1. What are the Construction Phase Health and Safety Plan?

A Construction Phase Plan

Under the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations, which is often
called as CDM, a construction phase plan is a document required.
Every construction project applied by the CDM Regulations, regardless of
duration or size, residential or commercial.
Sometimes it is called as the construction phase safety and health plan, or the
CPP. On all projects, the CDM regulations require a document which is the
construction phase plan.
The construction phase plan is a safety and health management document for
the project. It will comprise details of the work that is being done, including the
project team and emergency arrangements.

Content of a Construction Phase Plan

The plan’s content must all be specific to the project and how health and safety
problems will be managed on site.
Although refer to your standard procedures is good practice, do not comprise
them all within your construction phase plan because it will drown out the site-
specific info that your workforce should know.
The construction phase plan is not a catalogue of method statements and risk
assessments for individual activities and tasks on the project. Under the
management of safety and health, all contractors involved in the project will require
these separate documents.

Project Description
The work’s scope and key project info like the project team, comprising the
management team (designers, client, principal contractor, principal designer and
other consultants), also with key suppliers and subcontractors.

Project Management
The construction phase plan is a safety and health management document and
this must be an extensive part of the document, listing out management
arrangements for the work.
The project’s management structure must be exhaustive along with
arrangements for key management procedures like accident management, induction,
welfare, training, security and liaison between the parties on site. The site rules,
safety goals of project as well as emergency and fire procedures.
Arrangements for Controlling Safety Risks
Safety risks must be identified and the management arrangements should be
carried out to control the risks sufficiently on-site detailed. Consideration must be
given to any activities that are possibly to increase the accident's risk on site.
This will comprise arrangements for dealing with lifting operations, fragile
materials, services, excavations, structures and equipment or plant on site.
Thought must be given to any risk to public, traffic routes and deliveries and
planned storage of materials on site.

Arrangements for Controlling Health Risks

Health risks must be identified and management arrangements indicated to
control the risks throughout the project.
Consideration must be given to any activities that are possibly to put the health
of visitors, operatives or members of the public at risk.
This must comprise health risks like radiation, contaminated land, asbestos and
hazardous substances.
Activities like manual handling and exposure to vibration, noise and dust must
also be covered in this section.

The Safety and Health File

It is vital to outline the arrangements for gathering info for the safety and health
file, and the file’s proposed layout and the info’s format.
The construction phase plan review can be used to check you have covered the
contents required for your plan.

Require of Construction Phase Plan

All construction projects require for a construction phase plan, from residential
to commercial, work lasting just a matter of hours to longer than a year, a
construction phase plan is required.
Therefore, you should ensure there is a construction phase plan in place of the
project you are working on if it falls as a kind of construction work, no matter what
size it is.
You cannot start the work without the construction phase plan. Before the work
starts on site, it must be prepared.

Update of a Construction Phase Plan

The construction phase plan must be updated as essential throughout the
project like things develop and work progresses, such as plans or arrangements
change.
The construction phase plan must be treated as a live document and updated as
essential throughout the project due to some project details may not be finalised or
known at the commencement of construction work.
The vital requirement is that the construction phase plan is updated for the
construction work that is about to carry out.

In Charge of Construction Phase Plan

It is the duty of principal contractor to produce the construction phase plan on
projects with more than one contractor.
It is the sole duty of the sole contractor to produce the construction phase plan
on projects with only one contractor.
Before the work starts on site, the construction phase plan must be developed
whether it is the single contractor or principal contractor preparing it.

Reason to have a Construction Phase Plan

A construction phase plan is also a vital safety and health document but not
only a legal requirement under CDM.
Improving safety management and planning for the project is the key benefit of
the plan. The whole team is able to work together to reach high project safety goals
and safety standards by setting out the safety and health requirements and
arrangements for the project.
CDM regulations have assigned a duty to clients which is ensuring that a
appropriate construction phase plan in carried out to activities commencing on site.
So, the CDM regulations is breached by at least 2 key duty holders, the client
and the Principal Contractor (or sole contractor) if a project starts in the absence of a
construction phase plan in place.