How do you make most members of the public glaze over and start thinking of a beach somewhere in the Tropics?

Start talking to them about Health & Safety!

While it is a very important topic within the construction industry we have to admit it’s not as exciting as looking at funky new kitchen designs or the latest episode of Grand Designs.

BUT, that being said, we feel we have an obligation to keep you posted about an important change in the law.

From the 1^st August 2016 if you are having a house or large extension designed in Northern Ireland you, as the client, have some duties under Health & Safety law or CDM(NI)2016 to give it a catchy new name.

(Some small domestic works may be excluded but your Architect will tell you about these)

So what does that mean for YOU?

The HSENI have produced this simple PDF document to inform you of your duties, by law, as a domestic client.

https://www.hseni.gov.uk/sites/hseni.gov.uk/files/a-simple-guide-to-the-cdm-regulations-ni-2016.pdf

In the Republic of Ireland domestic clients also have Health and Safety duties. In this case you must employ a ‘Project Supervisor Design Process’ (PSDP) for projects lasting longer than 30 days onsite.

At HBK we have been keeping up to date with these changes and attending CPD courses to ensure that we can keep our clients informed of their duties AND fulfil our duties as designers on all our domestic projects.

Ryan