Principal Designer (CDM)
Principal Designer (CDM) support focused on managing health and safety during construction projects.
What Is a Principal Designer (CDM)?
Under CDM 2015, the Principal Designer plans, manages, monitors and coordinates health and safety during the pre-construction phase. We support the client by helping them understand and fulfil their duties, coordinating designers, reviewing pre-construction information and ensuring foreseeable risks are identified and managed.
Where design work continues during construction, we remain involved, liaising with the Principal Contractor and design team to manage design changes, provide relevant information and support the safe delivery of the project.
CDM Principal Designer vs PDBR
Principal Designer (CDM) and Principal Designer Building Regulations (PDBR) are separate roles with different responsibilities. The CDM role focuses on managing health and safety during the pre-construction phase, while PDBR focuses on managing Building Regulations compliance throughout the design and construction process.
Drawing on our experience within the housing sector, we are able to support clients in fulfilling the Principal Designer role and associated dutyholder requirements under the Building Safety Act and Building Regulations framework.
When You Might Need This
Principal Designer support is relevant where a construction project involves, or is likely to involve, more than one contractor and health and safety needs to be coordinated during the pre-construction phase.
What Happens
Next
Tell us about the project and what stage you are at. We’ll review the scope, confirm what support is appropriate, explain what information we need from you and agree the next steps.
Why Choose Us?
01 Chartered Expertise
Led by Graham Cowan, Chartered Fellow of IOSH (CFIOSH), Chartered Fellow of IIRSM (FIIRSM) and Technical Member of TIFSM.
02 Practical Guidance
We explain legislation in plain English, giving you simple, actionable steps toward compliance that you and your team can follow.
03 Multi-Sector Experience
Experience across Care, Education, Property Management, Construction, Manufacturing, Industry and Agriculture.
04 Independent, Unbiased
Support is shaped around your service, your risks and your responsibilities, with a focus on what’s practical and achievable for your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
There is no specific legal requirement to carry out audits, but employers are legally required to manage health and safety effectively. Audits and inspections are a recognised way of demonstrating compliance and due diligence.
Inspections focus on physical conditions and day-to-day practices. Audits take a broader view and assess systems, arrangements and management processes. The approach used depends on your needs.
This depends on your organisation’s activities, size and level of risk. Some organisations benefit from annual audits, while others require more frequent inspections.
No. Audits and inspections are planned to minimise disruption and carried out in a professional, collaborative manner.
Yes. Many organisations use audits as a starting point for structured improvement and ongoing consultancy support.
