A short awareness walkthrough, then a plain-English brief for your project
Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 (CDM 2015), you are the Client for your project. This tool does two things: first, a brief plain-English walkthrough of what CDM 2015 means for you as a domestic client — with a tick to confirm you've read each part — and then a short brief capturing the health-and-safety information about your site and home.
Jake White Architecture will use the brief to prepare your formal CDM Client Brief and Pre-Construction Information, and to help your Principal Designer and Principal Contractor plan the work safely.
The awareness section takes about five minutes; the brief about ten. In the brief, an Insert example button beside most questions drops suggested wording in for you to edit. Your answers are compiled into a formatted record and downloaded as an email you send yourself — nothing is stored on our servers.
Why it applies to your project, and what a "domestic client" means
The aim of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015 is to make health and safety an essential, integral part of planning and managing a project — so that everyone works together to reduce the risk to those who carry out the work, and to those affected by it, both during construction and once the building is finished.
If you are altering or extending your home or its associated buildings, putting up a new one, or demolishing an existing one, CDM 2015 applies to your project.
A domestic client is someone who has construction work done on their own home — or the home of a family member — that is not connected with a business. On a home project, that's you.
CDM 2015 runs alongside the Building Regulations duty holder system (Part 2A of the Building Regulations 2010), and both use the titles "Principal Designer" and "Principal Contractor" — but the roles, duties and legal basis are entirely distinct. One does not satisfy the other. This walkthrough concerns your CDM 2015 duties; the Building Regulations duties are covered separately by the Duty Holder Acknowledgement.
I understand that CDM 2015 applies to my project, and that I am a domestic client under the Regulations.
CDM 2015 treats projects differently depending on how many contractors are involved
Whatever its size or length, CDM 2015 divides projects into two types, based on the number of contractors involved:
If you are in doubt, assume your project will involve more than one contractor. Your designer or contractor can help you decide — or the Public CDM Helpline offers independent advice on 0333 088 2015.
I understand my project is classed by the number of contractors involved, and that most home projects involve more than one.
The Regulations recognise that homeowners aren't construction professionals
Because domestic clients are unlikely to have health-and-safety experience, CDM 2015 passes the client duties to your contractor — or, where there is more than one contractor, to your Principal Contractor.
On projects with more than one contractor, you must appoint a Principal Designer (a designer in control of the pre-construction phase) and a Principal Contractor (in control of the construction phase), in writing, as soon as practicable and before the construction phase begins.
If you don't make these appointments in writing, the designer in control of the design and the contractor in control of construction become Principal Designer and Principal Contractor by default — whether or not they want the role, or have the right skills, knowledge and experience.
Often you'll speak to a designer first and develop the design before appointing a contractor. You can appoint a capable designer, in writing, to carry out your client duties as Principal Designer. Without that written agreement, your Principal Contractor becomes responsible for those duties as soon as they are appointed.
It's recommended that you select and appoint your Principal Designer and Principal Contractor carefully — making sensible enquiries about their capability — so there's no confusion about who holds the duty, or whether it's being done properly.
I understand that my client duties normally pass to my Principal Contractor — or, by written agreement, my Principal Designer — and that failing to appoint in writing means the roles pass by default.
What a Principal Designer is, and how to check capability
A Principal Designer under CDM 2015 is a designer — an architect, architectural technologist, building surveyor or engineer, for example — who can demonstrate the knowledge, skill and experience of CDM 2015 and understands design risk management. The term means something specific: it is not the same as a "lead designer".
When talking to a designer about your project, check they have the capability and experience to do the work — not only the technical design, but the management of the health-and-safety information that goes with it. A Principal Designer may be a member of a design institution (ARB, RIBA, RIAS, CIAT, RICS, IStructE and others), and should either hold an accreditation in construction health-and-safety risk management (such as membership of APS) or be able to show appropriate CDM 2015 training.
Appoint your Principal Designer before significant detailed design work starts, so they can advise you and help provide information about your property to the designers and contractors.
Why it's worth getting right: when everyone complies with CDM 2015 it helps keep the project on time, on budget and to standard; reduces the chance of accidents, delays and cost; makes sure cleaning, maintenance and repair have been thought through; and leaves you with useful information for the future.
I understand I should appoint competent people, and that a Principal Designer must be able to demonstrate CDM 2015 knowledge, skill and experience.
The essentials your duty holders deliver — and what you're left with
Underneath the detail, CDM 2015 is about making sure that:
The effort should stay proportionate to the complexity and risk of the project — CDM 2015 is not about unnecessary paperwork. Mostly, it requires you to make sure things are done, rather than do them yourself. The duties that pass to your Principal Contractor (or Principal Designer) include managing health and safety with enough time and resources, ensuring the work can be done safely, providing suitable welfare facilities, passing on information you already hold about the property, making sure a Construction Phase Plan is prepared before work starts, and preparing a Health and Safety File to hand to you at the end.
You'll be given the Health and Safety File — an important legal document. Keep it safe, make it available to anyone who needs it in future, update it when necessary, and pass it on if you sell the property.
That's the background. Next, a short brief about your project and site — the information your team needs to plan the work safely.
I understand what CDM 2015 sets out to achieve, and that I will receive a Health and Safety File to keep and pass on.
What the works involve, and why you are doing them
Please enter the site address.
In your own words — the alterations, extensions or works proposed.
e.g. a home office you run a business from. This affects which regulations apply.
Who you are, and how to reach you
Please enter a contact name.
Please enter a valid email address.
Timing and phasing — as far as you know it today
Rough answers are fine. "TBC" is a perfectly valid answer — the Principal Contractor will firm these up in the Construction Phase Plan.
Time to mobilise, order materials and plan safely.
What you want the project to achieve on safety, and how the team should communicate
How often should the team meet, and how do you prefer to be kept informed?
Facilities for the site team, and how you'll live around the works
A toilet, washing facilities, drinking water, somewhere to rest and eat.
How you intend to live around the works, and any periods you'll need to move out.
Known hazards, restrictions and precautions for the site
You know your home and site better than anyone. Anything you flag here helps the Principal Designer and Principal Contractor plan the work safely.
Who uses the site now, and whether that will change
Who lives or works there, and anything about them that affects safety.
Confirm the content and sign below
Please enter your full name and sign in the box. Pressing Send CDM brief downloads a formatted record — including your signature — as an email to Jake White Architecture. Nothing has left your device yet — you review and send the email yourself.
Please enter your full name.
Please provide your signature.
I understand that the ownership of this document rests with the Client. Jake White MCIAT prepares the formal CDM Client Brief on behalf of the Client. By signing, the Client endorses the content above and acknowledges it as their brief.
This brief is provided for record-keeping and planning purposes under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. It is a summary of client-provided information and does not constitute legal advice, nor an appointment of a Principal Designer or Principal Contractor.
Your .eml file has been downloaded — open it in your email client and hit Send.
If the .eml file did not display correctly — click View formatted brief below, then press Ctrl+P / Cmd+P, save as PDF, attach to a new email and send to jw@jakewhitearchitecture.com
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