Principal designer

PD

The designer appointed by the client under CDM 2015 to plan, manage, monitor and coordinate health and safety in the pre-construction phase and to prepare the health and safety file.

The principal designer is a designer (an organisation or individual with control over the pre-construction phase) appointed in writing by the client where more than one contractor will be involved. They plan, manage and monitor the pre-construction phase; ensure designers comply with their duties to eliminate, reduce and control foreseeable risks through design; identify and provide pre-construction information to designers and contractors; liaise with the principal contractor for the duration of the appointment; and prepare the health and safety file, handing it to the client at the end (or to the principal contractor if their appointment ends earlier).

The principal designer's work shows up on site as the pre-construction information (asbestos surveys, existing services, ground conditions, structural information, site constraints) and in the design itself: fixings that can be reached from a MEWP rather than a scaffold, roofs with edge protection designed in, plant rooms with maintenance access. Under the Building Safety Act, a separate principal designer role under the Building Regulations now runs alongside the CDM one for building control purposes; the two are often the same person but the duties are distinct.

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