Construction (Design & Management) Regulations

The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 1994 (SI 1994/3140) were introduced to complement the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/3242) and take into account the special needs of the construction industry. These regulations have now been revoked with the introduction of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007/320) (CDM 2007) on 6 April 2007.

The HSE stated that:

"The key aim of CDM 2007 is to integrate health and safety into the management of the project and to encourage everyone involved to work together to:

• improve the planning and management of projects from the very start;
• identify risks early on;
• target effort where it can do the most good in terms of health and safety; and
• discourage unnecessary bureaucracy.

Amendment to Working at Height Regulations

The Work at Height (Amendment) Regulations 2007 which came into force on 6 April 2007 applies to those who work at height providing instruction or leadership to one or more people engaged in caving or climbing by way of sport, recreation, team building or similar activities in Great Britain.

As part of the Regulations, duty holders must ensure:
 

• all work at height is properly planned and organised;
• those involved in work at height are competent;
• the risks from work at height are assessed and appropriate work equipment is selected and used;
• the risks from fragile surfaces are properly controlled; and
• equipment for work at height is properly inspected and maintained.

 
There is a simple hierarchy for managing and selecting equipment for work at height. Duty holders must:
 

• avoid work at height where they can;
• use work equipment or other measures to prevent falls where they cannot avoid working at height; and
• where they cannot eliminate the risk of a fall, use work equipment or other measures to minimise the distance and consequences of a fall should one occur.

The Regulations include schedules giving requirements for existing places of work and means of access for work at height, collective fall prevention (eg guardrails and working platforms), collective fall arrest (eg nets, airbags etc), personal fall protection (e. work restraints, fall arrest and rope access) and ladders.

Legal Timetable

This Legal Timetable provides details of forthcoming UK and EU legislation coming into force, as well as the dates on which previous enactments dealing with health and safety issues came into force. This Timetable will prove useful for tracking the progress of forthcoming legislation and, by using complementary Consult GEE Reference information, we will ensure that you and your organisation are fully prepared for implementation.