Health

Healthand
andSafety
Safety
Executive
Executive

CDM 2007 Training

Package
Session 7 Competence &
training
Version: September 2007

What is competence?
To be competent, an organisation or individual must
have:

Sufficient knowledge of the specific tasks to be

undertaken and the risks which the work will
entail; and

Sufficient experience and ability to carry out their

duties in relation to the project; to recognise their
limitations and take appropriate action in order to
prevent harm to those carrying out construction
work, or those affected by the work
CDM 2007 Competence & training Slide 2

What does CDM 2007 require?

(1)

All persons who have duties under CDM 2007

should:
Take reasonable steps to ensure persons
who are appointed are competent
Not arrange for or instruct a worker to carry
out or manage design or construction work
unless the worker is competent
Not accept an appointment unless they are
competent

Applies to corporate and individual competence

CDM 2007 Competence & training Slide 3

What does CDM 2007 require?

(2)

Assessment should focus on the needs of

the particular project and be proportionate
to the risk, size and complexity of the
work

CDM 2007 should streamline the

competence assessment process

A key duty of the CDM co-ordinator is to

advise the client about the competence of
those employed by the client
CDM 2007 Competence & training Slide 4

Corporate competency (1)

Corporate competency should be assessed by a

two-stage process
Stage 1: An assessment of the companys
organisation and arrangements for health and
safety
Stage 2: An assessment of the companys
experience and track record
Companies will be expected to reach the
standards set out in the core criteria in CDM
2007 ACoP Appendix 4
The Core Criteria have been agreed between
industry & HSE
CDM 2007 Competence & training Slide 5

Corporate competency (2)

Duty holders can

assess potential appointees against the core
criteria or
can use independent accreditation schemes
such as CHAS, National Britannia Safe
Contractor

The agreed criteria will help prevent a diversity of

demands from clients and others and reduce the
amount of paperwork and bureaucracy

CDM 2007 Competence & training Slide 6

Individual competency

Individual competency should be assessed by a

two-stage process
Stage 1: Assessment of knowledge, training
records and qualifications, including basic
understanding of site risks
Stage 2: Past experience in the type of work
you are asking them to do

Those new to construction work will need close

supervision by a competent person until they can
themselves demonstrate competence
CDM 2007 Competence & training Slide 7

Individual competency
designers (1)

When assessing the competence of individual

designers, look for
Stage1: membership of professional
institution e.g. RIBA, CIAT, ICE, IStruct E,
CIOB etc.
Stage 2: evidence of past experience in
similar work

You may need to take into account the skills and

knowledge of other designers if the work is to be
carried out by a design team
CDM 2007 Competence & training Slide 8

Individual competency
designers (2)

Designers must be able to

Identify hazards, understand how they can be
eliminated, and address residual risk
Design in accordance with the Workplace
(Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations
1992
Identify significant remaining risks
Inform contractors
Co-operate and co-ordinate with the PC

CDM 2007 Competence & training Slide 9

Individual competence CDM

co-ordinator (1)

CDM co-ordinators play a key role in

CDM 2007 and need
Good interpersonal skills to encourage
co-operation and co-ordination
Understand the design process and the
need to co-ordinate designers work
Knowledge of health and safety in
construction
Identify the key information others will
need to know
CDM 2007 Competence & training Slide 10

Individual competence CDM

co-ordinator (2)

For smaller projects

Stage 1: Knowledge of the design
process and health and safety in
construction (e.g. qualification such as
NEBOSH construction certificate,
Membership of the ICE health and
safety register, IPS, APS, etc)
Stage 2: Experience in applying the
knowledge of construction
CDM 2007 Competence & training Slide 11

Individual competence CDM

co-ordinator (3)

For larger/higher risk projects

Likely to be a corporate CDM coordinator appointment
Appendix 5 of CDM 2007 ACOP
provides detailed guidance

The skills and knowledge of the CDM coordinator will need to reflect the
complexity of the project and the
specialist knowledge necessary to ensure
that the risks are properly controlled
CDM 2007 Competence & training Slide 12

Individual competence - workers

Assessments should focus on the needs

of the job, & be proportionate to the risks
Stage 1: Assess the task knowledge to
carry out the work safely e.g. training
records, qualifications, CPD, NVQ, time
served
Stage 2: Assess the individuals
experience

Provide supervision, training and

instruction as necessary
CDM 2007 Competence & training Slide 13

Competence & training Key

messages

By choosing the right people for the right job and

appointing them early, all in the construction
team can make sure that the project is safety to
build, safe to use, safe to maintain and delivers
good value

CDM 2007 will make it easier to show that you

have the right skills and experience for the job

Competent designers eliminate hazards and

reduce risks manage the risk, not the
paperwork
CDM 2007 Competence & training Slide 14