Project managers have been urged to take on extra health and safety responsibilities as part of a review into construction safety regulations

A current review into the CDM regulations proposes that so-called ‘project co-ordinators’ take over the running of safety on sites from planning supervisors. A project co-ordinator would be appointed before design work starts and liaise between clients and the project design team. The review is currently under consultation by the Health & Safety Executive and the changes are expected to come into force in 2007.

Health and safety advisor Paul Winstone, who works for consultant Watts and Partners, said project managers were best placed to incorporate the co-ordination role into the work they already do because they become involved very early on in a project’s lifespan. “Project managers have the ear of the client and are there to push the design team around. It’s the obvious way to go.”

Winstone’s view was supported by Richard Schofield, chairman of the RICS project management faculty and managing director of Rider Hunt Management Services.

Source

QS News