Introduction
There is a new piece of safety legislation, Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM15) come into force on 6th April 2015 which affects all schools in control of their own building or property management.
CDM is not new. It is a piece of legislation that aims to reduce accidents during construction projects via good design, planning & co-operation. It also specifies legal requirements for on site safety and for welfare (e.g. toilets and rest areas.) The way a project is designed and managed can reduce risks to workers significantly. For example, designers can reduce risks from fragile roof lights by specifying more robust glass. Minimum site safety standards are contained within the legislation to not only protect the work force, but also others who could be nearby or affected by the work.
The legislation, as most safety legislation within the UK, is derived from European Union. In this case European Directive 92/57/EEC on temporary or mobile construction sites. The new legislation now also applies to domestic construction work (i.e. work on a domestic dwelling which will be occupied by the client afterward.) Previously, most requirements only applied to construction projects based on the duration or size of the work. This is now not the case and CDM applies to all construction projects.
Ireland & Italy have already faced sanctions for excluding domestic work from their legislation and the UK has been warned, hence the review and subsequent revised requirements.