WORBEY SOFT STRIP DEMOLITION LIMITED – GUIDE TO A SAFE AND LEGAL DEMOLITION OPERATION

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• To carry out construction and demolition projects there are certain duties that must be satisfied to comply with the law. These are legal requirements such as duties under the Building Act 1984 for permission to demolish and the duties under the Construction Design Regulations 2015 (CDM) for control and safety on Construction Sites which includes Demolition.

 

• The Building Act 1984 requires an application to the local authority. If you don't have agreement from the local authority, then you could face large penalties. There are two sections that need to be satisfied for legal demolition which are:

  • Section 80 is the form for application

  • Section 81 is the local authorities’ permission for you can proceed with the described demolition

 

• The Construction (Design & Management) Regulations (CDM 2015) are the main set of regulations for managing the health, safety and welfare of construction projects. Duties under this regulation are broken down into various duty holders. These are:

 

• Commercial Client: Organisations or individuals for whom a construction project is carried out that is done as part of a business. Their duties include:

  • Make suitable arrangements for managing a project, including making sure other duty holders are appointed as appropriate and that sufficient time and resources are allocated.

  • Make sure: relevant information is prepared and provided to other duty holders so that the principal designer and principal contract can carry out their duties

  • The 2015 Construction (Design and Management) Regulations require that construction clients provide pre-construction information as soon as is practicable to every designer and contractor appointed, or being considered for appointment, to the project. Where there is more than one contractor, the principal designer should provide advice and help compile the pre-construction information and provide it to the designers and contractors

 

• Domestic Clients:  These are defined as people who have construction work carried out on their own home (or the home of a family member) that is not done as part of a business. Though in scope of CDM 2015, their client duties are normally transferred to the contractor for single contractor projects or the principal contractor for projects with more than one contractor however, the domestic client can instead choose to have a written agreement with the principal designer to carry out the client duties. 

 

• Principal Designer: These are designers appointed by the client in projects involving more than one contractor. They can be an organisation or an individual with sufficient knowledge, experience and ability to carry out the role.

  • A principal designer is a designer who is an organisation or individual (on smaller projects) appointed by the client to take control of the pre-construction phase of any project involving more than one contractor.

  • They must plan, manage, monitor and coordinate health and safety in the pre-construction phase of a project.

  • This includes: Identifying, eliminating or controlling foreseeable risks. Ensuring designers carry out their duties. Prepare and provide relevant information to other duty holders. Liaise with the principal contractor to help in the planning, management, monitoring and coordination of the construction phase.

 

• Principal Contractor: Contractors appointed by the client to coordinate the construction phase of a project where it involves more than one contractor.

  • Their duties are to plan, manage, monitor and coordinate health and safety in the construction phase of a project. This includes to liaising with the client and principal designer. Prepare the Construction Phase Plan and organising cooperation between contractors and coordinating their work

  • They must make sure that suitable site inductions are provided. Reasonable steps are taken to prevent unauthorised access. That workers are consulted and engaged in securing their health and safety and that welfare facilities are provided

 

• Contractors - Those who carry out the actual construction work. Contractors can be an individual or a company. Their duties are to plan, manage and monitor construction work under their control so it is carried out without risks to health and safety. For projects involving more than one contractor, coordinate their activities with others in the project team – in particular, comply with directions given to them by the principal designer or principal contractor. For single contractor projects, prepare a construction phase plan

 

• Workers – Those working for or under the control of contractors on a construction site. Workers must be consulted about matters which affect their health, safety and welfare. Take care of their own health and safety, and of others who might be affected by their actions. Report anything they see which is likely to endanger either their own or others’ health and safety. Cooperate with their employer, fellow workers, contractors and other duty holders

 

• F10 is the notification to the HSE of a construction project. Under Regulation 6 of the CDM Regulation, a project is notifiable if the construction work on a construction site is scheduled to: last longer than 30 working days and have more than 20 workers working simultaneously at any point in the project and/or exceed 500 person days.

 

• Location of Existing Services. As part of the pre-construction information, existing services such as drainage, electricity, gas, water, data or other services should be detailed and included in a risk register so measures can be put in place to prevent damage or injury. Service drawings and investigation reports must be included where possible and service investigations to ensure safe digging techniques and included in the pre-construction information pack

 

• Soil and Ground Condition Report. A soil investigation and survey assess the type of foundation likely to be necessary for your new build. A soil survey can provide you with detailed insight into the characteristics of the ground on your plot, and determine the quality of the earth and highlight any anomalies in the ground conditions which you may need to consider before progressing to groundworks stage. The survey will also identify any contamination or hazards within the soil that may need to be dealt with as part of the excavation, storage or removal of waste materials

 

• Asbestos Demolition and Refurbishment Survey Report. This is required for any intrusive works where there is a risk of exposure to materials containing asbestos fibres. There is a potential to find asbestos in buildings if they were constructed prior to the year 2000

 

• Construction Phase Plan. A Construction Phase Plan is a legal requirement of the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015. Each construction phase plan must:

  • Be relevant to the project

  • Record the health and safety arrangements and site rules for the construction phase of the project

  • And, be appropriate for the scale and complexity of the work to be undertaken, considering the risks involved.