Principal Contractor

The principal contractor is the key duty holder, who is required to ensure effective management of health and safety throughout the construction phase of the project. Their main duty is to properly plan, manage and co-ordinate work during the construction phase in order to ensure that hazards are identified and risks are properly controlled.

• The principal contractor has a duty to liaise with all of the other CDM, In particular:
  • Consulting with the workforce – directly or via their (sub) contractors.
  • Co-operating with designers and co-ordinators –- particularly if any changes occur to design.
  • Ensuring clients are aware of their duties.
• Whilst the principal contractor is under a duty to co-operate and have systems that allow and facilitate co-operation, the duty and responsibility for managing health and safety in the construction phase, lies clearly with the principal contractor.
• Principal contractors must be competent to carry out the work they are engaged to do in a safe manner, and ensure they give proper consideration to the potential effects of their activities on everyone who may be affected.
• Principal contractors are required to demonstrate to the client that they have sufficient resources, including properly trained and experienced staff, to carry out the project.
• It is essential that principal contractors are fully aware of the duties of other CDM duty holders, so that they know the level of information they may reasonably expect. Principal contractors must recognise that time is a resource and that they must beallowed to have reasonable time to plan activities with proper regard to health and safety.
• Good principal contractors will place health and safety at the front of their agendas and will review the health and safety implications of all decisions. This is of particular importance if changes arise during the project.
• Should design changes occur, the principal contractors must allow the CDM co-ordinator to carry out their duties, but must at all times retain responsibility for managing their activities and those of their contractors and sub-contractors. The principal contractor must be in control of the site for clear commercial responsibility as well as for health and safety reasons.