Safety during the construction phase.

Role of the Principal Designer

The Principal Designer must plan, manage and monitor the pre-construction phase and coordinate matters relating to health and safety during the pre-construction phase to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the project is carried out without risks to health and safety, this includes:

• Identifying, eliminating or controlling foreseeable risks
• Ensuring designers carry out their duties
• Prepare and provide relevant information to other duty holders
• Liaise with the Principal Contractor to help in the planning, management, monitoring and co-ordination of the construction phase
• Produce the Health and Safety File (H&S File) and Pre-construction information (PCI).

Finally, if asked to do so by the client, the Principal Designer can complete the F10 documentation and submit it to the HSE.

Our approach to CDM

Whether large or small, projects depend on the key appointment of the Principal Designer to help ensure Health and Safety legal requirements under CDM are met.

We believe that all successful and safe projects start with effective, hands-on management of design risk. We are here to help you with all your CDM Principal Designer requirements.

Working closely with a range of architects, designers and engineers during the pre-construction phase of projects is the key to the planning, management and monitoring of this vitally important phase of all projects.

We continue to provide bespoke Principal Designer services across a diverse spectrum of project environments as Crawley, Horsham Eastbourne, Hastings, & Brighton & Hove in Sussex, as well as other areas in Surrey, Hampshire, Kent and London.

Our Principal Designer Services

Our Principal Designer Services include:

• Helping and advising the client in bringing together pre-construction information and providing the information Designers and Contractors need to carry out their duties.
• Working with designers and Architects on the project to eliminate foreseeable Health and Safety design risks associated with the projects design.
• The completion of in-depth design risk registers for projects.
• Ensuring that everyone involved in the pre-construction phase communicates and cooperates, coordinating their work wherever required.
• Liaising with the Principal Contractor, keeping them informed of any risks that need to be controlled during the construction phase.

At USP, we have been involved as a Principal Designer on hundreds of projects, from social housing through to large commercial fit-outs and everything in between. All our Principal Designer appointments are backed up with significant experience and qualification, as well as registered membership of the Association of Project Safety.

Frequently Asked Questions

Principal Designer Exhibitions Projects:

• Rolling Stones ‘Exhibitionism’ – Saatchi Gallery
• Alexander McQueen ‘Savage Beauty’ – Victoria and Albert Museum
• MET Special Forces Exhibition – National Army Museum
• Wedding Dresses Exhibition – Victoria and Albert Museum
• World War 2 Exhibition – Imperial War Museum
• Viking Ships Exhibition – The British Museum

Rolling Stones ‘Exhibitionism’
Saatchi Gallery