CDM Regulations 2015

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 — commonly "CDM 2015" — are the UK's principal statutory framework for health and safety management on construction projects. CDM allocates specific duties to the Client, Principal Designer, Designer, Principal Contractor, Contractor and Workers, with the intent that health and safety is designed into the project from concept rather than bolted on during construction. The regulations apply to all construction projects, with additional requirements (including notifiable project registration with HSE) for larger projects.

For project controls, CDM is not a direct controls requirement but it shapes the project environment in ways that controls practitioners must understand. The Pre-Construction Information, the Construction Phase Plan and the Health and Safety File are CDM deliverables that intersect with schedule and cost controls — they are produced at defined lifecycle points, they have resource and cost implications, and late delivery can trigger enforcement action that affects programme.

The more important implication is that CDM duties influence design sequence, construction methodology and risk allocation. A scheme that cannot be safely constructed as designed must be redesigned, and the cost and schedule consequences flow back into the project baseline. Controls practitioners working on UK construction need basic CDM literacy to understand why certain decisions are being made and to factor CDM-driven requirements into schedule logic and cost estimates. HSE guidance (L153) is the authoritative reference.