CDM Consultant for Clients and Contractors
Independent CDM 2015 advice that tells you which duties are yours, who needs appointing and what paperwork must exist before anyone starts work on site.
A CDM consultant helps the people paying for building work understand what the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 ask of them, then puts the right arrangements in place. Resilient Consult works for the client side on refurbishments, fit-outs, extensions, new builds and maintenance contracts. We check whether the job needs notifying to HSE, set out the appointments you have to make, review the documents your team produces and visit site to see whether the plan on paper matches what is happening on the ground.
Most CDM failures are simple ones. A client assumes the builder has it covered, the principal designer is appointed after the drawings are finished, or the health and safety file turns up months late with half the information missing. We stop those gaps early, while they are cheap to fix, and stay involved through to handover so the file you receive is one you can actually use.
Ask for a proposalWhat a CDM consultant covers for you
Client duty briefings
A plain explanation of your duties under regulation 4, written for your project and your organisation rather than a generic handout.
Notification checks and F10
We test the programme against the notification thresholds and, where the project is notifiable, prepare the notice for HSE and the site copy.
Appointment and competence checks
We help you appoint a principal designer and principal contractor in writing and check that the people you pick have the skills and resources for the job.
Pre-construction information
We gather surveys, drawings, asbestos reports and site constraints into an information pack that designers and tenderers can price and plan from.
Construction phase plan review
Before work starts we read the contractor’s plan against the actual hazards of your site and send back clear comments where it falls short.
Site inspections during the works
Periodic visits to check welfare, access, segregation from occupied areas and the controls promised in the plan, with a short written note after each one.
What CDM 2015 requires from a client
Under regulation 4 of CDM 2015, a commercial client must make suitable arrangements for managing the project, including allowing enough time and resources, and must provide pre-construction information to every designer and contractor as soon as is practicable. Where more than one contractor is involved, or is likely to be, regulation 5 requires the client to appoint a principal designer and a principal contractor in writing before the construction phase begins. If no principal designer is appointed, the client carries those duties personally.
Regulation 6 makes a project notifiable to HSE when the work is scheduled to last longer than 30 working days with more than 20 workers on site at any one time, or to exceed 500 person days. The client must also ensure a construction phase plan is drawn up before the construction phase starts and that a health and safety file is prepared. For householders, regulation 7 passes the client duties to the contractor, the principal contractor or, by written agreement, the principal designer.
What you receive
- Written summary of your client duties for the project
- Notification assessment and, where needed, the F10 notice
- Draft appointment letters for principal designer and principal contractor
- Pre-construction information pack
- Commentary on the construction phase plan
- Site inspection notes with actions and owners
- Health and safety file review at handover
How it runs
Project review
We look at the scope, programme, budget and building, then confirm which CDM duties apply and who should hold them.
Set-up
Appointments, notification and the pre-construction information pack are put in place before design is fixed or tenders go out.
Monitoring
We review the construction phase plan, attend key meetings and inspect site at agreed points while the work is running.
Close-out
We check the health and safety file is complete and usable, then hand you a short close-out note for your records.
How we handle CDM for you
You deal with one person for the whole CDM process, from the first scope conversation to the final file check. Resilient Consult is Wigan-based and covers Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside and Cheshire, so site visits are part of the service rather than an extra. Director Adrian Heaton oversees each appointment, and you receive written comments you can forward straight to your design team or contractor.
CDM often sits alongside other checks your project needs. Where the pre-construction information calls for an asbestos refurbishment survey or a fire risk assessment review, we arrange it through our specialist partners, who hold the relevant qualifications and certification for that work. We check their reports before they go into your pack, so you get one consistent set of information instead of several unconnected documents.
Who we do this for
Related construction consultancy services
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Questions about CDM consultancy
All questionsDoes CDM 2015 apply to small jobs?
Yes. CDM 2015 applies to all construction work, whatever the size or duration. What changes with scale is the paperwork: notification only applies above the thresholds in regulation 6, and a principal designer and principal contractor are only required when more than one contractor is involved. A single trade doing a short job still needs a proportionate construction phase plan. We help you work out how much is genuinely needed, so small projects are not buried in documents.
Is a CDM consultant the same as a principal designer?
No. A principal designer is a formal role under regulation 5 with its own legal duties for the pre-construction phase. A CDM consultant advises the client on meeting their duties and on whether the dutyholders are doing their jobs. Some projects need both, some only one. We can act as your client-side adviser, take on the principal designer role, or support a principal designer you have already appointed.
Who sends the F10 notification to HSE?
The client is responsible for notifying HSE under regulation 6, as soon as practicable before the construction phase begins. In practice another party often submits it for the client, and a copy has to be displayed where site workers can read it. We assess whether your project meets the threshold, prepare the notice with the details required in Schedule 1 and update it if the programme or numbers change.
What if our project has already started?
It is not too late to put things right. We start with a quick gap check of appointments, the construction phase plan, welfare and any notification, then agree the order to fix things in. Some items can be sorted within days, such as written appointments or a missing notification. Others, like design risk information, may need input from your designers. You get a short action list with an owner against every point.
Do you work with contractors?
Yes. We help contractors with risk assessments and method statements, COSHH assessments, written policies and preparation for SSIP schemes such as CHAS, SafeContractor and Constructionline. On projects we can support clients and principal contractors with CDM duties, and we work alongside main contractors when managing fire remedials, so the people on site have clear information and the right paperwork before they start.
What do your reports look like?
They are written in plain English with each finding located, photographed and given a clear priority. Where remedial work follows, you receive before, during and after photographs, a log of materials used and the certificates for specialist work. Long programmes come with regular progress reports. Everything is supplied digitally for you to keep, ready for your safety file, an audit or the golden thread for higher-risk buildings.
Tell us what you need.
What it is, where it is and what you need checked, fixed or managed. You get a scope and a written proposal back.
- adrian@resilientconsult.uk
- Based
- Wigan-based, working across the North West